Dinosaur Train

The distant chatter. The train wheels turning. the rumbling of the carts behind me. It was all comforting in some type of way. I was on a journey forward to a smaller town in Russia named Miass, from what i’ve heard it is relatively nice but I was still rather anxious about moving to a new country. I had another 7 hours to go and I was starting to feel a bit tired. I open my bag and take out a stuffed animal my grandmother had given me. It was a dinosaur, a small green T-rex with two tiny little arms and a comically large head. I begin to cuddle with it and slowly drift asleep.

 It always reminded me of my grandmother, I miss her quite dearly but I know she’s in a better place now. Her name was Emmeline. She was a wonderful woman. Beautiful, charming, and sweet and she could always find a way to make you smile. She sure made me smile a lot. I lived with my grandma for all of my life I can remember. She always seemed so cheerful and happy. It made me jealous that she could be so positive after everything no matter how bad it was. She would always find the good in any situation. Like when my first  cat had passed, she died of old age poor thing. 

My grandma looked at me with tears in my eyes and gave me a big hug and said in my ear “we can never keep them long enough!” in a joking manner. It made me giggle. “Do cats go to heaven?” I asked her. She replied swiftly with “oh of course they do honey. I don’t see how our little tater tot could not go to heaven. She was such a joy to have, she was oh so cute.” Our cats name was tater tot, if you couldn’t guess I picked out the name when I was only 6 years old. Tater tot was a bright yellow or peach color hence where I got the name from. 

Enough about my cat. Grandma Emmeline was what I would call my best friend when I needed one most. As she got older she had grown weak but tried not to show it as much as she could. She was a fighter to say the least, a strong woman. I loved her with all my heart. I looked up to her my entire life no doubt. But with a weary look on the doctors face she told me my grandma, Emmeline Elise Beckwith had passed. I didn’t believe it. I never did until a month later when I realized that she isn’t here. She isn’t here to bring me a tissue to wipe my tears, to sit beside me and listen whenever I had a story from school or to tell her about a book I had just read. 

It was heartbreaking. I could never forget about her. She would always tell me about her childhood. It seemed like she never ran out of stories. She also used to tell me a lot about where she grew up. Well that’s where i’m heading now, Sitting on this cold train seat in the middle of January. it’s been a cold cold winter. i’ve always loved the snow, it always brings me a smile when I see it out of my window. Watching the snow fall onto the ground slowly collecting into a big white sheet in my front yard was comforting.

Abruptly, i’m woken up to the sound of the brakes hissing rather loudly. Voices start to raise and people start to stand up, crowding the middle of the cars. A voice over the speaker tells us to sit down and that everything is okay. The snow had piled up a tad too much on the upcoming parts of the track. We come to a complete stop and sit anxiously for a minute or two. The man over the speaker announces that we should be back onward shortly. I rest my head against the cold foggy window and put on my headphones, Yet it isn’t enough to completely silence the commotion going on. 

When I was nothing but a child, my grandmother would  always tell me that I was a bright young lady.  She told me I was the most beautiful thing she has ever seen. I couldn’t help but blush and smile as she gave me a wet kiss on the cheek and tucked me into bed. I can’t believe i’ve fallen asleep with the same dinosaur stuffed animal as I have for the the last 16 years, but how could I sleep without it. Right now it is the only thing that I have that my grandmother has given me. I left most of my stuff at home with my mom and brother. 

My brother was always a cheeky little boy. he’s 5 years younger than me and we’ve always seemed to get along. He’s a teen boy alright. Always pulling pranks joking around and such  around the house and at school. He is very dear to me and I do my best to keep him safe. He begged my mom to let him come with me on my trip. “please please I promise i’ll bring my grades up I have to go!” he pleaded. “like you’ll do that, your sister is an adult and she can do what she pleases but you sir best get your pajamas on, it’s nearly time for bed.” 

I chuckled and proceeded to pack my things to leave the next morning. I wonder how he is doing right now. Probably in trouble again as usual. I wake up yet again  to the loud feedback of the speakers. The train comes to a vault and people’s voices raise as they talk about how excited they are to finally breathe some fresh air again. My legs feel weak granted i’ve been sitting down for the entire ride here. I slowly stand up, supporting myself with the long plastic chairs railing, and make my way towards the door. 

Pushing through the crowd of people I look out the window to see huge frozen lakes and beautiful icy landscapes. My eyes light up as the door slowly creaks open letting the noisy passengers out. I walk out of the train and am met with the tall lobby area of the train station. I take a look at the  beautiful paintings covering the walls before stepping outside into the cold Russian air. “wow.” I whisper to myself opening the glass doors stepping outside. 

i’ve never seen a prettier sunrise in my life. The birds are chirping for they have just woken up, the sun bouncing off of the white powdery snow, and to top it all off the glistening lakes with nearly transparent water. I hold my luggage in one hand and my stuffed animal in the other and go forth into my new future.