Looking for apartments in Madrid I spent a lot of time on the subway. It is a showcase of life, and if you look closely, you can see behaviours that make you smile and think at the same time. The other day:

A guy was hanging on to the central bar of the metro car where I sat, looking around. At the stops people got on, including a girl who had that special look that confident women usually have, when they know a desirable sexuality emanates from all sides. She wore tight jeans and a black shirt which marked all her curves and showed off a bright fuchsia bra. Her gorgeously smooth long black hair and big black sunglasses gave her an aura of exotic mystery and elegance…

The guy beside me stared her up and down, boldly, nary a whisper of shame or shyness… she pretended not to notice, but was obviously aware of the effect she was having on him as she peeked at his reflection in the car windows.

At the next station up, more people, including a beautiful and elegant woman, with stylish, designer clothes and a sweet face care, entered the car. This refined woman checked out the guy, but received nary a glance back in her direction. This woman, who would undoubtedly be everything his mother could want for him, didn’t set off his fantasy meter in the slightest, though he continued to fantasize about the brunette…

When the first woman prepares to leave, the man stood just behind her, frozen with desire and frustration, looking like a bullfighter facing the bull and about to loose.

They get off, her first, and then just a few steps behind, the man. Was he following her? Would they disappear into the nearest café bathroom together? … I don’t know, the door shut and they receded into the distance as the train moved on. I looked at my companion and he asked if I had seen the spectacle?

Though we are subjected to social norms, sometimes we feel that one can see the raw nerve exposed that triggers our animal instincts which years of evolution have not been able to erase. Not everyone sends out obvious signals… but sometimes I think in the solitude of the big city everyone is looking for something else.