A Train Ride

Her luggage was light, her arms had no issue carrying the parcel up the train station stairs. Arriving upon the raised concrete platform, she easily found a bench to rest at. She overlooked an empty station, one set of tracks across from her seat. The young lady waited patiently, and breathed in the cold morning air.

“What are you doing here, Miss?” A man's voice startled her from behind. She turned around to see a broad figure dressed in a black conductor's uniform. His face scowled down at the girl.

“I'm waiting for my train, of course.” She answered matter-of-factly. She forced a small smile trying to ease his suspicion. When his expression did not soften, she moved her suitcase closer to her legs.

“There won't be another train coming through here for a few hours,” he corrected. “Most prefer to enjoy their time in town while they wait, and then head to the station at the very last moment. I'd suggest you do the same.”

She shuffled her feet, but did not rise.

“I suppose I'm just really ready to go.” She argued. The conductor shrugged in indifference, and went back within the station shelter. She waited, as the station around her stood still until slowly more passengers made their way to the platform. Eventually the blaring horn could be heard and the locomotive finally rounded the corner. She plucked up her suitcase and strolled over to the boarding gate, claiming the first position in the queue.

“We have priority boarding for the elderly, and for children.” The conductor barged in to be a nuisance again, and gestured to the young woman to step aside. She obliged, and watched as the conductor processed each of his ‘priority’ passengers - examining their ticket and checking their name off his list.

“Last call for priority boarding!” the conductor called out once his queue had been quelled. No more passengers headed for the conductor, but he continued an uncomfortably long pause nonetheless.

“I think it's time then, wouldn't you say?” the young woman shared her dumb smile once again, and approached the conductor. She handed over her ticket and, with luggage in hand, stepped forward to board.

“Now wait a moment Miss,” the conductor blocked the path with his arm. “The ticket isn't for this train. Your trip isn't meant to be until later.”

He returned the ticket to the young lady, and returned his attention to the next passenger. But the young woman was growing impatient now, and would not lose her determination so easily.

“Well, we're all going to the same place. Couldn't you make an exception?” She pleaded. The conductor looked through his list, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry Miss. I've got a full manifest today; no extra seats.” the conductor explained, looking up at the woman, “Like I mentioned before, I'd suggest you wait in town until your boarding group is officially called.”

And wait she did. The young lady went back to the bench she had found this morning within the station. She waited as the conductor boarded the remaining passengers, and the coach door was pulled closed. She waited as the train horn blared once again, and as the train disappeared from her sight in the distance. She waited all night, until a familiar voice woke her from her light slumber.

“Did you really stay here all night?” the conductor questioned. “I told you to go back to town. You're not allowed to stay here!”

“There's no rule stating I can't!” The woman gave him a rude glance for waking her. She laid her head back on the bench's armrest and attempted to rest. Perhaps she would have fallen back asleep, had the scraping noise of concrete not approached her. She opened her eyes and before her stood the conductor, looking proud aside an impromptu sign he erected.

“No loitering?” She read the sign. “You can't be serious!”

“Your ticket is not for today's train either, Miss.” the conductor started. “This is no place to wait in the meantime. Have you truly accomplished everything you had hoped to in town? You understand your ticket is only a one-way trip, yes?”

The young woman pondered his question for a moment, then let out a sigh. Her facial expression dropped and she lowered her gaze. The conductor noticed her hesitation.

“I've done all that I can bear to.” She finally muttered, still holding her ground. The conductor would need to be more clever to get this one out of his hairs.

“Let's make a deal then,” the conductor devised. “You run back to town. There's this candy shop at the corner of Main Street and Pleasant Drive. I haven't been able to go there since I started working as a conductor but they have the best chocolates. Bring me some next time you come to the station, and I'll see if we have any free seats.”

The conductor had hoped this would buy him a few weeks, perhaps even months, to be free of this persistent passenger. However, the young women took their deal to be a promise, and arrived the very next day with a bag of chocolates. She smiled her dumb smile at the conductor, and passed the bag off to him. He confirmed that they were indeed his favorite chocolates, through ample taste testing, and began reading through today's manifest. He shook his head once again.

“No extra seats today, Miss.” The conductor saw the women's shoulders slump. “Why are you so eager to board anyway? Most people your age I have to drag onto the coach kicking and screaming.”

“Like I said, I suppose I'm just ready to go. I've got nowhere else to be. Could I not take the spot of someone not ready to leave?” The young women spoke in a defeated tone.

“I'm afraid that's not how this works.” The conductor consoled, not without another trick up his sleeve. While savoring his earthly sweets, he concocted his next plan:

“I haven't been to the Eastside park in ages. The town had just planted a cherry blossom tree the last time I was there - would you be able to bring me a picture of what it looks like now?”

The young woman obliged, and brought in a picture the next morning. But her efforts appeared to be in vain again as the train was full. And so that is how the young woman and conductor went on. He would ask for the items he missed most from town, and she would return shortly with the parcel in stow. A batch of homemade soup one day. A synopsis of the new theater pieces one week. A set of the moon's phases one month. A collection of her favorite fallen leaves one autumn.

The young lady would return less frequently, but she would always return. The conductor feared that she always would, until the day she did not bring her luggage along. They sat on her favorite bench, relishing the latest savory snack brought in from town.

“When is my train departing?” The young woman asked. ”I know you cannot tell me the exact date, it is meant to be a surprise. But could you give me a hint? Is it today? Tomorrow? Do I have weeks? Months? Years?”

“Decades, Miss.” The conductor signed and stood up. It was time to board another group of passengers. The woman nodded, acknowledging that the conductor must complete his job. He approached the train without giving out a new task, and she left the station without needing further instruction.

Time passed slowly for the conductor. Each day brought a unique set of passengers, some fighting him on their way to the final destination. Without the thorn in his side, days turned to weeks, weeks to months, months to years. And yes, years into decades.

Time passed smoothly, until the day the conductor noticed one of his passengers was missing. Every train or two has someone tardy but today was pushing truant. He rang out his last call signal, and almost started to close the coach behind him. He saw a head with grey hair poke up from the station's staircase. An elderly woman approached the conductor, with a small bag in her hand and a dumb smile on her face. The women passed off the parcel, and finally boarded the train.

“I’m sorry I'm late,” she started. “I had to grab your favorite chocolates on the way out!”

Death smiled back, and straightened his conductor's hat. After all this time, the sweets were indeed still his favorite.