Last Stop

Last Stop

Alyss pushed herself back into the seat of the train as she looked out at the landscape blurring past. Was there anything better than traveling by train? She asked herself. No responsibility, no anxiety of all the other drivers on the road. Just being able to get from point A to point B without any worries, all travel should be like this. 

She stood up and looked at the large window in front of her. This particular car had individual rooms. It consisted of a couple of padded benches facing one another and some shelving atop the seats for any personal items. It added a sense of privacy especially nice if you were traveling with others or if you wanted some space to get some work done on the commute.

Of course part of the experience of train cars, in whatever form they took, was the opportunity to meet or get to know other people. At this thought, she slipped her hand in her back pocket and pulled out a card.

Like the windows of the train the card had rounded corners, made from a thick card stock, almost as rigid as a credit card. She held it tight, it looked worn and new at the same time, as if it was designed that way, but it was pristine when it was given to her. It had a white border around the edge and a black tartan design across the face. Lines of different thicknesses, crisscrossing in rectangular patterns. Some of the lines were shiny black, others were dull, and some were raised so there was a slight tactile feel to it.

On the one side of the card were the words, Last Stop printed in a white font that that made Alyss tingle as she read it. It was so vibrant almost as though it was pulsing against the black textured background. On the other side was a sentence that read: Before your Last Stop convince another that the next stop is theirs. She took hold of the card by opposite corners holding it by the edge between her middle finger and thumb contemplating it before flicking it and watching it spin effortlessly and silently. 

How long had it been? How many others had she seen come and go? How many stories had she heard? She remembered the day she came to the platform in her small town… 

——

It was the third night she had spent at the station. It was surprising, a long-shot in fact that she found some food in the trash bins. It was a train, she thought to herself, you could just take the food on with you… She got someone who had re-wrapped the food they bought before tossing it, a full cheeseburger and some cold fries, unspoiled by anything else in the bin.

She thought it strange at first, what was the point of eating now? Maybe it was the habit, maybe she needed the strength to work up the nerve. She wasn’t sure, being hungry was not new to her, but maybe it was the feeling of just finding something edible that made her eat.

Anyway, her aunt would have no idea she was gone until one day going into Alyss’s room again to search for money or food, she would see the room undisturbed then who knows how she would handle it. Maybe even longer if her boyfriend at the time kept them supplied long enough. If they always had their next fix ready they barely paid her any attention. But if the two of them were too strung out to get groceries or make it to their job that was when she would come scrounging.

It was the only reason she was there, she learned that pretty early on. She pretended that she was a loving, doting Aunt who would do anything for her niece after the accident. It wasn’t long before Alyss realized that her aunt could care less about her family, she was surprised she even stayed clean long enough to make it to the funeral. 

She understood now why her mom spent such little time with her sister. Some families are close, some pretend to be close, and some are as far apart as can be. Her mom and aunt took two different paths. She saw her mom making an effort to keep some sort of connection, while the rest of the family gave up and kept their distance.

Her mom’s motives were questioned so often, “Why do you even bother?” “She is self-destructive and will bring you down with her!” “Even your parents have given up on her!” “Think about your daughter.” It turns out these were the reasons she tried to help so early on because she was alone. Everyone had given up on her so quickly. We can all use a hand from time to time and some might need more help than others, her mom once said to her as a child when she came asking about Aunty Elsee. 

Unfortunately, as time went by she couldn’t ignore the influence that her sister might have on Alyss so the connection was severed. The only info Alyss ever got from that point came from listening to one-sided conversations on random phone calls, or gossip from other family members and her mother would squash it quickly from the guilt she felt.

Her mother was a saint, and to see that side of her also decide her fate was something that would never make sense to her. She would have helped anyone who came to their door, “Treat thy neighbor” and all that. Alyss had no basis for comparison but hearing someone being raped must be as horrific as seeing it right? She was rooted to the spot as her mother’s safeguard was triggered by the words, “My husband’s a Cop!!” Alyss froze at the bedroom door when she heard this. It was just the two of them, her mother would say. “We don’t need anyone else!” Always accompanied by a wink and smile. “But if you ever hear me say those words loudly! What do you do?”

