In the Dark

On the platform of one of Moscow’s railway stations, a loud, motley, multi-voiced crowd moved back and forth. Shouts from carriers—quick and skillful as they darted around with bundles and carts—fleeting snippets of ordinary station talk, the shuffle of several hundred feet on the tiled walkway—all of it, together with the hissing of a machine, merged into a bustle that grew tiring with its rhythmic monotony...