Free Writing With Some Twists

The World Through a Window

 There is something about riding on a train that is so... placid. I'm sitting on the second level of a commuter rail train. I have Billy Boyd's song 'The Last Goodbye' playing and I look out the window and see a beautiful blue lake. The water is calm, hardly any waves. I can feel the trains wheels run along the tracks and I can hear the slight grinding of metal on metal. It's relatively early in the morning. Actually it's 9:00 o'clock but for a teen during the summer this is pretty early to be going somewhere. There are hardly any people on the train and the few who are are keeping to themselves. The sun is shining warmly through the window to my left, lighting up the seats and acting as a wake up call to those who are still half asleep.

The sky is a glorious royal blue in the center of the sky and slowly lightens up around the horizon.

The thing about trains, you move so fast that you only get glimpses of places before you zip past. Time seems to stop while you are on a train. The train is like a old, kind, giant beast. It shows you parks filled with giggling children and relaxed parents and it shows you peaceful houses that look as if not one bad thing has ever happened- the perfect house and family. And then it shows you the sad, abandoned buildings. The buildings that once had life and happiness. But those happy memories are buried by centuries of pain, anger, and despair.

The train shows you the different sides of life- good and bad.

The train makes life seem so simple. There is the bad side: pain, anger, fear, depression, abandoned buildings, broken glass, and trash. There is the good: happiness, peace, harmony, giggles, parks, love, balloons, and flowers.

There is a distinct line between the two sides. Trains are so much more than big metal boxes that travel precariously on thin strips of metal. Trains give you time to think and see life in a simpler way. Trains are like comfy coffee shops that overlook a busy street- you can safely watch the world go by as you sit in a warm chair and listen to your music.