Shock And Anger
Her blood boiled as she recognized herself in the reflection in the window. He was recording her!
Her tone was firm and accusing. She stood over him with a defiant glare and confident tone as she gave him a piece of her mind. He began to panic and showed her something that left her completely shocked.
Uma
Uma Mageswari was riding the train home after a long day at work when she experienced an encounter she’d never forget.
It was 8.30 pm by the time Uma boarded the train at Outram MRT, Singapore. She looked at her watch as she stepped aboard. “Another groundhog day”, she thought. She smirked tiredly as she took her seat.
Family Troubles
Uma had taken this particular train for years. Every day, she’d take the train to work at 6.00 am and the train home at 8.30 pm. She was used to working long hours but lately, times were tough.
Uma’s mom was getting old and needed a caretaker. With only a younger sister who had a family of her own to take care of, Uma was left to manage her mom's care.
Exhaustion
It was why she worked so hard, and with no family of her own, Uma could afford to sacrifice her time to support her. But it came at a cost.
Even though she was exhausted, she made sure to call into her mom everyday after work to check on her. She always brought a bag of her favorite snacks too. It was a routine that didn’t go unnoticed.
Strange Behavior
She had seen him on the train before but he never sat this close to her. She had always thought he was strange and instantly felt the urge to avoid his eye contact.
There were a lot of seats available. So when he chose to sit directly opposite her, she couldn’t help but feel a slight annoyance. She had no idea what was coming.
Uncomfortable Stare
When Uma realized he kept staring at her, she congratulated herself for judging him correctly. She rolled her eyes as she tried hard to ignore him.
Clutching her bag, she rested her head against the back of her seat and let her mind wander. She was so tired, she nearly fell asleep. When she lifted her head again, she saw something that made her heart pound in anger.
Reflection
At first, she thought he had finally lost interest and was busy doing something on his phone. She started to feel more at ease but then she spotted his reflection.
Her blood boiled as she recognized her profile in the reflection of his phone in the window. He was recording her! She really didn’t need this today. She wanted to teach this man a lesson.
Getting Proof
She tried her best to keep from immediately screaming at the man. Instead, she slyly took out her own phone and hit record.
She was going to get proof of what he was doing and then report him after she gave him a piece of her mind. But Uma severely underestimated what exactly this strange man was up to.
Professional
Uma secretly recorded him filming her. There was no way he could deny what he was doing now. She watched as he even pretended to look away every now and again to minimize any suspicions.
It became obvious to Uma that this wasn’t the first time this man did something like this. Having had enough, Uma rose from her seat and strode towards him.
Confrontation
He looked at her in shock as she confronted him. She stood in front of him as she called the authorities. She glared at him as she spilled the details of what had just happened.
Her tone was firm and accusing. The man physically shrunk under her defiant tone and confident stance. He immediately began to panic and then took her completely by surprise.
A Kind Gesture
She listened to him as her eyes grew teary. She had no idea that he had known her for so long and had figured out so much about her.
Once he explained everything and then showed her his phone. Uma couldn’t be mad at him. In fact, she felt rather touched by his kind gesture and grabbed a tissue to catch her tears. What happened?
A Photographer
He wasn’t filming her, he was taking a picture of her and posting it on his art page. Philip Stear was a photographer who was creating a new series of photographs on his instagram page called the “#TrainSeries”.
He had taken a picture of Uma and wrote a caption that drove Uma to tears.
All For Art
The concept behind his work was to capture the portraits of people he found interesting on trains and to let their photo depict their life.
However, with Uma’s photo, this man had a lot more to say than Uma could have ever imagined. For the first time in a long time, she felt truly seen. What did it say?
The Caption
The photographer noted that he first met this stranger (Uma) on the train years ago. And that he’s seen her on the train every day since. He mentioned how hard she works, imagining she worked over a 12 hour day.
He mentioned her tired eyes with a hint of sadness and how he was curious to know who she always bought food for. The photo he took was beautiful. It was enough to make Uma burst into tears.
Mixed Thoughts
She apologized to him for thinking the worst and called the authorities to write off her report as a misunderstanding. But even though his intentions were good, was it still okay?
Uma shared her story online but it was met with mixed comments. Some suggested that even if his intentions were kind, it’s still indecent to take a picture of someone without them knowing. What do you think?