Alexander was the last person aboard the train, he was getting a connecting journey at the next town onward to his final destination but it was rare that a train could stop at a station with only one person getting off. The sky outside was a murky grey, like swirling paint on a canvas, and the countryside scenes that the train flew past were equally as grim. There wasn’t a sign of any hills or trees, no houses or lakes, only dead grass for as far as he could see in any direction. As far as he knew he wasn’t far away from his connecting stop but he struggled to imagine how anyone could live in a part of the country like this.

The train eventually slowed down, the brakes squealing as Alexander’s destination came into view on the horizon. A small village, far from any other signs of civilisation, in the middle of the vast, empty countryside. There were very few buildings with the most visible being the spire of the church encircled by old looking homes and shops. Alexander checked his phone confirming to himself that he had no signal out in the middle of nowhere though he wouldn’t be surprised if the town was so backwards that no one would have access to any modern technology.

Finally stopping to a halt, with no fanfare or announcement, the train had arrived at the village. Alexander looked out of the window for a moment, curious about the village. The station was little more than a facade, a single wall on either side of the platforms without a roof or a bridge connecting either side. On the opposite side of the station was an archway cut into the stone wall that followed a cobblestone path leading into the village. Through it Alexander could see the church and the buildings surrounding it but there wasn’t a sign of a single person.

Alexander stood up from his seat and grabbed his things from the rack above his head. The conductor walked through the cars of the train and jumped when he saw Alexander on his way out, dropping his ticket machine in the process.

“Pardon me sir.” He apologised, bending over to pick up his machine again. The man was old and struggled with his joints, holding onto the chairs on the inner side of the gangway for support. He stood tall again with an out of breath huff. “We don’t often get people stopping at Whitestone. Connecting, are ya?”

Alexander nodded in response, saying very little as he put his coat on and grabbed his briefcase in his left hand.

“Whereabouts you heading?” The conductor asked as Alexander walked towards him, heading for the doors to the exit of the train. Alexander didn’t appreciate the number of questions, he liked to keep to himself and especially didn’t appreciate those who constantly asked questions of what he was doing.

“Ironwall.” He spoke firmly, giving only the quick answer to avoid the conversation dragging any more than it needed to.

“Not another train to Ironwall for a couple of hours.” The conductor replied with a much more chipper voice but it did very little to open up Alexander any further.

“I know.” Alexander replied, squeezing past the old man, not paying him any mind as he walked by. He peered through to the next car, unsure he’d ever seen a train so empty before. He opened the door and stepped down onto the empty platform, the drop from the train to the stone beneath his feet being much larger than he had expected. The train stood out as the most modern part of the scenery but it wouldn’t be around for much longer. Curiously, just as the village looked empty from inside the train, there didn’t appear to be anyone at the station either. There were no guards or conductors milling around doing their job nor was there anyone waiting to get on the train. The station was empty and just as he’d been the only passenger during the journey he was the only person on the platform too.

He sat on an old wooden bench on the platform, placing his briefcase on the ground by his side, and it flexed under his weight with a loud creek despite Alexander not being too heavy. He adjusted until he found a comfortable position to sit in, the wood groaning with every adjustment. The noise of the train's engine swelled up around him as it gradually took off again, going back in the direction that he had arrived from. It would be another few hours before Alexander's next train arrived and there appeared to be very little to do in the station. He picked up his briefcase and popped open the latches, swinging it open. Inside were documents for his work that he thought he should check through a final time whilst he waited for the next train to arrive. As he flicked through the pages and scanned over their contents the sound of tapping came into earshot. In the corner of his eye Alexander saw an old man walking towards him. He didn't turn his head to look at the man directly hoping that he'd walk past but to Alexander's dismay the man sat to his left on the bench. It tilted every so slightly down the middle of the short bench as the man lowered himself using the cane in his hand.

"Goo'day." The old man spoke with a friendly tone. Alexander looked up from his papers and eyed the man in more detail. Alexander guessed that he was in his sixties from his thick grey hair and deep set eyes.

"Morning." He replied. What stood out most to Alexander was that the old man was missing a leg below the knee, specifically his left leg, replaced with a wooden peg that looked like it had been fashioned from a rotting plank of wood. Alexander couldn’t help but stare despite how rude he knew he was being.

“How did you lose your leg?” Alexander asked, realising it was the only way he could redeem his first impression. The man looked down at his leg, almost like he’d forgotten it was missing and had to check for what Alexander was asking about. He chuckled much to Alexander's confusion.

“Oh, I didn’t lose my leg. I was born without a leg.” He said as he rapped on the wood with his knuckles.

“Sorry to hear that.” Alexander replied instinctively, though it was clear that the man didn't seem to be too bothered by his situation.

“Don’t be, I’ve never had a left leg so it’s not like I miss it. Besides, no one in the town has a left leg.” Alexander paused, unsure how to respond to that statement.

