Delays on the District Line

      “Do snowflakes feel cold?” The little boy looked to be about five-years-old, but seemed much smaller buried under his scarf and jacket. The swaddled boy sat up, leaning against the back of the subway seat, blowing hot air on the freezing window.

           “I don’t think they do. I think they like it,” answered his nanny, still scrolling through her phone, praying for service. By the frustrated faces of the other commuters, it looked as though they had the same problem. Delays on the line were normal this time of year, with the tracks freezing over, but she worried how long Jonty could hold in his balder after the apple juice he consumed at day care. Luckily, he was keeping himself entertained by watching the snowflakes fall.

           “Amelia, how many snowflakes do you think are falling from the sky right now?” asked Jonty.

           “I don’t know, mayyybbee, a million?” Amelia answered.

           “Nah-huh, I bet it’s 10 A-Million!”

           “ Maybe, 10 Zillion!”

           “Um, no, it’s probably more like 15.” Jonty confidently answered. Amelia giggled, “Oh, okay then, only 15”.

           Across the aisle, an elderly woman holding a small white dog smiled at the pair. “He is adorable,” she said in the uneven way older people tend to speak, as if their vocal muscles strain under the pressure of their own words.

           Amelia thanked her, and the boy turned to see who she was talking to. “Can I pet the dog?” he whispered to Amelia, very loudly that even the woman could hear. “I don’t know, you will have to ask her.”

           Jonty, never a timid child, stepped toward the lady and asked the question again. She smiled sweetly and nodded. Amelia did feel some hesitation to this interaction with the dog. She’d heard horror stories from other nannies involving untamed canines snapping at passing children, but this dog looked just about as old and harmless as his owner, and licked at Jonty’s hand while he gently patted its head.

           Another announcement cracked through the speaker, “Sorry about the delay folks, should have the line moving in no time. In the mean-time, how about some festive music to lighten the mode.” An instrumental version of Little Drummer Boy started echoing through the cars. A grown could be heard from a construction worker who was leaning his head against the support pole beside his seat, attempting to catch sleep.

           “Hey Amelia?” Jonty scooted back to his spot, “can you tell me a story?”

           Feeling slightly awkward by the idea of complete strangers listening in, she tried to convince to do other activities.

           “No, I like your stories, can you think of a new one?” She couldn’t resist his sweet smile and begging eyes.

           “Okay, how about this for a new story;

“Once upon a time, a witch lived in a cottage in the forest with her daughter. They had everything they needed. They were very content.

           One day, a handsome young man wondered into the forest and discovered the witch’s daughter picking herbs from her garden.

           The two began to talk, and quickly fell in love. The young man told her that he would leave on his ship the next morning. The witch’s daughter couldn’t bare the thought of never seeing the young man again, and promised to run away with him. He was so delighted at this news, and hurried back to make arrangements for her on the ship.

           Little did they know, the witch was listening to all that was being said, and she was furious. ‘You want to run away from me?’ The witch yelled at her daughter, ‘See if you can run away now!’ She pointed her long finger at her daughter, and sparks filled the air.

           The next morning, the young man returned to the cottage and called for the witch’s daughter. He heard soft cries coming from the pond, and rushed over to see what was the matter.

           ‘My love, why are you bathing at this hour, we must make haste to make the tide.’

           She looked up at him, with tear filled eyes, ‘I cannot go,’ she whimpered, ‘for my mother took my legs.’ The young man looked down and saw the fin of a fish connected to where he legs should have been.

           ‘Who would be so cruel to do this?! I will free you from this curse.’

           ‘I’m afraid you can’t, the spell is strong, not even the one who cast it can break it.’ She said.

           ‘Then I will carry you away from here, so you never have to be miserable and alone.’

           He lifted her from the pond and carried her toward the sea. But it wasn’t but a few steps before she cried out, ‘Please put me back, I cannot breathe!’

           ‘If you cannot be carried,’ the young man said while placing her back in the waters, ‘then I will dig a river that flows all the way to the sea.’ He grabbed a shovel from the garden and started digging.

           ‘But that will take ages, and your body will not survive the hard work.’

           ‘I don’t care,’ he answered, ‘I will do what it takes.’

           ‘I will not have you die trying to save me. Please stop, and just sit with me before you must sail away.’ The two sat and stared into each other’s eyes. As the sun began to rise over the horizon, the man made a declaration.

