As the man pondered his next move, a force of tranquility overcame him. It was like the sultry voice of thought had entered his roller coaster of thoughts and made itself comfortable in the front row. His nervousness subsided, and as he took a deep breath, he knew that this awkward moment between the two wouldn't be alleviated by merely standing stationary. He turned and casually approached the girl, and scrambled the first thought that came into his mind of what to say.
"That looks like a lot of luggage for you to be carrying around", he said as he came to a stop on the platform; a slight smile taking his lip.
"Yeah, but I think I'm managing pretty well so far" she reciprocated. "I just hope this train gets here in time" she continued.
He chuckled slightly. "That makes two of us"
"Yeah, I suppose it does. Where are you headed?" She asked.
"San Francisco" She replied, "What brings you to Union Station
"Chicago; nothing special."
"What do you mean nothing special? Chicago's the second best city in the world; right behind the big apple, of course. Come on, indulge me, why the Windy City?"
The man knew why he had been going to Chicago. His family was there, and the real story behind why he had to make the journey was something that he felt might put a damper on her already seemingly distressed day. On this, he knew that he had to keep it short and sweet.
"I'm just seeing the family, and doing a little sight seeing. I haven't been there in a few years." He replied to her.
"Sounds like they'll be looking forward to seeing you, being that it's been a while", she said.
He let out a small passive chuckle as he responded.
"Yeah, I'm sure they'll be thrilled" he said; a slight glaze overcoming his eyes. "Care to tell me why you have so much luggage? Seems like your trip is more than just a vacation."
"Yeah, I'm going out there for a while. I have a friend that I'm staying with", she replied in a slightly solemn tone
"Mind if I ask why?"
"I just needed a get away, and I figured, what better place than on the completely opposite end of the country?" she explained. "Haven't you ever just wanted to get away, from everything?"
He looked down to avoid giving her a tell that would open the gates to the river of thoughts flowing through his mind upon hearing that question. He refocused the conversation on her.
"The greatest city in the world doesn't seem so great to you from what I'm hearing."
She focused her eyes directly on his, as her seemingly distressed complexion was fighting back a smile that was pushing its way to the front, eventually enveloping her lips for a few short seconds, followed by a light sigh of humor.
"It has its ups, but it also has its downs."
Before she could continue, the unmistakable rumble of an approaching train shook the platform beneath their feet. A train horn played three short bursts, and the familiar sound of the ringing bells filled the tunnel as the passenger train made its way into the station with the screeches and groans of the breaks bringing the train to a slow stop. The doors opened, and just like that, the rapid flow of the city above broke the silence of the platform, now filled with a plethora of passengers, most rushing to their next train, and trying to gather their baggage. It looked like an organized chaos, and as he looked back at her, he could see her boarding the train.
"What cabin are you going to?" He asked hastily.
"I'm going to second class" she replied. "Come by later if you'd like. Train rides are pretty boring."
"I might take you up on that -- what's your name?"
"Sarah; what's yours?"
"Brennan."
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
The Train Station - Part 1
It was a day like any other in the heart of New York City's Grand Central Station. The halls were filled with the echoes of conversation, and the occasional sound of a train making its way through to pick up the next round of riders to take them on their way. The faint smell of copper and marble filled the air with a trademark scent that brought back the illustrious history of this great land mark with each breath.
On the platform, a young dapper gentleman talked on his phone while he waited for his train to arrive. As he paced about, discussing business and other things, he looked to the end of the platform impatiently to check for the familiar site of headlights approaching. After no such success, he panned his vision over to the scheduling board. 15 minutes late. As he began to think about whether or not it should be a crime for a train to be this late, he turned and faced the turnstiles which seemed to have an ever-lasting flow of passengers entering and exiting in a hurried pace. It was at this point that something wonderful happened.
As he pondered his limited options, a woman caught his eye as she made her way down the stairs. She was a beautiful creature, with a long, brunette flow, beautiful creamy skin, and a captivating smile that was accompanied by entrancing brown eyes. To him, she was perfect, and suddenly, the delay became irrelevant to the man as he looked as if she was an angel making her way down from heaven.
She had three very full bags, and as she approached the platform, he immediately adored her as he watched her throw everything down with what he thought was the most beautiful face of frustration he had ever seen. As he saw her look up after checking her phone, he broke his gaze so she wouldn't notice him looking. She hadn't noticed him staring until she took a glance down the tunnel, much like he did, with no success. In a way he thought he was being clever, he turned himself and waited for her gaze to return to her phone; only he had under-estimated the time that this would take, as when he looked her way once again, she was staring right back at him.
Just then, a feeling with the force of a thousand hammers landed on his chest, and he could feel his heart skip a beat. They quickly broke their gaze, and soon after a powerful silence took him over, accompanied by a million thoughts that he was not sure how to handle. The moment seemed original, but awkward simultaneously. As he stared at the home screen of his phone, he pondered his next move.
On the platform, a young dapper gentleman talked on his phone while he waited for his train to arrive. As he paced about, discussing business and other things, he looked to the end of the platform impatiently to check for the familiar site of headlights approaching. After no such success, he panned his vision over to the scheduling board. 15 minutes late. As he began to think about whether or not it should be a crime for a train to be this late, he turned and faced the turnstiles which seemed to have an ever-lasting flow of passengers entering and exiting in a hurried pace. It was at this point that something wonderful happened.
As he pondered his limited options, a woman caught his eye as she made her way down the stairs. She was a beautiful creature, with a long, brunette flow, beautiful creamy skin, and a captivating smile that was accompanied by entrancing brown eyes. To him, she was perfect, and suddenly, the delay became irrelevant to the man as he looked as if she was an angel making her way down from heaven.
She had three very full bags, and as she approached the platform, he immediately adored her as he watched her throw everything down with what he thought was the most beautiful face of frustration he had ever seen. As he saw her look up after checking her phone, he broke his gaze so she wouldn't notice him looking. She hadn't noticed him staring until she took a glance down the tunnel, much like he did, with no success. In a way he thought he was being clever, he turned himself and waited for her gaze to return to her phone; only he had under-estimated the time that this would take, as when he looked her way once again, she was staring right back at him.
Just then, a feeling with the force of a thousand hammers landed on his chest, and he could feel his heart skip a beat. They quickly broke their gaze, and soon after a powerful silence took him over, accompanied by a million thoughts that he was not sure how to handle. The moment seemed original, but awkward simultaneously. As he stared at the home screen of his phone, he pondered his next move.
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