On the Platform

Matthew had been waiting on the station platform for about half an hour, in the frigid night air. His jacket was done up to his neck, and his hands were buried fiercely in the fleece pockets for warmth. He thought back to what he had heard in the town.

“If you don’t like this place, and you want to go somewhere else, there’s a train station just out of town.” The round-faced lady had said. “That’s where I’m going. I’ve had enough of this town. Nobody knows exactly what time the train is coming, so if you want to go just be sure to be patient.”

“Nobody knows when it’s coming?” He had replied. “What if there’s no train?”

She looked sidelong, clearly wanting to start her walk. “My brother is there at the platform, and he said he’s certain the train is going to come. He wouldn’t say that unless he was sure. In any case, look around you. Do you really want to stay here? I’ve got to go, I’m late!”

The wild sounds of chaos had echoed through the streets, and a few blocks down, a car screeched its tires and gunned the engine, roaring across the night. Wild laughter and shouting echoed through the air. The festival’s chaos was in full swing. Matthew was glad to be out of the main drag. There the drunken merriment went without restraint. So, he had travelled outside of town, through a field of wheat, the lights of the town still visible, and shrill shrieks and cacophonic music reaching his ears. Eventually when he arrived at the platform, he found it was open air, a solid block raised up from the ground.

That was all a few hours ago.

Just then a man walked up to him, stirring him from his reverie. “You look like the cold is getting to you. Can I offer you a cup of hot cocoa? I brought a thermos.”

Matthew looked at the stranger and smiled gratefully. “Actually, I’d love that. Thank you.”

The man unscrewed the lid of the thermos, and then turning it upside down began pouring the cocoa in it. “My name’s James. What’s yours?

“It’s Matthew.” He said, taking the cup. “Have you been here long?”

“A while.” Replied James vaguely. “But I came prepared. I’m wearing warm clothes, and I’ve got this cocoa to share.”

Matthew took a sip, the warm liquid heating him from the inside. “How long do you think we’ll be waiting?”

“Well, the train could come right now, or we could be waiting hours longer. As I’m sure you heard, nobody knows exactly when it will arrive. To be honest, I’m glad it’s taking a while. Otherwise, I might have missed it.”

“How did you get here? Tell me your story.”

James looked down, his consciousness seeming to turn inwards. “Well, I had been part of the town’s revelry. There were four of us. It’s hard to say this, but we had been running around setting houses on fire for kicks. I don’t know why, we were all drunk and looking to cause some mayhem.”

Matthew’s eyes widened as he looked at him, but James continued. “When we got to mine, that was when I realized the damage we were doing. I pleaded with my friends not to burn it, but they ignored me.

James’s brow furrowed, and his eyes narrowed, as if seeing something flash before them. “I felt ashamed of myself and what I’d been doing. I realized that we were doing real damage; hurting people.”

James looked warily at Matthew, daring him to leave him. “I told my friends I didn’t want to be around them anymore. I wandered through the festival alone. But then a stranger came up to me when I was feeling so low, so depressed. He told me about the train coming tonight. He said that where it was going there would be a chance to start over. He gave me this thermos actually. I believe he’s just a bit up the platform over there.”

James looked to right and waved. “I think he’s just talking with someone else at the moment.” He sighed, and turned once again to Matthew. “What about you, what brought you here?”

Matthew took another sip. “What brought me here? I think it was all those days and nights slaving away at the office. My workmates were the same, except they would go to the never-ending festival afterwards to cut loose. They kept inviting me to go with them. ‘What’s the point of slaving away at work without any fun?’ they asked me. So eventually I agreed. That was when I saw it for myself. The madness, the chaos, the self-destruction. Then I heard about this train.” He motioned with his arm at their surroundings. “And now, here I am.”

James gave him a wary look. “I wish I had recognized it for what it was before I got involved. But I’m looking to leave it all behind. This is a fresh start for me.”

“It’s ok.” Said Matthew reassuringly. “What’s done is done. You and I, were leaving this place for good.”

There was a silence for a few moments, while Matthew drank the last of the cocoa, before giving the empty lid.”

A group of men and women further up the platform began to sing a tune. The melody was comforting to Matthew, and as he looked at their happy faces, he thought of asking James if he wanted to join them when he noticed two teenagers, a boy and a girl, standing at the back edge of the platform. The parents of the boy were pleading with him.

“Don’t go! It’s a bad place, keep waiting here with us!”

But the boy yelled at them. “Keep waiting for this train? That’s never showing up? Boring! The festival is better than this! Kate and I are leaving.”

The mother was beside herself. “Don’t do it! Don’t become a part of that world! We only have to wait a little while longer.

But before the adults could say another word, the boy and girl, hands held together, leaped off the back of the platform, and began running through the field of wheat back towards the town.

