The Train
Long ago I moved to "the city" after being in a shitty little town all my life. I pictured myself hanging out
and getting drunk with my friends in a high condominium. I quickly realized that I didn't have the money
for any of that since I just moved out from my hometown.
I found an afternoon 8-hour shift at working "security" at one of the big museums. I was bored to death
everyday - no crime syndicates to bust. Figured it was better than going back to my hometown as a
failure who couldn't survive in the big city.
After several months of just instant noodle and loneliness I decided to go out drinking. No one cared
about a stranger in a security uniform except for the bartender who saw a loser drowning his sadness in
cheap whiskey.
It was well past midnight when I walked like one of those alcoholic zombies. I somehow made it to the
station but it was oddly dark and all the lines were marked inoperative. There was no one in the station
and the gates were all open. I thought it was my lucky day and waddled on to the platform without a
plan. The air felt thick with something that made my heart felt unpleasant.
Shrugging, I boarded the train that arrived whining relentlessly. The cabin I got into was mostly empty
and felt old. I sat in the corner wishing I had something to read knowing my phone just died. As the train
lumbered on people started filling in but everyone just stared down ignoring each other. "Typical big city
peeps" I thought in my mind.
After a while I noticed that my stop still hadn't arrived. A thin teenager made his way towards me and
sat opposite to me. He had a tired smile that didn't match his age. "Going somewhere?" he asked in a
soothing voice. I just rolled my eyes. Nodding, he looked around and slowly turned to look into my eyes
again. "This train isn't for you" he whispered suddenly.
I was about to yell at him to leave me alone because my mind wasn’t straight at that time before I
noticed everyone was suddenly staring wordlessly at me. As my panic rose, the teen muttered "you
should go now". The train suddenly stopped, all the passengers raised clawed hands with long black
nails pointing to the door. Terrified, I rushed out as soon as the doors opened.
I was right outside my apartment. Was there always a station here? Not caring, I ran to my tiny bed and
passed out. The next morning I wasted the night to drunkenness, but I still felt uneasy. I felt like didn't
belong here. I went back to my town.
I'm happy now. But as I'm drifting to sleep I still hear the noise of that train, and see the weary smile of
the pale teen.