A few weeks ago, I was traveling alone on the Delhi Metro. It was late, around 9 PM, and the train was half-empty. I had my headphones on, mindlessly scrolling through my phone, just like everyone else.

At the next station, a young woman got in. She seemed tense, her eyes scanning the crowd. Right behind her, a man followed and sat uncomfortably close to her, even though there were plenty of empty seats. Something about the way he stared at her felt wrong.

At first, I hesitated. Maybe they knew each other. Maybe I was just overthinking. But then, I saw the way she kept shifting, her fingers tightening around the strap of her bag, eyes darting around as if looking for an escape. I knew that look. Every woman does.

And then, our eyes met.

In that instant, I decided to act. I took out my phone and pretended to call her. "Hey! Where are you? Oh, you’re getting off at the next stop? Okay, I’m already here!" I smiled and waved at her as if we were old friends.

She hesitated for a split second but then she nodded and she stood up. So did I. “Let’s go,” I said, loud enough for the man to hear. We stepped out of the train together. The doors closed behind us, taking him away.

Outside, she let out a deep breath. "Thank you," she whispered.

"You’re okay now," I said, smiling.

We didn’t ask for each other’s names. We didn’t need to. In that moment, we were not strangers—we were just women looking out for each other.

And that’s how it should always be.