Fraction of time

Cars.

Yellow, blue, green, grey, cars of more colours and shades than you would be able to imagine right now.

New, old, battered, polished, scuffed, cars of various age and condition.

Cars moving fast as though jets flied past you, cars full of energy and enthusiasm, cars moving slowly with grace or breathing strenuously with an obvious effort.

Cars following shapes of roads, roads narrow or wide, straight or crooked, roads bathed in sunshine and roads hiding in darkness.

Cars driven by different types of people – young, old, scowling, laughing or just whistling a tune. People of different races, people dressed in business suits, expensive robes, patchy jackets or shabby jeans. All these people are sitting in their cars with fellow travellers or without them; they are hardly noticing occupants of other cars. Their minds are full of their own thoughts, full of anger, happiness or just emptiness.

Time is suddenly slowing and all the cars are moving as though in a slowed film. People in cars passing each other are watching the other passengers with unintended attention and interest. They see details of faces, freckles, wrinkles and scars; they can distinguish roguish smile or crumpled expression. The sex and age don’t matter at this moment. They can see these entirely strange people with their mind’s eye, they can feel their humanity to the core. And it nearly hurts when this intense perception touches their malice, their egoism and arrogance but at the same time they are strengthened by this profound interconnection of all humankind.

It was only a fraction of time in which this happened but those people have never forgotten their unexpected experience.