“Your ticket sir?” The young man in the uniform says to me. I reach for my bag and give him my ticket with a smile. He replies with a nod and a smile. I look out the window of the moving train. Outside, the colors of fall brighten the forests. Orange, with a reddish tinge, much like the sunset Elaine and I used to watch by the old oak tree up the hill. I still remember her face. She always had that beautiful smile that would make any man fall in love with her. Her white skin made her glow in the sunset, making her perfection exceed that of any other woman. Her eyes, looking into mine, us face to face, mark the days that I feel like my life has a bigger purpose as joy bursts in every vein in my body.
I wish I could feel that way right now, the excitement is killing me. We would spend hours together, talking about our day, we’d never argue. I remember the time we played under the snow. We were both 15. We made animal sculptures. She made a turtle. I don’t know what I made, I think I was aiming for a cat but the result was closer to a bird. She said it was the best penguin she’d ever seen jokingly. I told her it was supposed to be a cat. She just laughed and said it looks more like a penguin, so I played along and just called my cat-bird sculpture a penguin.
From Bern, it’s a short train ride to Paris. I haven’t seen Elaine in years. She and I talk to each other occasionally on the phone but we never got to see each other in person. I wonder if she hasn’t changed too much. The train stops for a while and I see people passing by the train. I look to my left and a gorgeous young woman roughly in her twenties, almost the same age as me asks me, “Excuse me, is this seat taken?” I tell her no one was sitting there so she sat next to me.
“Going to Paris?” she asks me.
“Yeah, meeting my friend there,” I reply.
“Ah I see, a lady friend?” She asks with a smile.
“Yes but it’s not what you think,” I reply with a laugh.
“Oh, how so?”
“Well, she’s with someone else.”
“Oh, are you coming to Paris with someone else?”
“No, just me.”
“All alone in Paris? We can’t have that now can we, I’m single, your single, want to get dinner sometime when you’re not too busy?” She asks.
“I’d be delighted,” I say with a smile on my face. “I’m Daniel by the way, Daniel Carson,” I continue.
“Ashley, Ashley Catherby,” She says holding out her hand.
We shake hands and continue chatting about why we’re going to Paris and what school we studied in, what jobs we’ve had. Turns out, Ashley is a doctor. I tell her I’m a journalist. I’m amazed how a woman like Ashley could be single. She’s beautiful, her smooth blonde hair fall down behind her ear like silk. Her arms glow at the touch of light.
Finally, the train comes to a stop. I go outside the train, trying to look for Elaine. I haven’t walked a few feet when Ashley shouts out to me, “Daniel! You need a place to stay?”
“I’m not sure,” I reply.
“Well, if you need a place to stay, just give me a call or go just, go there,” She says giving me a white card with her number and her address. “Just think about it.”
