The station was packed and noisy when I finally arrived, suitcase wheels rattling behind me on the dirty platform. I had been running late after my flight got canceled at the last minute, and this overnight train was the only way I could still make it home in time for my sister’s wedding. My feet already hurt, and the thought of sitting for six hours sounded like heaven. I joined the long line of tired passengers pushing toward the train doors.
Inside the carriage, chaos greeted me. People were arguing loudly over seats. A middle-aged man in a suit stood in the middle of the aisle, red-faced, waving his ticket at a younger woman who had already made herself comfortable.
“This is my seat,” he said sharply. “14A. You’re sitting in it.”
The woman looked up at him with irritation. “No, I ha
