Elsewhere

CHAPTER 1: Elsewhen

She was running from one carriage to another, dodging people who stood in her way.
She was heading to a compartment in the middle of the vehicle and she had better hurry to get there in time. In the rush, she nearly missed it, but with a skilled slide, she finally managed to stop in front of the red door that marked the Master's office.

-It's a pleasure to see you. The Master is awaiting.- A woman greeted her, immediately opening the door and moving sideward to let her inside.
-You're late.- It proclaimed a voice from behind an old armchair.
-I'm sorry, Master. I was playing with...-
-There are no other children your age. Who were you playing with? - He harshly interrupted her.
-No one...- She answered, lowering her eyes.
-Come and sit in front of me.- The Master sighed then, suddenly softening his tone.
The vehicle jolted a little, but she reached the sofa without minding the disturbance. After all those years, she didn't even notice anymore.

The old man was staring at the landscape outside the wide window, with a blanket on his legs. It was a grey day and droplets of moisture streaked the window's glass. Everything was dulled and clouded.
-They told me you ask a lot of questions...- He continued, joining his fingers before his face and staring deeply into her eyes.

It was true. She spent all her days asking questions, mostly because she didn't know what else to do with all that free time. When she couldn't bear to keep staring outside any longer, watching a world she could have never had slipping away, she started to question the passengers about where'd they come from, what'd their home was like, why'd they had left it, but got no answer at all. Then she asked those preparing to get off: "Why are you going away? Where are you going? Will you return?" Nothing. As a last resort, she questioned the train staff. They were more patient and smiled at her, but never answered. Even that smile... it hid something, like an unspoken sadness.
-I'm curious.- She simply replied.
-What do you want to know? -
-What is this train? Where are we going? Why can't I get off?- She immediately spat out.
The Master took a deep breath in, well knowing he could not answer those questions... yet.
-One day you will understand.- Therefore he stated, sadly. -Now look outside.-
For a few moments the room fell into the darkness and the screeching below them accentuated; then the Train slowed down, as they approached the next Station.
She walked to the window and peered out.

The sidewalk was full of people, standing a few steps from the edge, without moving a single muscle, as if they were petrified... or terrified by the sight of that Train.
The girl got closer to the glass and laid her fingers on it, maybe hoping to get nigher to them, but merely gaining a cold feeling in return, for the glass was as freezing as the wind outside.
The train stopped, but for a few moments, nothing happened. Then the doors opened and some people broke away from the crowd, stepping forward. With a leap, they landed one at a time inside the train, but the child was no longer minding them: she had found a bunch of kids in the middle of the crowd. She had never seen another child up close, given that all people who got on the train were adults.

More and more curious, she pressed her face against the window, almost feeling the rain outside. In the center of the small group there was a little boy who – she could tell – was different from everyone else. He kept his back straight, not curved like the others; his eyes stared harshly in front of him, but his embrace over a sad child was protective and loving. A layer of mud and dust coated them from head to foot, blending their figures into the reigning greyness, for everything in that Station was in a faded shade of grey: from people's skin to their clothes; from buildings to shops' signs; from the street to the emotions that sweated from everyone's eyes, Grey them too.
The door closed with a crash and the vehicle started moving again.
At that precise moment, the child turned his eyes on her and two bright sapphires suddenly shone in that sea of grey and ash.

How? She asked within herself. How are they able to shine like the sun's Light in spite of the unstoppable Rain?
Their eyes stood imprisoned for a long time until the Train began to turn. She stepped back from the window and – as if a spell had been placed on her eyes and was commanding her to see that child again – she ran out the door. She dodged men and women, boys and elders, and ran as fast as she could to reach the rear of the Train. Her feet were completely balanced on the moving surface that served as a floor: she had never walked on a different ground, she had never had any other playfield, any other Home.
She arrived in the last cabin just in time to see for the last time the strange child, who was still looking at her with his blue eyes that were different from everyone else's.
The two looked at each other for another long moment, then the curve divided them.