“Excuse me?” He asked with absolute bewilderment, almost waiting for the old man to tell him that he's joking.

“It's true. Everyone born in this town is missing their left leg, clearly though having two legs helps so we all have to put up with these instead.” The man said matter-of-factly, the honesty in his voice was clear and although this was the only person Alexander had met since arriving he still trusted the old man.

Despite considering himself well versed in all sorts of parts of the world, Alexander wasn't sure he'd ever known something like a whole village of people all sharing an identical physical disability from birth. It was unlike anything he'd heard before and he didn't imagine that many people would think it was something possible. His mind immediately raced to assuming that there must have been some incestuous cause for this alement. A genetic deformation that has come about by the lack of genetic diversity amongst the villagers what with them living almost entirely out of touch with the rest of civilisation. He had to be sure though. “Everybody? There’s not a single person in the village with a left leg?”

“Aside from you?” The man joked, playfully kicking Alexander’s left leg with his only foot. It seemed that Alexander didn't take to the jab quite as well as the man had expected as he recoiled his leg in reflex. “Not that I can think of.”

“There must be people who’ve moved here with both their legs though.” Alexander proposed trying to makes sense of what the man was suggesting.

“Lad, ask yourself why would anyone move from a big city to a town like this in the middle of nowhere? We can’t grow our own food. The nearest hospital is an hour’s train journey away. There’s no television or telephone or internet. Why would anyone want to move here?” The man laughed as Alexander's face only grew more confused.

“If you understand why the village is so bad, why not move somewhere else?” Alexander blurted out without really thinking about what he'd said. “No offense.”

“You’re not one for listening, are you?” The old man asked. “I don’t miss any of those things because I’ve never had them, same way I can’t miss my leg. I’m old and I’ve lived here all my life and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” The old man lifted himself up with his cane.

“Are you catching a train too?” Alexander asked watching the man stand up.

“Oh, no." He said, shaking his head with his eyes closed "Just passing by to wish you best.” The old man walked off out of sight followed by the echoing of his wooden peg leg. Alexander had no interest in following him. The sound of old hinges and a wooden door opening caught Alexanders attention but by the time he'd stood up from the bench the sound was followed by wood clattering on stone and there was no sign of the old man wherever Alexander looked. Somehow he'd vanished, almost as mysteriously as he appeared, leaving no trace he was ever even there. Alexander had to contend with the very real possibility that he had just imagined the whole thing,

He realised that he hadn't eaten since the start of the train journey and if he was going to wait he'd need to find some food. He'd assumed that there would be a small cafe or a vending machine at the platform he waited at the facilities at the station left much to be desired. There wasn't even a sign of any toilets. Picking up and packing away his briefcase, he'd decided it best to go to the village to see if he could find a place to buy food even though he had to mentally prepare himself to expect not much choice. First however he had to work out how to cross to the other side of the platform, there was no bridge or crossing nor did the platform slope at the end. Dropping down to the track below wasn't the best option for Alexander but he had very little choice. There were ladders on either side of the platform for him to climb at least. He looked around in both directions, checking to make sure there weren't any trains coming, before stepping down to the platform and committing to crossing.

It was difficult to climb down the ladder with the briefcase in his hand but eventually he dropped down onto the pebbles, causing a splash of stones by his feet. He stepped over each of the metal tracks, making sure not to touch the metal directly incase it was live, until he reached the other side and began to climb. The other side of the platform rose into view as he climbed and looking this low to the ground, Alexander noticed just how clean the platform floor was. It hadn't been cleaned, it was covered in a layer of dust, but there wasn't a sign of a dirty footprint or a crumb of food. It was almost as if it hadn't ever been used, like Alexander's footsteps were about to be the first on this floor in years. Stepping up onto the platform, he dusted off the cobwebs he'd collected on his way climbing the ladders.

Through the archway almost directly ahead of him was a cobblestone path that lead to the centre of the town. Walking through the arch there wasn’t much else to see, the church stood tall and proud on the direct opposite side of an open courtyard to the train station. In the centre of the courtyard stood a single tree, its long roots pushing the cobblestone into uneven mounds off the ground. In a circle around the courtyard were a few small buildings. What looked like a grocery, bakers and butchers on one side and a library and wood workers on the other. Nothing modern, just like the rest of the town, certainly not what Alexander had come to expect from any of the towns he’d stopped in on long journeys before. The paths branched out on either side of the church, bending around the other buildings and each other where there were rows of small homes. Like cottages, very beautifully made, but completely out of touch with time.

Most importantly however it was empty. Alexander couldn’t see a single person walking down any of the paths or in any of the windows. He walked for some time, admiring the craftsmanship that had gone into each building but it didn’t look like anyone lived in any of them. He found it hard to believe that was the case but equally didn’t want to go knocking on random doors asking if people were around. He was just passing through in this town after all, no point bothering the locals.