The text
The Phone on the Train
This is a work of fiction. The people and events are invented.
Lena was on the early train to the city. She was tired, so she closed her eyes and listened to music. When the train stopped at her station, she jumped up and ran to the door. She did not look back at her seat.
Twenty minutes later, she arrived at work and opened her bag. Her phone was not there. She looked in her coat pockets, but it was not there either. Lena felt sick. All her photos were on that phone, and her messages, and her bank app.
She borrowed a colleague's phone and called her own number. It rang five or six times. Then a man answered. “Hello? I found this phone on the train,” he said. “Is it yours?”
“Yes, it's mine!” said Lena. “Thank you so much!” The man's name was Tomás. He was a student, and he was on his way to the university. “I can leave it at the information desk at the central station,” he said. “Is that OK?”
After work, Lena went to the station. Tomás was not there, but the woman at the desk smiled and gave her the phone. There was a small yellow note on it. It said: “Next time, don't sleep on the train! Have a nice day. Tomás.”
Lena laughed. She wanted to thank Tomás again, but she did not have his number. So she decided to help other people in the same way. Now, every time she gets off a train, she checks her seat. And when she sees a lost umbrella or a bag on a seat, she takes it to the information desk.