Dried leaves and broken twigs rustled, as the rushing feet of passengers alighting from the old train scattered them from place to place. The swoosh swoosh of the softly raging wind also added a background sound to the entire ambience of the evening.
Unbothered by the wind and the cold, I stood by the old, and partly dilapidated ticket box and watched. From where I stood I had a fair view of the entire train station, or what was left of it. Most importantly though, I had a clear view of all the passengers as they stepped out of the train, and trudged off in the direction of the exit.
From where I stood, I saw almost everything and everyone. But there was really only one person I wanted to see...
I closed my eyes...
Image by Hands off my tags! Michael Gaida from Pixabay
"A penny for your thoughts."
Lost in my reverie, I hadn't heard her approach, and in my startled state I had involuntarily spilled the coffee I held in my hands.
"Oh, sorry about that." she mumbled. I noticed she was doing all she could to suppress a laugh.
"What's funny?" I asked. It was difficult for me not to giggle a bit too as I turned now to fully face her. Anna's laughter had always been infectious.
"That.. that's funny." She pointed at my stained shirt as she chuckled openly without attempting to hide it anymore.
I realized what it was... My shirt had the inscription "Hard Guy" written across the chest, and obviously I had been startled by her arrival and thought-intruding comment.
"You should be thankful the coffee was no longer hot" I hit back at her, trying to save a little face. But that didn't help though, because her laughter only increased.
"Hard Guy indeed..." she chuckled, holding her stomach and bending forward as she kept on laughing.
I joined in soon enough, I couldn't help it. Everything about Anna was infectious. Her laughter, her eyes, her voice, the weird way in which she smiled...
"All passengers for the 6.15 train, please proceed to board."
The voice of the announcer calling the passengers serenaded the train station, and momentarily took the humour out of both our minds. Anna stood steady now, and fell into my waiting arms.
"Please tell me to miss my train" she whispered.
"Miss your train" I whispered back.
She smiled... that smile that had the power to melt the "Hard Guy" in me more than any startling scenario ever could. I gave her a light peck on her lips as the smile slowly faded.
"Don't go." It was my turn to plead.
She placed her one finger on my chest, and the smile returned.
"Don't be a soft guy now." she chided. "I will be back soon. It's only two weeks."
And I had chosen to be a hard guy, and I bid Anna goodbye...
That was seventeen years ago...
Now the electric trains were more in vogue, and little to nobody took the coal powered trains anymore...
They still worked nonetheless, but like the train station, they were old shadows of what they used to be...
I opened my eyes as I heard the last approaching train grind to a noisy halt.
...
Dried leaves and broken twigs rustled, as the rushing feet of passengers alighting from the old train scattered them from place to place. The swoosh swoosh of the softly raging wind also added a background sound to the entire ambience of the evening.
Unbothered by the wind and the cold, I stood by the old, and partly dilapidated ticket box and watched. From where I stood I had a fair view of the entire train station, or what was left of it. Most importantly though, I had a clear view of all the passengers as they stepped out of the train, and trudged off in the direction of the exit.
From where I stood, I saw almost everything and everyone. But there was really only one person I wanted to see... But she never came...
I watched the last passenger trudge away... the wind swooshed, and the leaves rustled...
I picked up my nostalgic thoughts, and started for home. Tomorrow after work, I will be here again...
Maybe Anna will show up this time...
THE END
#SladenSpeaks
#IfWordsWereNudes
Okay, I am almost lost in this character's thoughts right now. I had to blink twice to be sure I was not in an old empty train station.
Hope you enjoyed this read.
Cheers!
Maaaahn! I am here getting lost in what I expected to be a reunion of sorts only to have my heart broken? I didn't see that coming. Seventeen years waiting? Wow.
Oh dear... Sorry (😉) for breaking your heart. I just had to.
Perhaps it would make my story stick to mind, and provide that unexpected ending that thrills.
Thanks for stopping by W.
I appreciate. Cheers!
I think the beauty of being a scribe is that one gets to break a few hearts via ink and still get to keep their love. It was an excellent story. I loved it as heartbreaking asit was :)
You masterfully evoke nostalgia in this story, nostalgia and its companion, longing. Trains are eloquent metaphors for many situations. Here the metaphor works well. Anna was taking a journey into the future, and when she did so she left behind her past. The protagonist was part of the that past. The reader wonders how many times he returned to the station.
You transition from one temporal circumstance to another in this line:
Readers might have been confused, but you clued them in with a reference to the 'old train'.
Thank you for posting this response to prompt. Please be sure to read the work of other writers in the community and share comments with them. We are urging everyone who posts in The Ink Well to take this step, going forward, to ensure our community members are supporting one another. (We also have this in The Ink Well community rules on our home page and in our weekly writing prompts.) Thank you!
I wanted to create the impression on the reader that "I missed something" at the end, and that would prompt a re-read to fill in the gaps.
I believe I may just have succeeded seeing your comment.
Thanks for the wonderful prompts, always. They always spin and spin in one's mind until a story is birthed.
Cheers!
A very good choice of the kind of story that can happen on platforms. A couple who are separated by distance and a tough guy who doesn't give up hope. Well written. Thanks for sharing @seesladen
I know what you mean. I also get lost in my characters, and I got lost in this. You have a new follower today. I loved this. Thank you! :-)
Beautiful love story, sometimes we cling to that impossible love. It really broke my heart that she never came back.
I wish he could forget her and move on, dragging such a burden is very sad.
A very touching story, @seesladen. Isn't it great when you get so lost in your own story that you have to shake yourself to emerge back out of it? Thanks for sharing your story in The Ink Well!
Your content has been voted as a part of Encouragement program. Keep up the good work!
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