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# He asked why I don’t wear the armband.
- URL: https://www.smallfailuresofreality.com/he-asked-why-i-dont-wear-the-armband/
- Published: 2026-08-12T12:10:27.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-12T12:10:26.000Z
- Author: Evan Mercer
- Tags: story, train

![A commuter poses on a train platform, pulling up his sleeve to show a purple armband with a narrow gold stripe.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e8/88/e88830a3-d951-4682-b91c-ff9b3de17f28/content/images/2026/07/wed_armband_question-1.jpg)

We don’t know each other, but I’ve seen him at the station before. He must have seen the site.

I said, “I’m not religious.”

“It’s not a religion,” he said.

“It’s just not for me,” I said.

He said, “OK,” and that was that.