The Plague Doctor [RATED R] ✓

(44) Steam [m]

⚕︎

A FRIEND OF TEO—who's also a police officer, was kind enough to give us a ride to Sorrento. He dropped us off at the train station, so when we got there, I was instantly filled with excitement.

     "Wait here while I buy our tickets," Teo tells me, and I nod my head and wait for him beside the railings while he rushes to the ticket booth where dozens of other passengers are lined up.

     I look around the area, watching all kinds of people waiting on the side for the train to arrive. There were solo travelers, couples, and even families, but they weren't as excited as I was. This was my first time in a train station, let alone riding a train. I feel like I'm a kid again because of it.

    "Bishop," Teo calls out, approaching me while waving two tickets he was able to purchase successfully. "Here's your ticket," he says, handing me the other one.

     "Thank you."

     "Do you want to buy some snacks so you can eat something on the train?" Teo then asks, but I shake my head in reply.

     Teo smiles at me and reaches out to fix my coat. "You look lovely," he suddenly compliments, not even caring if people would hear him or not. "I can't wait to spend this entire trip with you."

     "Me too," I softly say as the two of us stare into each other's eyes.

     Mateo leans close and is about to give me a kiss, but then we hear a loud sound coming from a distance. Both of us turn our heads as a cloud of steam appears in the sky. The ground partially shakes, and Teo immediately pulls me away from the railing as the train finally makes its appearance.

    The hair on my skin stands as this large vessel stops in front of us. I've seen one of these in books, but I never thought it would be this big in real life.

     As the train stopped right in front of us, I couldn't help but stare at it in complete fascination. Teo stares at me from the reflection in the windows, but he doesn't comment anything about it and just chuckles to himself. The door to the train then opened, and passengers started heading out one by one.

     "You look excited. Shall we go inside?" Teo asks, showing me his hand. I smiled and took it with no hesitation, and then we followed the crowd and went inside the train.

     "It looks like a bus," I comment as soon as I see the interior, and Teo chuckles again. It seems like he finds my reactions amusing.

     "Stop laughing at me. You're treating me like I'm some kind of child," I quickly say as the two of us walk in the middle of the aisle.

     Despite my complaint, Teo still couldn't contain himself and could only squeeze my hand even tighter. "I'm not laughing at you. I'm just overwhelmed with extreme happiness. I didn't know that seeing you this happy over a train would fill me up with so much joy."

    His statement was so unexpected that it made my entire face heat up. I couldn't even look straight at him because I felt so embarrassed. I say the corniest things too, but when I hear someone else say them, I can't help but feel weird inside.

     "How can you even say that so confidently?" I ask, and Teo laughs even harder.

     The two of us eventually arrive at our seats. Teo takes our suitcases and puts them in the overhead compartment. He then let me take a seat first so I could sit beside the window.

     "There aren't a lot of passengers," I noticed as Teo sat beside me. "I thought the seats would get filled when I saw the passengers waiting outside, but I guess the train's bigger than I expected."