           ‘I can’t leave you, and I can’t take you with me, so I shall stay here. Build a cottage and harvest the land for food, and provide a living for you, that is all I want to do.’

           Overwhelmed with joy, but also saddened at by the loss of her love’s adventures, the young maiden gently cried in his arms.

           The witch, who again overheard the tow talking, was touched by what she heard. She could tell that this man truly loved her daughter and realized that her actions were not of love, but of fear. Stepping out from the cottage, the witch said, ‘I see the mistakes I have made forcing you to stay when you want to explore the world. It’s true, I cannot undo what I’ve done, but I can try to make things right now.’

           The witch pointed her long finger toward the edge of the forest and sparks flew. Out from the ground grew a stream, rushing between the pond and where the sea stood. ‘Now you can swim to the sea, and sail away together. Love each other, and share many adventures,’

           The young man and the witch’s daughter embraced and thanked the witch for giving her love and blessing. ‘I promise, we will come again and again to share our stories,’ the daughter told her mother.

           ‘I trust that you will,’ said the witch as she waved goodbye to the pair.”

Jonty sat silently, thinking over the story. Amelia noticed that quite a few commuters shifted closer towards them, or at least had their gaze on the nanny.

           “So, what do you think?” Amelia asked.

           “Hhhmm,” responded Jonty, “It was pretty good. It didn’t have a dragon in it like the last one, though.” And with that comment, he turned to stare out the window again.

           Another announcement crackled above them. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have a green single to move on to our destination.” The metal container lurched forward and a sigh of relief passed through all the riders.

           “Hey, we’re move’n!” Jonty exclaimed.

           “I quite liked it,” chimed the elderly lady across the way.

           “Pardon?” asked Amelia.

           “Your story, I liked it. You are quite good at that.”

           “Oh, thank you. It is an easy motivation technic with the kids.”

           “You should consider writing children’s books,” she told Amelia.

           “Oh, that would be great, but I don’t know.”

           The truth of the matter was, was that Amelia had been working on her undergraduate in creative writing, and would love to be a children’s novelist.

           The train slowed to a stop again, but this time it was to let customers off at the platform. The small framed women stood with her dog in hand, and scuttled towards the exit. Amelia waited for her to follow up with something like, “Oh, I own a book publishing company, you’d be great to add,” or “my son works in publishing, let me give you his number,” but she just continued off the platform, passed the closing doors.

           A coincidence like that would be to great. The fairy tale she just made up would be more likely. Still, hearing words of affirmation from a complete stranger felt reassuring. Sometimes Amelia questioned every decision she made, or her abilities in her work. Jonty never gave her the impression that she wasn’t that good of a nanny, and even his parents showed support towards her writings. This was her third nannying position, and the only one that didn’t leave her feeling miserable at the end of the day, although it had only been three months so far. It was about this time the parents showed their true attitudes toward their employees.

           A ping reached her phone, and a slew of messages coloured her screen. Most were update requests from Jonty’s mom, who quickly received reassurance that it was only a minor train delay that caused them to be late. Hidden amongst all the notifications was an email from an internship she applied for a year ago with a local newspaper. It asked if she had interest in the program, and requested to schedule an interview.

           Yes, finally, some reassurances that I am doing things right, she thought, I am so ready to get moving on this chapter of my career!

           The train pulled in to its next stop, which happened to be the one Jonty and Amelia needed. Jonty recognized that this was where they needed to be and jumped from his seat.

           “You should tell that story to mom, I think she’ll like it,” he told her. She held his small hand, as the step between the train to platform made him nervous, and answered him.

           “Yes, I think she might like it. But she might not like what else I need to tell her.” Whatever happened, Amelia knew she needed to be true to herself and what she wanted in her life.

           “Hey Jonty,” she asked of the toddler, “Why do you prefer stories with dragons in them?”

           “Um, because they are cool.” He answered.

           “Yeah, I guess they are.”

           “Do you like dragons?”

           “Yeah, I guess I do. I think I like anyone who goes up against one, knowing that it is hard, but they are brave anyways. I think I want to be like that too.”

           “Yeah, I like that too,” Jonty said, although Amelia felt pretty sure he didn’t actually understand what she meant.

           “Yeah, little guy, me too.”