The 9:15

Mark turned his head as he heard a soft thud next to him. Another man nodded to him briefly before sitting down. Silence quickly filled the air. It was late. The station was between busy periods. Long past the time the nine-to-fivers would need it, but not quite late enough for the late shifters to need it. Mark broke the silence first.

“Waiting on the 9:15?” He asked, turning towards the man.

The other man nodded but didn’t say anything else. The silence quickly filled the air again. This was no good. It was one thing if he was alone, but another thing to sit in silence while someone was there. Mark cleared his throat.

“Any particular reason?” He prodded.

The other man let out an exasperated sigh. “Look, Buddy-”

“Mark.”

“Look, Mark,” the man said scornfully, “I didn’t come here to be interviewed.”

“What’s the point of sitting in silence,” Mark said, shrugging. “Train doesn’t get in for another half hour. Talking would at least kill some time. Besides, what do you got to lose?”

The man grunted vaguely but still didn’t speak. It was obvious he wasn’t thrilled to have a company while he waited. Mark sighed.

“You got a name at least?” He asked.

“Frank,” the man grumbled.

Mark nodded courteously. “Nice to meet you, Frank. So what brings you here for the 9:15?”

“What brings you here, Mark?” Frank asked, annoyed.

“Alright. Fair’s fair,” Mark said, smiling. “I’m here because my wife cheated me. With my uncle of all people. Can you believe that?”

“Your uncle? Really?” Frank said, finally turning to look at him.

“Yup. Got off work early and caught them in bed together this evening. Of course, she tried explaining, saying it’s a mistake and all that bull. Come on though, how do you even try to justify something like that? Honestly, I’m more impressed with him than anything else,” Mark said, shaking his head. “I know she’s a looker, but the old man has to be about seventy by now. Didn’t even think he could get it up!”

The two men chuckled at this. Mark looked at the ground and shook his head. Frank nudged him gently, finally smiling.

“Well, you don’t seem to be taking it that hard. Why are you here?” He asked.

Mark shrugged. “Ah, I dunno. Maybe my body realized what was going on before my mind did. My mind was a mess when I saw it, I didn’t know what to think. My body just up and left the house. Didn’t even bother to process what she was saying to me. My mind was still trying to process everything, trying to think of how I could salvage what was left of our marriage. My body knew it was already over though. Didn’t even try to wander around aimlessly, it brought me right here.

I’ve been here for a couple hours now. I think my mind’s finally come to terms with it. I don’t care anymore. I just want to get out of here now, and quick.”

“Wow, tough break,” Frank commented.

“Yeah, but that’s enough of my yapping. Your turn. What brings you here today, Frank?” Mark asked.

Frank opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it again. He turned to look at the wall. He stared at it silently for a while. Finally, he sighed and buried his face in his hands. He dropped them to his lap and turned to Mark with a sad smile.

“I wish I knew. God, I wish I knew,” he said, shaking his head. “If I had a reason to come here, then it would all make sense. I don’t though. It wasn’t just one thing. It was everything and nothing all at once. If I had to give a reason? I’ve never been happy. 

I guess my life is pretty average. I have an okayish apartment, my job pays well enough, some friends. I got nothing to complain about really, but I’ve never been happy. I don’t think I ever will be happy. That thought just hit me today.

I walked by the tracks just now and all I could think about was: ‘Wow, how nice would it be to catch the 9:15 and just get away from it all?’ So, here I am. No sob story, no real problems to speak of, just a guy who’s not happy. Probably sounds stupid, huh?”

“Not up to me to judge that,” Mark said, shrugging. “Your reasons are yours and mine are mine. At the end of the day, we’re both here to catch the same train. Who knows, maybe we’ll even end up in the same place.”

“You know what? That actually sounds kinda nice, Mark,” Frank said, smiling.

The horn of the train blew in the distance. The men both turned toward it. They could vaguely see its lights up ahead. Mark checked his watch and chuckled vaguely.

“What do you know? Damn thing’s on time for once,” he said, shaking his head. “At least we can end things on a good note, right?”

“Sure can,” Frank said, laying across the tracks. “I think I might actually like you, Mark. Tell you what, if me and you do end up in the same place, I’ll buy you a beer when we get there.”

Mark laughed and laid across the tracks himself. “I might just take you up on that offer. Think they got beer in Hell?”

“Not sure, but if they do, it can’t be that bad of a place” Frank joked.

The men laughed. The train’s horn drowned them out as it became louder and more frantic. It was obvious the conductor had seen the men by now. He could honk all he wanted, they weren’t going anywhere. The brakes squealed shrilly as they desperately tried to stop the train, but there was no stopping it now. The 9:15 was pulling into the station right on time. 

Both men turned their faces to the sky and smiled as the first stars began to appear in the sky. They didn’t know where this train would take them, they only hoped it would be somewhere better.