“You have beautiful hair and amazing figure.” He thought his pick-up line was charming in its sincerity.

She flinched and sneered. “This is a wig, and I lost weight because of cancer.”

He froze in his seat, unable to speak.

The train stopped. She got off, and burst out crying.

Katya Duft is a translator, interpreter, and language teacher who enjoys writing short stories, poetry, and her travel blog “Tales from the Bus.