Friday Sept 10 2021
11:11 PM
There was a time I took a train that had no destination. It was a train designed for those that wanted no where to go, but still wanted to leave someplace. It was on that train exactly 10 years ago that changed everything. I remember I sat down, a trolley came by with an assortment of things that surprised me. They were serving fresh fruits and vegetables, I was immensely glad because I always liked a good mango I thought to myself, but it felt so unusual. I obviously went straight for the mango, about to pull out my wallet when the attendant said, “there’s no need sir, it’s on us,” with a wide genuine smile as I was frozen in time. I thanked her, and right before I proceeded to eating I heard a girl in the seat parallel to mine say “good choice,” in a smirky tone. I hadn’t realized she was even there. “You know mangoes are my favourite fruit as well, I heard that they keep you young.” I had no idea whether they did or not, but I acted like I definitely knew. That’s how we started speaking, and we didn’t stop till we slept. I wondered why she was on this train. What was she running away from, because the truth about this train and this journey was that everyone on here was running away from something. The next morning before I woke, she had changed seats, and feeling my chances were beginning to run out, I rushed over to her to ask if perhaps we can exchange numbers, realizing she was packing to go. Without saying much she wrote down her number on a scrap piece of paper and soon after she was gone. To say that I was shocked would be an understatement, because during my time on this train, very few actually ended up getting off. It seems that very few people want to leave to face their bleak realities, which is the assumption that we all made. They’d much rather be neither here nor there. For there is no place that can actually subdue this feeling of bitterness in our souls. But with her, she was the first person I witnessed that left, countless people would enter up the stairs, take one look around, and settle themselves in a secluded part of the train, but she only stayed on for a few short days. A few days after she left, I sent her a screenshot of the song I was listening to, titled Forever Young. I never did get a reply, and as the months and years passed, having befriended almost every rider on this train, my mind would sometimes go to her, pondering what her life has turned out like. What I had not realized was that everything on this train stood still, there was no such thing as time. 10 years had passed, eventually I had mustered the strength to face my life once again, afraid of what I was to witness, how much has the world changed. The moment I stepped off onto the platform, as the train doors came to close, I felt a vibration in my pocket. Taking out my phone I realized that it was her, an unsaved number, a person with no name. I had believed she’d forgotten about me, my beard having turned grey started to turn black once again, but clearly my message had indeed gone through. Her message read, “Forever alive. I’m glad you chose to be alive again.” And the sound of the train whistling made me look up, seeing people walking back and forth, with intention, ready to take on this absurd world.
Comments