Journey Alone
She sat down on the bench at the outdoor train station platform and pulled her suitcases closer to her legs. The day was dreary and cold, but she preferred to sit out with the elements than huddle in the underground station. The cold air cleared her head and gave her time alone to think.
She had walked out of the apartment earlier that morning and left a note on her pillow beside him in bed. She had slammed the door as much as she could, but she didn’t hear him stir when she put her ear to the door, nor did she hear any noise from the apartment as she slowly descended the stairs and started walking to the train station.
She felt in her pocket for her cell phone and held it in her gloved hands, gently rolling it between her hands absentmindedly as she stared at the sign across the tracks that said “Danger: Voltage.” A few other people started to join her on the platform, but didn’t look at her. She put her cell phone back in her pocket.
Eventually the train rolled in to the station and she picked up her suitcases and walked on to the train. She thought she heard someone call her name and she stopped and looked towards the staircase to the station, hoping. But after a seemingly long moment, she rushed into the train right before the doors shut behind her. She prepared herself for the subway ride to the cross-continental train station and then ride that would suffice as her home for the next two days.
She pulled her cell phone out again and clutched it in her hands that rested in her lap. She watched the gray scenery fly by, mostly just to avoid staring or catching anyone’s eye. And she waited for him to call; she hoped he would.
But he never did.
Author’s Note on Post 344: I want it known that I do not think all men are jerks, even though the character in this piece is. I think there is equal opportunity in jerk-hood for all. Please do not read this as a feminist piece, but as a human nature piece. And sorry for this being sad; I have a tendency to do that…
Well, that’s that. Thanks to http://shortstoryideas.herb.me.uk/scenarios.htm for the idea. Another special tomorrow!
This entry was posted on Friday, January 29th, 2010 at 10:56 am and is filed under Fiction Prose, Realistic Fiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.