The Subway Stranger

Sometimes angels take a human form…

John Ronner, a newspaper reporter first told this story on the radio show Coast to Coast.

Diana was new to New York. It was past 10:00 p.m. and she had missed her stop on the subway. Lost, she got off the train to wait for another that would take her back the way she had come. Nervous, she headed up toward the street level.  She stopped when she saw a group of men drinking and shouting at the entrance.

She noted several buildings in the area were run down, even boarded up. Her stomach sank as she realized that she was in a dangerous part of the city.

As she turned back toward the platform she saw that the men above her had noticed her presence. Panic set in as she saw how they stared at her. She rushed back down toward the subway tracks.

Her heart sank as she saw there wasn’t a train in sight. She became desperate as she heard the men’s laughter approaching.

She stepped to the tracks and looked down the tunnel hoping to hear a train but everything now was silent.

She turned to her left and saw a tall man with steel grey hair wearing a tailored suit next to her. He smiled at her.

“Are you lost?”

She briefly mentioned to him that she wasn’t sure where she was.

He pulled out a map and showed her where they were. He then pointed out the station she had missed. She looked around and the man told her he would wait with her.

There was no sign of the rowdy men she had seen earlier and she realized she felt safe with the stranger. Twenty minutes later her train arrived. As she stepped in the car she turned to hand the map back to her companion but the platform was empty.

As the doors slid closed she looked down at the map and saw that her exact route was highlighted.