By Richard
Singing and dancing
It’s another morning on the way to work. Passengers wait on the train platform and watch phones. Over by the trees, hundreds of cockatoos are going absolutely crazy: a big event must be happening in their world. A couple of birds stand apart from the rest of the group, twirling around on the gantry above the platform.
Vegetables and forms
Moving on the train, stations pass by with concrete and steel. But at a couple of platforms the staff built little wooden planter boxes filled with flowers and ornaments, even one with vegetables that passengers were allowed to harvest. When one of the stations was redeveloped, the garden beds had to be torn down. But afterwards, little owl statues reappeared on the new embankment, lining up to face commuters by the train window.
Touching the earth
Stepping off the train, the walk to the city centre passes through wide parks, where lines of workers head towards the office towers beyond. A woman in a black corporate dress suddenly steps off the path, takes off her shoes, and walks to work barefoot over the lawns.
Vegetables and Indra’s net
It’s late afternoon on the train home. Near the end of the line commuters start thinning out, and people call friends to have relaxed conversations. One caller’s elderly mother is evidently having a major crisis: her vegetable garden is being eaten by snails. Plans are being made over the phone, with a support network of friends enlisted to source snail bait, put out netting, and offer emotional comfort.
Weeds and flower sermons
Commuters funnel out of the train and through the station underpass back to the carpark, where some weeds grow by the path. Suddenly up in front, someone’s hand reaches out to stroke one of the dandelions, and little seeds fly out in the sunlight. Within a second, it’s all over. Everyone keeps walking.