The Runaway Train

Me? I was a runaway.

The name sounded so good in my head.

Runaway.

The name itself gave me a reason.

Within it lies the whole meaning.

It gave me something to run away from by itself, concealing a hidden truth.

Hidden from listeners, on-lookers and passers-by.

And, of course, from me.

 

At the start of a particularly secret night, I stole away.

Where?

The path told me as I followed it.

The dot of the road on the horizon told me of such places.

The places that I would go.

 

With no train to take me.

I stood on the platform, staring blankly at the track.

I told him I would wait.

“Wait? For what?”

What indeed.

 

It was so cold, but I wasn't shivering.

I couldn't be moved.

I paced up the track.

If they would not give me a train, I would make a train of my own.

 

Yes, there it was.

White. White as stars.

And a hundred times as fast.

I felt that it would speed me everywhere I chose.

Places I'd never seen.

Paris, Rome, Berlin…

No, no.

Beyond them.

It would take me to the places beyond them.

The places that only me, myself and I- yours truly- would know about.

 

Rubbish swirled in the breeze.

The empty platform regarded me disbelievingly.

“No,” I told it. “I'm right. It's all true.”

It'll only be the Runaway Train for me.

For me and a few others.

All runaways like myself of course.

No ticket.

All you needed was time.

And no sense of direction.

Anyone with a destination in mind would be thrown off at the nearest stop.

 

Sleep caught me. But only for seconds.

I woke up just in time.

The Runaway Train stood on the track like a savior.

It gleamed so finely in the moonlight that I turned to share my elation with the next passenger.

But I smiled at air.

No one but me.

Well.

That was okay.

My dream could be just that-mine-for a while longer.

 

As I boarded the Runaway Train, daylight spread.

A horizon all full of pinks and blues and possibilities.

As I sat down, the white doors shut.

“Next stop,” The driver said. “The beginning of the road.”

And, as we pulled away, I pressed my face against the frosted window just so I could see the platform and the station and the world disappearing fast behind.