Fated Connection

She stood on the platform. Her phone in her hand. The screen was still. A simple picture, saved for the future. She wanted to meet him. The person who was always there. The one she was somehow attached to. Why they had begun switching bodies they never found out. She was in his body. He was in hers. Their lives were distant, and ever so close. Their connection deepened through their interactions. Not just with one another; but those around them while they inhabited each other’s lives.

“Will he even recognize me?” she wondered as the train pulled into the stop.

She boarded and took a window seat. Far in the back, yet not so far as to hear the connection between the train cars. Glancing out into the sun glazed meadows she wondered if she would be able to find him. The city where he lived. Her mind was hazy from their last switch. But she remembered its towering buildings. Its many different roads. She had gotten lost while going to his employer. Thankfully, he was not fired for her mistake. He left directions on his desk for the next time. She didn’t have that problem in her quiet mountain town. It was peaceful. Everything was within walking distance. Very little commotion. Everyone knew everyone.

“I think he enjoyed it. The peace and serenity.” She smiled to herself as she glanced at her reflection. Her mouth smiled, but her eyes cried.

Traveling through the ranges of mountains and valleys, the forestry quickly overtaking the landscape, she glanced down at the photo which was still on her phone. It was a mirrored image of the boy. She had done the same thing for him. They had agreed to it, but her heart still ached with a different desire. She didn’t want to see a picture. She wanted to see him. She wanted to know the person whom she had been. Feel his touch in her own. Connect in a more genuine way.

Dark clouds overtook the forestry. Overlapping her worries under the cover of darkness. It was as if nature was trying to communicate to her. She turned to face the shadows overhead as the tunnel quickly approached. As the first few drops of rain fell upon the glass, she felt something stir within herself. The uncertainty within herself did not subside. Like the cold rain, she could almost feel it, slowly draining her.

The tunnel provided a safe haven for her worries. No rain could abolish her here in the stone carved mountain range. Through here lay the city. Glancing at her watch she saw it had been almost an hour since she began her journey. She didn’t care about the distance. The journey’s end was what she wished for. As the train rushed through the cavern, she closed her eyes and drowned the worry from her being.

The light of the tunnel’s end brought about a new scene. One of towering structures and vast rocky plains. The rain once more pounded against the window. A cold rush came over her being as the cold air rushed through the cracks in the doors. Hugging herself she tried to focus. He had to be here, somewhere; anywhere. She would find him in this life. The train pulled into the station. The rainwater bringing a wave of cold energy towards her as she stepped off the train. Rushing to the cover along the platform she glanced around. Crowds of people around her, going about their usual day. None of them resembling the person she sought.

Turning to the stairwell she began her search. Though she wore a jacket, the water still lingered with a cold embrace. Though the water was cold, the smell of its aroma was pleasant. It was full of freshness, new beginnings. She knew the refreshing feeling well. She took it as a sign to continue onward.

Through the city she looked. Searching for any kind of landmark. A sign. Something she could recognize. Her mind was hazy. The images of her past experiences blurred. Nothing was making sense as she continued walking through the rain. Several people seemed to notice her stares of worry and came forward to give their assistance. She politely declined their offers, unsure of where she was going to begin with.

“The number you are trying to reach cannot be connected.” The message rang through her phone for the third time. The sky was turning. The sun was descending. Her hope was fading. Returning to where she began, she sat on the platform. Her gaze forward. Her expression still. Once the train arrived, she boarded silently.

She gazed out into the patterns of the rain, wondering, thinking. How peacefully the sounds they made. The rattle of the train as it zipped down the line. The constant tapping of the droplets washing away, washing away every impurity on the glass. A cell phone rings in the background. She pays it no mine, she doesn’t even notice. The people out the window going through the streets hurrying in the rain. She wondered what their names were, where were they going? What was their story. Would the rain wash them all away with the passing of time. Or would their names be remembered by the one who wrote the patterns of the rain. The image was peaceful. And then, it was gone. Fading away…fading away…fading further away.

As the train rushed down the passing’s through the mountain tunnels, she held her head down. She could not find him. She was ashamed to think she could. It was like searching for a single stone along a mountain path. As the rain pelted the emerging train, she kept her eyes focused on the photograph. His calm smile. His dark hair. His radiant blue eyes. She felt a tear roll down her face. It was water, like the rain outside, but unlike the rain, it shinned with feelings of longing.

The train pulled into her stop. Her broken being stumbled through the door. Onto the platform. And there it shattered. Tears streaked her face as she fell to her knees. The rain embracing her in an evermore destructive way. She fell deeper and deeper. Darker and darker.

“Are you alright?”

The voice was calm. The words empowering. Turning to the source a light of hope shattered the darkness.

The boy stared at her with a calm smile. His dark hair refracting the light which penetrated the clouds overhead. His blue eyes shinned like the clear crystal snow.

Their eyes met. Their expressions changed. Their tears streaked uncontrollably. Their words flowed like the fresh mountain stream.

“I know you.”