The Rubik's Cube

On a crowded subway car, a little boy sits working diligently on a Rubik’s Cube but making little headway. The sound of the train arriving at a station—the announcement by the automated voice, the doors opening and closing with their standard signal—accompanies the entrance of a young woman who takes a seat across from the boy. With headphones in her ears, she types casually into her phone before removing a Rubik’s Cube from her bag. The boy immediately spots it. For two or so minutes, she rapidly and effortlessly moves the sides of the cube. When she achieves equal colors on all sides, she slips the cube into her bag and rests her head against the window, closing her eyes. She opens them as the train begins to slow, arriving at its next stop. She and the boy make fleeting eye contact. She exits the train. The little boy looks down at his Rubik’s Cube and back at the space the woman just left, now occupied by another rider. He resumes working on his Cube.