Olivia's Journey

"All aboard, get tickets ready please people", ding ding went the train bell, then the whistle sounding off, Olivia scrambled with her suitcase to her seat, while others behind her pushing and moving quickly also to get in before the train left. It was hot, sweat portruded from her forehead, she wanted a cold drink of water right now, the air thick with people boarding. At last, she found her seat, by the window. Olivia wanted a window seat, she longed to have a good view on her trip. She would visit her cousin in the mountains in Alberta, taking a much needed break from the arduous city life and work.

"Tickets ma'am?" A young steward asked her, as she fumbled in her purse and showed him her pass. It was Saturday morning and Spring break for the students. This was going to be a noisy ride, to say the least. Olivia sat deeply back into the seat, people were talking loudly on their cell phones, two rows behind her a baby was wailing unhappily while the mother tried to coo him down. And then, the train slowly pulled out and began to move forward, the other trains in Central Station remaining still. Through the city it went, the buildings and the concrete jungle disappearing behind them.

"Anything to drink or eat miss?" The young steward returned, moving up and down the skinny aisles with his skinny cart, reaching down to take some bags of peanuts and pouring cups of wine, juice or pop for the passengers. She happily took a bottle of water and the peanuts to munch on. She had brought her own lunch, and would have dinner later before retiring for the night in the sleeper car. This journey was going to be 3 nights long, the longest ever for her.

"Where are you heading? I am going to Vancouver, all the way for a job interview." A young girl said beside her, chewing gum too loud and wearing jeans with rips in the knees. Her purple and pink hair was offering more attitude to go along with her clothes, and the gum chewing. Olivia preferred to just sit and watch the world outside her window. 'Please be quiet, I dont want to talk the whole way.' She wanted to tell the girl beside her. She remained silent.

Towns and farms and Industrial area's dotted the land now, the sun starting to set as she ate her dinner in the dining car. The greasy hamburger and fries was disagreeable and she wanted now to go to sleep.

"Can you show me where the sleeper cabins are?" She asked the young porter, and he led her down the busy skinny aisles into the next two cars over, past the smelly cooking area's, some passengers were laughing loudly and having drinks. By now, Olivia was exhausted, the over crowded train bearing down on her, corroding every being of energy she had left.

"Here you go miss, can I get you anything else?"

"Some chamomile tea would be nice, thank you." Olivia replied, her voice barely a whisper, her stomach upset. The tea would be soothing and calm her down.

"Oh no, seriously?" She exclaimed, she then realized the gum chewing girl was her roomate for the night. Thankfully she had the top bunk, and after she settled herself in she closed the curtain. Gum girl was in the shower but she recognized the suitcase with the cartoon stickers all over it.

OIivia : Brie, on the train now, going to sleep, cant wait to see you.

Brie : Me too cous, get here fast

Olivia: This train is jam packed full, will be nice to get off it soon.

Brie: We are going to have a blast!!!!

Olivia: Nite dear cousin. See you in a few xoxo

And thus ended the text messages to her cousin. This was going to be a long trip.

The next few days were not much different nor were they much better. Passengers got more restless, constant moving up and down the aisles, the porter constantly taking more orders for food, drinks or otherwise. One man got louder and louder.

"Ok sir, you cannot have any more alcohol, we feel you have consumed more than your share." the security guard told him. The large man got up angrily, ready to shove the guard aside but was pushed back down in his seat again. He decided he was going to stay quiet. Olivia breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, magically, the outside scenery began to evolve, redundant prairies showed mountains, thick woods surrounding them. Snow capped tops painted the skies, the train roaring into picturesque sights of nature, hot springs, through Calgary they went on, the mountains in the far distance growing bigger as they journeyed deeper into Alberta. Olivia was taken away by the wildness and even saw deer running into a field, wild and free their graceful beauty timeless.

"It would be nice to take pics", she said under her breath. Gum girl was texting and had her earplugs in, a pile of candy bars on her crotch - she now wore sweat pants and a tank top. Olivia chose to ignore her altogether the last few days on this busy train, thankfully, gum girl didnt care either way.

Olivia had planned this trip awhile back, she hadnt seen her cousins in a very long time, work had kept her busy. Toronto was a jungle of traffic, crowds and humid hot summers, she was so excited to get out of there and see the beautiful mountains now. Once she was at her cousins, she planned to take plenty of pics. She had no idea when the next time she would be able to do this would be. Not for awhile. Now, she was finally almost at her destination, and would embrace her cousins and their kindness. The Western mountains would show no mercy at giving of their powerful beauty. She knew she was right where she wanted to be, this was worth the wait in gold. Her heart was beating fast now, the train finally stopped. Once again, the busy signs of the passengers came to life as they got ready to get off. ............