You inhale
and open your eyes.
The first
thing you notice is the empty seat across you; the sunlight and shadows playing
a game amongst themselves in a rapid tempo. Taking a look outside, you see
foliage of various green shades and just beyond that you can make out hills and
meadows.
Laughter
fills the air and you can hear people chattering away. Of course, there’s
someone crying, although why you had to reason it with an ‘of course’ leaves
you wondering why. Regardless of the situation you are in and how you
surprisingly feel like you have been sitting there forever, you have no clue
how you got there.
As you sit
pondering there, your hands neatly folded on your lap and your eyes entertained
by the passing view, you notice a figure moving towards you and you look up.
It’s a boy
with headphones in his ears wearing a black cap and a grey hoodie. He pauses
for a while in the aisle, right next to the empty seat across you, and you find
yourself hoping he will sit down. After all, all the other seats in this carriage
are occupied but he moves on and disappears into the next car. Funny how the
seating arrangements are two seats facing each other and not the usual four.
It strikes
you as odd; you’ve never been on a train like this, but you didn’t have much
time to think over this as a pretty boy with a fair complexion approaches
you.
Again you
find yourself hoping he will sit down since you’re starting to feel a little
bit out of place, being the only soloist in the carriage, but he passes by
again.
A third guy
enters the carriage and starts looking around.
You sit
straighter and realise your hair is a mess so you straighten it up a
bit and pat your skirt neatly. As he walks down the aisle, you make eye contact
with him and both of you exchange smiles.
“Hello.” You
say.
“Hi.” He
responds.
Before you
can get another word out though, his attention is brought elsewhere and he
spies an empty chair in the corner. He leaves without a word and you feel sad. It could have been him.
You turn
your attention back to the passing scenery. No more hoping for someone to take
the seat.
Other guys
pass by in the corridor and some even pause near you but they don’t look like
good company with that bottle of beer in his hand or that noisy looking toy in
his pocket. Not once did you look up when they stopped until they finally leave
but you just give them a quick glance before looking back at the scenery.
I have had enough for today.
You close your eyes as you feel the warmth
of the sunshine bathing you in a sleepy stupor.
“Excuse me.”
Your eyes fly open and it takes a moment
for you to register what is happening. The bright yellow light now pale yellow
with, if you were seeing things right, flecks of gold and orange. A mysterious
light indeed. Next to the empty seat across from you stands a guy in a grey
jacket.
“Is this seat taken?”
You shake your head and smile at him,
hoping it’d put him at ease and that he will occupy the seat. He returns the
smile and placing his bag in the overhead compartment, he takes the seat across
from you.
Both of you make eye contact and exchange
smiles again before you both look out of the window.
You didn't get a clear look at his face but
you remember that he has dark brown eyes and a dimple on his right cheek.
Glancing from the corner of your eyes, you see that he has dark brown hair as
well. In his hand he holds a book.
Looking down into your own hands, you
realise you’re holding a book as well. Why
didn’t I notice this before? Looking back up, you see that he is completely
absorbed in nature’s beauty. You settle back in your chair and look outside
again.
“Where are you going to?” Did he just ask
you a question?
“Sorry, are you talking to me?”
“Well, you’re the only one here aren’t
you?”
Until then, you didn’t realise that the
entire carriage was empty except for the small compartment that both of you
occupied. Somehow, that makes you feel happy. But then you also realise that
that wasn’t the only thing that you didn’t notice.
“I don’t know actually.” He turns to look
at you, his eyes wide in surprise.
“You don’t have a destination?”
“I have a ticket. That much I know, but I
never checked it again after I got on here.”
“Guess you just know when you have to get
off, huh?” He smiles at me and leans back in his seat. “Same here.”
He has big eyes and a straight nose. His
lips look really full and he scratches his head when he forgets what he’s about
to say. You like the flow of the conversation and in the mysterious golden
light, he looks like a god. This stranger makes you feel comfortable.
At every moment you find yourself trying to
sit straighter and you play with your hair constantly as words are exchanged.
He mirrors your movements, straightening his jacket and fiddling with his hair.
“Hungry?” You ask and take out a wicker
basket from under your seat, surprised you knew that it was there. He nods his
head, never taking his eyes from the basket which produced a variety of
sandwiches and a thermos filled with sweet tea. There is a slice of cake as
well which the both of you polished off as soon as the sandwiches disappeared.
“Thank you,” he says with a childish grin.
You can’t help but smile back. “You’re welcome.”
Silence fills up the space between both of
you again as nightfall approaches and you find yourself getting sleepy and your
head keeps bobbing up and down.
“Can I read what’s in your book?” His
question catches you off-guard and you find yourself breaking out in a cold
sweat despite not knowing the contents of the book exactly. You hesitate and
look at him.
“Only if I can read yours.”
Striking a deal, an exchange of books took
place and for the next hour or so, both of you poured your souls into reading the
book in your hands.
“I’m sorry.” You look at him with tears in
your eyes. He gives you a tired smile and places your book in his backpack. It
doesn’t bother you that he just took it without asking you. You did the same
anyway, keeping it in your backpack. “I’m sorry too.”
As the train pulls into a station both of
you get out of the carriage and walk out of the building towards a quiet town.
In the shadows of the trees, walking down a
familiar looking path, both of you continue to stride easily, side-by-side.
It appears you have arrived at a sea.
Both of you sit down on the sand and watch
the white moonlit waves rolling, the wind making a mess of your hair, your hands
entwined and your head on his shoulder. Silence again.
“I love you.”
He shifts slightly and you feel his fingers
on your face, gently turning it so that your eyes meet again and as he lowers
his lips to yours, you hear the words you know you have been searching for.
“I love you too.”