“No!” Cried the boy’s mother, but the two teenagers did not so much as look back. She fell on her knees and began to sob, with the boy’s father trying desperately to comfort her.

James seemed to be staring at his own feet. “Not the first I’ve seen of that happening, and it may not be the last.”

“Should I go after them?” Asked Matthew.

“It’s their decision.” Said James, his voice barely audible. “If they won’t listen to their parent’s, then they won’t listen to you either.”

The couple vanished into the darkness of the night, never to be seen again. The husband of the woman was now holding her against him, a dejected look on his face, as she cried into his shoulder. The wind began to pick up, rustling the leaves of the wheat field, threatening to penetrate through their thick clothes.

Just then, Matthew recognized the woman with the round face he had spoken with earlier that night.

He waved. “Hey, remember me?”

The woman walked over, her arms wrapped around her torso to fend off the cold.

“Yes, I recognize you. I’m Laura. Glad to see you made it.”

“It was a bit of a walk. But it’s good to be here. It’s a good crowd.”

“I was just talking with my brother, but he’s with some people further up the platform. And who’s your friend here?”

James’s face lit up. “I’m James. I was just talking with Matthew here about how he came to be here. If you don’t mind my asking, what brought you here?”

Laura shuddered, and brushed a lock of hair from her eyes. “I don’t know, I never felt like I could feel at home in that place. And I couldn’t lose myself in the festival, It just sickened me. When my brother told me he heard the train was coming, Immediately I thought, ‘Get me out of this place.’”

James looked down at his shoes again, lost in recollection. Their voices left wispy trails of steam in the chilly air. After a few moments, James shook his thermos lightly, feeling how much was left.

“There’s still a bit of hot cocoa left. Can I offer you some?” He asked.

“I’m alright.” She replied. “Some people further up the platform were making tea.’

Together they stood in the warm lights on the platform. Matthew looked around. Despite the recent abandonment the couple had just made, people were still banding together. Everywhere on everyone’s face was a look of hope, firmly fixed. The group who had been singing earlier began again. All around was the subtle air of expectation. However, he noticed there were some people sleeping on the seats at the train station.

Laura seemed to see where his gaze had gone. “Those people should be careful, if they sleep too deeply, they might miss the train when it comes.”

“I’m going to wake them up.” Said Matthew.

He walked over to the seat and put his hands on the shoulder of the man sleeping, shaking him lightly. The man’s eyes blearily opened, and then seeing where he was, he snapped awake.

“Oh, my goodness. I fell asleep. Thank you for waking me.”

Next to him was another man fast asleep, and Matthew motioned to him.

“Maybe try waking that guy up too.”

Laura looked at the sleeper with her eyes narrowed. “I think that one might be too far gone.”

The man put a hand on the other man’s shoulder and shook him, but nothing seemed to wake him.

“We’ll just have to leave him. Hopefully he wakes up on his own when the train comes.”

Laura shook her head. “It’s a slow business waiting for this train, but everyone here is so nice. And were all waiting for the same thing. But wait, what is this?”

A group of men were coming through the wheat fields to the edge of the platform. One of them yelled.

“Hey losers! What are you doing here?”

“Why aren’t you partying with us at the festival!?” Yelled another.

“You’re waiting for something that’s never going to arrive!”

One of them threw a bottle. It shattered on the platforms surface. Mathew looked at them angrily, then was surprised when he heard a kindly woman on the platform call out.

“Come up here with us! There’s still time! You can leave this miserable town forever!”

The man who had thrown the bottle yelled back. “What? Go up there and leave the party behind? No way! Why don’t you come with me back to the festival?”

There was shouting from people on the platform and shouting from the men standing on the ground. More things were thrown from the party of men. Just when Matthew was thinking about getting involved, the group turned and made their way back to town through the wheat field.

“Idiots.” Muttered Laura. “One day their going to realize they were wrong and we were right.”

James was thoughtful. “Maybe they just don’t know any better. I used to be like them.”

Laura reached into her jacket pocket. “I’ve got some biscuits I stashed into my pocket before I left my home. Anyone want any?”

“No thank you.” Said Matthew.

James eyes brightened. “Yes please. I was just starting to get hungry.”

Laura opened the biscuit packet and handed one to James, who was unscrewing the thermos again for himself.

As Matthew stood with James and Laura, he realized he was happy. Happy to share in the task of waiting with them. He realized how glad he was to have finally broken free of work slavery in town, how glad he was to have not gotten caught up in the wild carousing of the festival. Looking around he saw the warm faces of the people waiting on the platform. When the train came, he would be glad to leave this place behind.

He looked down the tracks out into the darkness. No sign of it yet, but he was willing to go the distance, waiting for as long as it took.