The Train to Nowhere

Chapter 1 - The Girl

Splish, splash, splish, splash, splish, splash. The sound of soft footsteps in shallow water was all that could be heard. The young girl kept walking with no destination, just forward. An endless white expanse surrounded her as she just kept walking, walking, walking. Whispers could be heard, though the only voice was that of the girl.

"I need to study."

"I can't let my grades keep falling."

"Dad will be so disappointed."

"Mom will worry." On and on she went, mumbling and whispering, whispering and mumbling. Splish, splash, splish, splash, splish, splash.

The girl's eyes fluttered open, slamming back closed as the harsh light through the window assaulted her eyes. After a moment of recovery, she finally tried opening her eyes again. Letting out a tired breath, she rolled out of bed, her feet hitting the chilly floor rather than the slippers that she had placed there the night before. She looked around the room in confusion for the missing footwear, finding them neatly placed by her bedroom door facing the hallway. Shaking her head, the girl padded over to the slippers and slid her feet into them.

With her feet now covered, she was able to make her way out of her room toward the bathroom to get ready for school. She had so much to do with a test in History to study for on Wednesday, a Math test on Thursday, and a Science project due on Friday. Not to mention all the chores that she had to do at home. Normally her Dad would help her with everything, but he had been away for a while, so it had just been the girl and her mother at home. The stress was driving her crazy.

At school, the other kids would stare and whisper, but the girl ignored them. Once, she overheard some eighth graders talking about the dreams that they had apparently shared the night before. People had been talking a lot about stuff like that lately. There was some sort of phenomenon occurring where people from all over the world, without having ever met, were sharing one dream. The girl was skeptical of such things, though what piqued her interest was the rumor going around: that one could grant their deepest wish if they made it to the front of the train that had now become the subject of everyone's dreams. Perhaps, if the rumors were true, then the girl could get her wish. The problem being that every night, she found herself in the same endless white void.

That night, as the girl continued her aimless journey across the void, she pondered the idea of pursuing her dream all the way to the front of the train, just as soon as she figured out how to get on to it. For the time being though, she just kept walking. She let her mind wander back toward all the things she had left to do this week, then the next, and the next. After what felt like hours, or days, or maybe really was days, the girl finally spotted something in the distance. A single shape, a shadow really, could be seen yards, or maybe miles ahead of her. So, at last, the girl had a destination. She tried to run, but her movements felt restricted, and so she continued to walk instead.

Splish, splash, splish, splash, splish, splash. The girl walked on, now with purpose. Ahead of her was a box of some kind, maybe small, maybe large. It was hard to tell from that distance, or maybe she was standing right in front of it. With no other point of reference, it was impossible to tell the size of the object, or if she was even making any progress, but she walked. Night after night, step after step, she walked, and walked, and walked.

Just when she was beginning to think she would never reach her destination, the girl was finally able to see the object getting bigger. She was finally getting closer. Splish, splash, splish, splash, splish, splash. The shallow water rippled out beneath her feet with each step. She briefly looked down as she continued onward, seeing her distorted reflection in the water. She was glad she was not wearing socks at the moment, because truly nothing in this world could be worse than walking for miles and miles in wet socks, not even cold floors. Even so, the girl was glad for the water, as without it, there would be no way to know where the ground was, or where the horizon began.

At long last, the object started to take shape, some kind of room with a large door. White walls, harsh lighting, and she hadn't even made it inside yet. Something was wrong here; she didn't like it. She shouldn't be here. The girl tried to turn around, but no matter where she looked, she was still facing the room. She tried to run again, but it felt like her legs were tied up, and she only managed to trip and fall. Tears started to stream down her face as she tried crawling away from that awful room that seemed to be following her. Sobs started to shake her small body as she started to call for help, for anybody to take her away from here. The lights, the sounds, the smell, it was all too much. The girl curled up as small as she could, tucking her knees under her chin, and wrapping her arms protectively around her head.

After what felt like hours of crying there, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, shaking her. A voice called out to her, but she couldn't make out what it was saying. After a moment, she was pulled into someone's arms, a hand stroking her head. Finally feeling somewhat safe, her sobs slowly subsided, giving way to the occasional hiccup. She could hear the voice whispering sweet nothings in her ear, and shushing her, the arms rocking her back and forth. Finally, she was able to make out what the voice was saying.

"Sweetie, wake up."