The Arrival...?

Dried leaves and broken twigs rustled, as the rushing feet of passengers alighting from the old train scattered them from place to place. The swoosh swoosh of the softly raging wind also added a background sound to the entire ambience of the evening.

Unbothered by the wind and the cold, I stood by the old, and partly dilapidated ticket box and watched. From where I stood I had a fair view of the entire train station, or what was left of it. Most importantly though, I had a clear view of all the passengers as they stepped out of the train, and trudged off in the direction of the exit.

From where I stood, I saw almost everything and everyone. But there was really only one person I wanted to see...

I closed my eyes...

Image by Hands off my tags! Michael Gaida from Pixabay

"A penny for your thoughts."

Lost in my reverie, I hadn't heard her approach, and in my startled state I had involuntarily spilled the coffee I held in my hands.

"Oh, sorry about that." she mumbled. I noticed she was doing all she could to suppress a laugh.

"What's funny?" I asked. It was difficult for me not to giggle a bit too as I turned now to fully face her. Anna's laughter had always been infectious.

"That.. that's funny." She pointed at my stained shirt as she chuckled openly without attempting to hide it anymore.

I realized what it was... My shirt had the inscription "Hard Guy" written across the chest, and obviously I had been startled by her arrival and thought-intruding comment.

"You should be thankful the coffee was no longer hot" I hit back at her, trying to save a little face. But that didn't help though, because her laughter only increased.

"Hard Guy indeed..." she chuckled, holding her stomach and bending forward as she kept on laughing.

I joined in soon enough, I couldn't help it. Everything about Anna was infectious. Her laughter, her eyes, her voice, the weird way in which she smiled...

"All passengers for the 6.15 train, please proceed to board."

The voice of the announcer calling the passengers serenaded the train station, and momentarily took the humour out of both our minds. Anna stood steady now, and fell into my waiting arms.

"Please tell me to miss my train" she whispered.

"Miss your train" I whispered back.

She smiled... that smile that had the power to melt the "Hard Guy" in me more than any startling scenario ever could. I gave her a light peck on her lips as the smile slowly faded.

"Don't go." It was my turn to plead.

She placed her one finger on my chest, and the smile returned.

"Don't be a soft guy now." she chided. "I will be back soon. It's only two weeks."

And I had chosen to be a hard guy, and I bid Anna goodbye...

That was seventeen years ago...

Now the electric trains were more in vogue, and little to nobody took the coal powered trains anymore...

They still worked nonetheless, but like the train station, they were old shadows of what they used to be...

I opened my eyes as I heard the last approaching train grind to a noisy halt.

...

From where I stood, I saw almost everything and everyone. But there was really only one person I wanted to see... But she never came...

I watched the last passenger trudge away... the wind swooshed, and the leaves rustled...

I picked up my nostalgic thoughts, and started for home. Tomorrow after work, I will be here again...