The tap of a small hand and the accompanying little girl's voice saying, "Hey, mister," roused you from absent listening to the rumbling rails of the crowded train. What could she want? Had she lost her parents?
You glanced down, but before you could summon your version of the softball adult-speaking-to-child voice, a huge, mocking grin spread across her face. She hiked up her skirt, giving you an eyeful of her white underwear.
You stared in disbelief, too stunned to avert your eyes.
"Pervert!" she shrieked at top volume before giggling and then running away as fast as her legs would carry her.
You tried to process what had happened, infinitely grateful that no one around you had seemed to care. Just another day in the city.
You put the odd encounter behind you and out of mind, the monotony of life carried on, until it happened again. The same girl came up to you out of nowhere and gave you a dirty look while putting her childish modesty on exhibition.