Playing Trains

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A cold shiver runs down my spine and I snuggle deeper into my sweater. The washed out blue and gray of my surroundings do nothing to ease my discomfort.
I pull my legs onto the seat, placing them under me and I lean towards the barred window.

Few more hours and I'll reach home. It's been months since I've seen my family.
I feel a low chuckle leave my throat.
Few more hours till I'm bombarded with questions about which girl would have the highest qualifications to be my bride.

They just don't understand.

They'll never understand.

From my window, I see the station alive and buzzing with people. Everyone in such a hurry to reach their destination.

Between all the hustle, a little girl -around 10- catches my eye. She stands between all the commotion, looking lost and clutching on to the seams of her dress. She looks around, as though searching for something or someone. Even from here I can see the pure panic in her stance and the almost tears in her eyes.
Just as I'm about to go help her, I see a boy who looks my age, approach the girl and kneel down in front of her. He takes her hands in his and starts talking to her.
I can see her nod or shake her head to whatever the boy said, but by the look on the her face, it seems as though his words were calming her down.
He then gets up and I see her fingers immediately tighten around his hand.
He looks down at her and smiles, a dimple adorning his cheek. He holds her hand and they both walk away from my view.

The corners of my mouth slowly lift up as they walk away.
I take out my sketch book and a pencil from my bag, and start tracing out the busy platform with the little girl and the boy with the dimple.

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