It was early, “it was always early about this time, funnily enough” he thought to himself. He lifted himself out of bed and walked to the bathroom. With a quick tug he turned on the light and examined himself in the mirror.
Within 20 minutes he was at the front door, ready to go. He locked the door of the little flat and walked the half mile to the train station. He checked his watch, he had a good 20 minutes until it was due, he had time. He passed joggers, dog walkers, the acted like they didn’t even see him, even if they did at all. Dogs would usually give him a second glance, but would be dragged off by their owners before they ever reacted. It was a shame really, he loved dogs.
He walked past the shop to his left. The owner out the front instructing a paper boy on the fastest route. He would have loved to have stopped, but that’s not what he did. He had to keep on going, after all he had a train to catch.
The path to the train station was quiet, after all it was early, not many people were out of bed and commuting at this time. Thoughts of plans filled his head, he’d arranged a meal for after work with a young lady, a friend but maybe more. He wondered what she was doing now. He sighed and ploughed on.
The train was at the station now so he walked straight on. Found the same seat he found every day and sat down. Only a few minutes later the train pulled away and the journey began. It was all very routine but it was his routine.
He looked around the train recognising faces he knew, faces he’d seen years ago. Still carrying on their daily routines as if nothing ever changed. They’d become older, yes, but their faces were still full on life, while he felt so drained. How he envied them for that.
Three of four stops had passed, people had come and gone. He’d remained anonymous in his seat, people watching to pass the time. Mainly the train was full of workers, if anyone selling awful ties and gray suits were to come on, they’d make a fortune he joked to himself. That was his first smile of the day!
The train stopped between two small stations at a signal. It hadn’t always done so, sometimes people would take a risk, a chance, but not since that day. Oh no, now people stuck to the rules. The signal changed and the train pulled away.
He’d leave the train here, this is where it happened. The thoughts of the noise and the screeching came to him once again and he felt saddened. He thought of the moment he felt something strike him, how he’d begged and prayed it wouldn’t happen, but there was nothing anyone could have done.
He closed his eyes as the world started to fade, this was it for him, the final stop on the route. As he drifted into black he opened his eyes for a last look around. Said goodbye to the people, “I’ll see you tomorrow” he thought.
As he left, he’d swear someone turned to look at him, just for a second..
No comments:
Post a Comment