Train

- Good afternoon, old man ,  but by any chance do you know where the train station is ? - a blond and broad – shouldered young man showed up, just in front of the newsstand, where the old man was reading a newspaper, comfortably ssitting on a patch worked pillow over a bench seat.

- are you , young man, a foreigner ? It looks like, because I only the tourists or the foreigners visiting the country do not know where the train station is – moving his removable and plastic teeth from.one side to the other of his mouth, like a ball.

- yes.

- where are you from?

- From the coast – and the handsome young man took a termo with hot  coffee from the payback.

- Coast? – and the plastic teeth almost fell from his mouth – where the sun shines 24/7 ?

- exactly! - almost smiling – I am from California, to be precise – sipping the coffee from the bottle, while taking a look at his watch.

- well I think I still can recall the first time I went there, with a bunch of friends from my school, and there was a lovely young lady , you know – moving his hand in the shape of a woman body – really hot !

- sorry sir, but somebody told me that there is a train departing in maybe one hour, and I would like to catch it ..

- young man – serious and pointing his finger to the palm of his left hand – the next train departing from the train station will be tonight, as the train rails are blocked by the heavy snow that fell two nights ago. They fell in the middle of the night, and many trains did not leave for their destinations, as the mayor had resigned so nobody cares about it . Take a look in this paper:

“ Mayor resigned in a chaotic city situation"

The young man looked at the newspaper.

Read it.

Bend it, in two.

Wearing a dissatisfaction face, besides taking a deep breath, he hit  his forehead with the bent newspaper.

The old man, put a chair beside him, as he was seeing the young man with his eyes wet, and a tear almost falling from his angry eyes.

- would you like to take a sit , young man ? – the old man asked, compassionately speaking In a low voice while taking another patchworked pillow for the bench seat, and tapping it to make him seat, as there were no other thing to do.

- will you wait for the train? – the old man asked, still in a list voice.

And the young man, with his lost eyes sipping the coffee, answered in a low and resignated voice :

- I think so. I do not have any money to get na airplane, so my last chance is to take the train but it will be tardy.

- so sit here – the old man tapped the seat again, and offered a candy for the young man.

- thanks you are very kind, but the thing is that my wife is having a baby in California, and I wanted to take part in it, as the delivery will be made inside the water – and the old man was looking at him, paying all his attention, to the point that he stopped to make his plastic teeth move inside his mouth.

- really ? – asked the curious old man

- really – and the young man finally sat, carrying his payback beside his belly.

- do you have other kids , maybe ? 

- no. This is the firstborn and I would like to give him my name.

The old man opened his eyes, deducing the obvious : he was not the father.

- so you are not the father of this baby? 

- yes I am  but my wife had another person, I mean, another partner as we broke the relationship many times 

- I see – and the old man scratched his forehead this time, trying to understand the plot of the life of this man – so, you needed to be there...

- yes, but the train will be late. So, tell me, sir – looking deeply at his eyes – what can I do – as the old man,  going back for about two centimeters  deeply looked at him.

- sorry young man , but if I were you  I would do the same.

- What else can be done ? ‘ the old.man asked with a lost voice and lost eyes, as there were no answers to be given in that moment.

The young man, keeping his madness behind his disappointment reflected in his low gaze, covered his face with his two hands bent over the leg.

The old man, stared at him, and deeply touched by the sincerity of the young man, comforted him by caressing his head, saying

- that’s o.k., young fella. Everything is going to be fine. You had to be sure about that. This faith us what is going to keep you alive. Is what you need right now – the old man said that very gently, almost whispering to his ears, so he could not be hurt by any chance. 

The young man raised his head and trying to dry his wet eyes and cheeks with the sleeve of his shirt, he thanked the old man with his eyes as well as with his words.

- old man, you are the kind here. Your kind words are giving me hope that everything will be fine and I will not loose anything, including my stupid pride, the one I am feeling right now.

Without your kindness – and the young man took the hand of the old man – I would never have the strength to keep going, to stand up and go for the things that are really valuable, like this friendship that is burning right now.

I have to thank you, from the deep of my heart and my sincerity, as you knew how to read my feelings and to card about a foreigner that must wanted one answer, and you gave a lit more than this: you gave your heart. And this, old man, is awesome, is something that I needed to have in my life and you gave me freely, as a gift.

I will.never forget you – and the young man embraced the old man.

But – taking a look at jus watch, - do I have to be taking my way to the train station ?

- that is the way – and the old man pointed the north where the train station was supposed to be. 

Go straight two blocks, turn right one block and there you are. 

- thank you – and they waved goodbye , hugging each other.