The Last Train

The fog was thick, blending with the puffs of steam from Connor’s breath. Frantically rubbing his icy hands together, he exhaled a breath of hot air. Connor anxiously awaited the arrival of the last train. He knew he had to make a change in his life. He had heard tales that the train could transform your life.  Boarding this mysterious train was his only chance. Word had it that the train would arrive at 11:59 PM at the last minute before a new day. He had to be vigilant about getting on the train quickly before the clock struck midnight.

An escalating whistle, reaching a thundering roar, sounded the train’s arrival. With a screeching stop, Connor knew it was now or never. He didn’t hesitate, longing for the warmth of the train as well as a desire he wasn’t late a second too long. He bolted from the hard rustic bench, clutching the handlebar of the door and taking a step into what instantly felt like a dream. Pairs of blood red seats with matching curtains pulled eloquently back from the windows, he stared at the empty train. Was he the only one who dared to see if the rumor was true?

Taking his seat halfway down the aisle, he was eager to find out how this mysterious train would change his life. Caught by surprise causing Connor to jolt in a freight, he saw that the windows showed brief memories of his life like a fragmented movie.  Confused and disoriented, Connor rubbed his eyes, hoping to see the world around him as the train departed from the train. This time-traveling experience did not take on a typical chronological story of his past. Moments from his childhood, adulthood, and back again were a mental strain, and hard to decipher any hint of reality.

However, he could feel the sensation of moving that grounded him slightly, knowing the train was indeed moving. The memory glimpses rushed so quickly that it was like being in a whirlpool threatening to take him under. Connor had to cover his eyes to protect him from the nausea and dizziness it was creating. He knew that he needed to watch, though, so through the cracks of his fingers, he peered out, watching the flashes of time before him.

Suddenly, the flashes halted to a specific memory several years ago. He took his hands off his face and watched being sucked into the memory as if reliving it all over again. Connor had woken up one morning, eagerly awaiting a phone call from his best friend, Drake. He remembered it well. As the memory unfolded before his eyes, he watched as he called Drake, only to discover the phone number had been disconnected. He saw himself bolting from the kitchen table to his computer to email him, only to find the email coming back undeliverable. He recalled the panic, which grew into a deep depression as the days went by.

Connor didn’t have to keep watching to know what happened next. He was transported to that memory that changed his life forever. He realized that he had never been the same since then, frozen with an emptiness that lasted to this present day. Connor felt completely empty, the life force drained from his heart. Could the train reveal to him the truth of what happened? He had no closure that he desperately needed. J

Drake did not live in the same state as Connor and discovering the address he had for him didn’t exist, he slowly lost touch with reality and remained emotionally trapped in that time of his life. He prayed this train would reveal the truth.

Startled yet again, he gazed at the paper that appeared on the table between the rows like magic, and then a pen appeared in the blink of an eye. He knew what he had to do. He knew the train was not going to give him the answers he wanted. Instead, the train was waiting to see if he was going to make his closure. Tears started to blur his vision as he wiped them away, taking a long, deep breath.  He wrote on the top of the paper, “Dear Drake, I don’t know where you went or what happened to you, but there are some things I need to say,” he wrote with knots in his stomach. The nausea was almost too much to bear, but he bravely took another long breath and poured his heart out on that piece of paper. Connor expressed his hurt, confusion, fear, and even his anger as each word was written. He didn’t hold anything back. He was raw and vulnerable in everything he wrote. When he wrote everything he needed to say, a small crack of a smile appeared on his face, offering him a bit of peace. He concluded with, “But I need to let you go once and for all. I need to move on with my life. You have stolen six years of my life, and I am taking it back again. So, I am at last saying my final goodbye and going to put the memory of you behind me. I will never know what happened, and I pray that you are okay and happy.  Goodbye, my friend. Sincerely, Connor.” He sighed with relief that he hadn’t had in years.

He felt the jolt of the train stopping and looked again out of the window. It was still dark outside, and he stared out at the same lonely train station from which he had got on the train. Looking down at his watch, he saw that it was still 11:59 PM. He had never left the station, and time halted the minute he got on the train. He got up and walked to the exit, inhaled a breath of newfound strength, and stepped out when the clock struck midnight. It was the beginning of a new day. When he went to sleep that night and woke up later that morning, he felt like heaviness had lifted. He was no longer frozen emotionally and trapped within the memory of his past. He felt a flood of peace and felt his spirit rise to life once again.