“I find a place and hide until it’s safe!” Alyss would say back quickly from years of repetition. But how was she to know when it was safe? The man left afterward without a thought to the rest of the house. The silence seemed to last forever as Alyss listened for her mother to call her down but it never came. 

Hours would pass before she found herself sitting on the front porch, red and blue lights silently spinning in the driveway, a rough blanket wrapped around her shoulders and her mother’s body covered in the front hallway. Child Protection Services quickly came and ushered her away that would be the last time she ever saw that house.

Her aunt was quick to come and get her once she was contacted, she didn’t ask for any details, or what had happened, and if the person was caught, nothing. She had simply become so accustomed to violence In her own life that she simply said, “These sorts of things happen all the time. Best to just move on and accept it.”

It wasn’t long before Alyss saw the lifestyle that her aunt was accustomed to. Strange people coming and going, empty alcohol bottles everywhere, drugs and all the paraphernalia that came along with it sitting in any available space it could find. Everything was just strewn about, except for her bedroom. Her Aunt thought she was being responsible by letting Alyss lock her door. In fact, her aunt constantly told her to go in there and keep the door shut, as if that was enough to hide her away from the debauchery that was happening just feet away every night and every day. 

Her aunt had a key of course and when things weren’t going her way her aunt would raid and seize anything that Alyss had stashed away, It was her right after all, for taking her in out of the kindness of her heart.

Alyss’s despair had manifested into a belief that life was some sort of penitence for everyone. Very few ever got or deserved happiness, most were here so that the few could use them as the benchmark to understanding how lucky they were to not be someone else.

She remembered apologizing to her mother for being another person to leave her sister in the dust. She wasn’t even sure what she was doing, was she running away, or was she planning something else? The answer came the third day after spending the night in the bathroom at the station. Her food and money had run out days ago hence her visit to the station in the first place. A public spot that was open to everyone.

In the short amount of time that she was there, she had seen so many people at their wits’ end, some who were trying to escape something, some who were indecisive about what their next move would be, some who wanted to know how far the could go on this train. And that was when she met him. 

He had snuck up on her as she was shaking a vending machine that had a loose chip bag in it

“Would you like me to get that for you?”

She jumped at the sound of his voice and stumbled to the floor. 

“I’m sorry,” she said getting up and dusting herself off. “It was paid for already and I am just so hungry.”

He stepped forward and pulled a set of keys that were on a retractable wire from his side and began flipping through the keys.

“Yeah sure, give me a sec,” he found the key he was looking for and unlocked the rectangular metal lock and the door swung forward. He caught the chip bad as it fell forward and passed it to her. “Here take some of these as well. I have to replace them soon anyways and they’ll be tossed in the garbage.” He slid out a few Milky Way bars in one of the candy slots and passed them over to her.

“Oh, uh thank you.” She replied and tossed them in her backpack.

“Are you on your way out?” He asked, closing up the machine.

She was caught off guard by the question, “Uh, sorry?”

He motioned to the platform where the trains pulled in, “Are you heading off somewhere tonight?”

“Uh, I am not sure actually.”

He gave a small nod of understanding.

“Well, I think you should.” He said as he fidgeted with his belt.

She was not sure what was happening, who was this stranger telling her what she should or should not do. “Why would you say that? You don’t even know me.”

“No, you’re right, but I do know what you’re looking for and your answer is on that train.”

He said it with such confidence that she suddenly found herself wondering what would happen if she just hopped on the train.

“Listen, I know where you want to go.” He began again, “And your destination is on that train.”

“I don’t think you understand,” she began to say.

“Oh, I do.” He interrupted her, “You don’t want to go anywhere am I right?”

This man mystified her, how is it that she feels like she knows him or trusts him? “Who are you?!” She asked 

“I help people get where they’re going. And the real person you need to talk to is on that train. You have reached the end of your rope, right? You want to go to a place where no one can go with you right? Maybe there is someone already waiting for you?”

It didn’t take long to see he knew exactly what she was planning and that realization let the anxiety come pouring out. It wasn’t anything she said it was all over her face. He put a hand on her shoulder. “There is no reason to feel guilty, it is fine.”

