Last I’d visited there’d only been one person left manning the station, and he’d been someone I didn’t know. I wondered if that same person was still here for the final day, and that maybe I’d check before leaving. Even in my youth, the station didn’t have many services – just an information desk with ticket sales and a small kiosk that also served hot and cold drinks. The regular employees pretty much also doubled as cleaners and janitors in addition to their other duties.
I was just idly wondering which direction the train was supposed to be coming from when a sudden tap on my shoulder nearly had me jumping out of my skin.
“Hey there. Sorry for startling you.” It was the young woman, and she was smiling slightly. I could barely hear what she said over the music on my headphones, so I took them off. I didn’t have a mirror to see myself in, but I imagine I must’ve looked quite surprised and confused. I certainly felt like that.
“Oh. Uh. Hi.” I felt like an idiot, unable to even form a simple sentence. Scrambling to pause my music player since the music was still audible from the headphones didn’t really help with that feeling.
“Here to look at the last train stopping by?”
“Um. Yes.” My impeccable communication skills were truly shining through today.
“Me too.” Seeing her up close, she was cute. Her unbound dark hair positively gleamed even in the dull light of the cloudy day and her friendly, warm smile reached all the way from her full lips to her captivating dark brown eyes. So captivating that I almost missed what she said next. “Are you a local?” I blinked. I was worried I might’ve been staring too much.
“Used to be,” I finally managed. “I also used to watch trains here a lot as a kid. Just visiting family now and heard about this. You?”
“You could say train stations are my hobby. I came to see it before it’s demolished.”
“Demolished? I hadn’t heard that part.” I thought that was even sadder. Small and run-down as the station was, I felt like the area wouldn’t be that same without it, even if I wasn’t around to see it much these days anyway.
“The post I read about it in a hobby group about these things said it’s in too poor a condition to reasonably renovate for any kind of use. There wasn’t a set date for it, but since this is the official closing of the station, it felt like a good time to visit.”
“I see. I guess I’m glad I came to see it too, then. How far did you come for all this?”
“Oh, just from the next city over down south.” She flashed her pleasant smile again. “Not a long drive.”
“Mm-hmm. I came from farther up north, so no train route. Took a bus.” I couldn’t help but flash a smile of my own, even though it wasn’t a particularly natural state for my face, especially these days.
We fell into a surprisingly comfortable silence as we gazed along the tracks. I’d ended up lost in thought again before her voice snapped me out of it once more.
“Ah, here it comes.” I saw her looking to the right, though by then it could already be heard as well. ‘Right’ corresponded to east on this track, as viewed from the station. Watching the train slow down, I realized that the train itself was an older model than you normally see these days. I wondered if that was on purpose, though it seemed a bit unlikely someone would’ve gone through the trouble just for a place like this. But stranger things have happened.
“Somehow, this is making me a little sad.”
“Yes. It almost always is sad.” I only realized I’d said it out loud from her reply. “It’s nice to share the moment with someone, though, don’t you think?” It made me feel a little flushed. And based on her vibrant chuckle, I also looked it. And yet, in my defense, it appeared she was blushing too, though with her skin tone it was harder to tell for certain.
The train slowed to a crawl and then stopped. The doors opened, but no one was coming out or getting in.
“Now that is sad,” I thought out loud again, looking at the open doors. “No one at all.” If no one bothered to even take the very last train to or from here, it was no wonder the place was getting shut down. I might’ve done it if I’d known ahead of time since I was coming here anyway, though it would’ve required quite a detour to get to the city to the east in order to get on board. My unexpected companion looked at me, her smiling face also looking thoughtful at the same time.
“This might be sudden, but… want to hop on? It’s the last train, after all. No one came out, but we could at least be the last passengers to get on from here.”
Her suggestion made me blink in surprise. Her question echoed what I’d been thinking of. It was certainly kind of a weird thing to ask a stranger, I thought, but at the same time…
“You know what? I think I do want to,” I answered out loud before even realizing it. Not only did the idea feel compelling to counter the sadness of the station’s ‘silent’ demise but doing it with this girl sounded even better. I felt like I was a magnet being pulled towards its counterpart. As brief as our encounter had been so far, I found myself wanting to extend that encounter even if I wasn’t entirely sure why. Sure, she was acting friendly and had a nice face, but…
“In that case, we better hurry!” Her words interrupted my thoughts yet again. A sound was indicating the doors were about to close. We ran for it and managed to get in barely in time. We saw a conductor shake his head disapprovingly from the adjacent passenger section. My strange companion made a guilty face and apologized as the conductor came over. She ended up buying tickets for both of us. Her way of thanks for joining her on this little adventure, she said.
“Speaking of, didn’t you mention driving?” Had she just left her car behind on a whim like this?
“Oh, yes. But no worrying about that now. It’s more fun living in the moment, don’t you think?” I shrugged, not sure whether to be concerned about or impressed by her apparent free-spiritedness. Then I realized I needed to let Mom know that I’d be missing out on lunch after all. What was I even going to tell her? And Dad, for that matter. ‘Sorry, I got rather literally carried away by the train’? I felt a little guilty about that, but there was something about this girl that had just ended up pulling me along. I’d been taught not to get into cars with strange men, but apparently getting on a train with a strange girl was different.
We sat down next to each other as the train began moving. It had been a long time since I’d been on a train. I’d watched them plenty but rarely traveled in them. Perhaps because I so rarely traveled at all. I ended up sending off just a quick message to Mom, leaving coming up with a better explanation to future me.
My companion was looking out the window as the train moved, taking in the station one last time. I glanced at it but was drawn more into looking at her profile. As though sensing my eyes on her, she turned to look at me. I could feel my cheeks reddening, and she smiled all the while reacting similarly. Feeling embarrassed, I looked away, all the while feeling my heart beating faster than usual. However, I then realized that perhaps it had already been doing so ever since she first talked to me.
We didn’t speak, both of us content just enjoying each other’s presence for now, and soon the sound and vibrations of the train and tracks started lulling me to sleep despite my cardiac excitement. I’d gotten up early that morning, with little sleep the previous night. Whenever I knew I was leaving somewhere, I felt nervous and could barely sleep. But here and now, next to this strange girl – whose name I belatedly realized I didn’t even know – I found myself succumbing to relaxed slumber, despite supposedly being on an adventure.
When I drifted out of sleep an indeterminate amount of time later, I realized my head was leaning against my companion, and hers against mine. She’d also placed her hand on mine on the handrest between our seats. Unexpected, to be sure, but then... what about all this wasn’t? And it felt nice, soft and warm.
As the train kept taking us further and further on our spur-of-the-moment journey, I was lulled back to sleep.
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