“Fine? What do you mean fine?” She asked like she knew what she wanted was a sin.

“All I can say is there is someone on that train who has a secret just for you.” He pulled out a little ticket held it between his two fingers and motioned again to the platform.

Without thinking she took it from him his fingers then looked back at him and he literally faded out of existence in front of her eyes.

She made her way onto the platform moving as if something was pulling her. But she was sure of herself, she knew what she was doing, everything seemed right and she got to the edge of the platform she looked to the right to see a train suddenly pulling in.

The doors slid open and she stepped in holding the ticket in her fingers. Looking around for someone to give the ticket to she saw someone sitting in the car. As took the first step towards them, the doors slid shut and she felt the ticket also fade from existence.

“Hey there,” said a gentleman who looked extraordinarily plain.

Alyss walked forward and he motioned the seat across from him. She came in and sat down feeling the motion of the train as it picked up speed.

“So you are looking for your last stop, huh?”

She still couldn’t help the guilt that came with this realization, and she just nodded her head at him and that was when everything changed.

“Well thats good because I have a secret just for you.”

 ——

The card that was spinning withing Alyss fingers came to a stop, she got up and went to the large rectangular window that had the countryside whizzing past and placed her fingertips on it. She began to press slightly until she felt a heat in her hands, suddenly the landscape I front of her froze. She then swiped her hands to the left and the entire scene changed like the screen on a phone. She was now facing a night sky crowded by the lights of the surrounding buildings.

She turned as she saw the train car slowly change before her eyes, the framed pictures melted into the walls and became plastic-covered ads surrounded by hinged metal frames. The carpet below her feet now solidified into a scuffed metal floor, and right by her foot a pole rose out of nowhere and attached itself to the ceiling. The large bench seats mutated into individual molded metal seats that swerved and swiveled until they latched themselves onto the walls of the train car. 

In a blink of an eye she found herself on an El Train in New York City. She smiled, it had been a long time since she had been to a big city. As the final items snapped into place the scene out the window popped into life and they were suddenly pulling into a station. She grabbed a seat and placed her foot on the grab bar next to her and waited.

The doors slid open and boy stepped in probably a few years younger her, she felt saddened suddenly. He turned and saw her sitting there, he looked confused and as he stepped forward the doors slid shut and the train began moving. He blinked as the ticket that was in his hand suddenly disappeared.

He looked at Alyss and she motioned to the seat next to him. He came and sat down very unsure of what was happening. 

“Hello there,” She said

He nodded back at her.

“So you are looking for your last stop huh?” She said to him. 

“I can’t. I don’t.” He stumbled over his words. “I just want to leave this place”

She gave him a nod and said, “Well that’s good cause I have a secret just for you”

He looked at her hoping what she was about to say would make everything make sense.

“You are in the right place. If you want to get to the last stop you can do that peacefully and painlessly here. Without judgement and no one will try and change your mind. But there is one thing that you must do.” 

The boy listened intently because nothing would break his resolve. “Before your last stop, all we ask is for you to convince one person who comes on to this train to get off at the next stop forgoing their ‘last stop”. After that, you will be taken to your last stop no questions asked. Painless, no fuss, and if you happen to change your mind as well as someone else’s that is fine too. How does that sound?”

 “No problem.” He said accepting everything as it was.

She smiled at him took the card out and passed it to him. It changed as it entered his grasp, looking brand new again, and changing colors and designs. The writing was the same but in a different font. It seemed so alien to her as she let go of it. He felt the change in him as he took from her.

“There is always time for change,” She said to him. “I wish you an easy transition, there will be things to learn as you go, accept it and enjoy it you might be a different person before you last stop.”

He looked at her and nodded, The card in his hand, tingling. “How long have you been here?”

She shrugged at him.

“So is this your last stop?” He asked looking out the window as the train car began to slow down.

She was also looking out the window at what now awaited her and said. “Actually yeah, this is definitely my last stop. The car came to a halt and the doors slid open. The two of them nodded and she stepped onto the platform. 

The End