Forever Haunted | ✔

Chapter 1: At The Train Station

Chapter 1: At the Train Station         

​She was an odd child. Her brown hair was in braids, she wore a plain white shirt and purple jacket, and her blue jeans were worn and faded. It was very shabby compared to her brand new sneakers that had Velcro on them, not laces. The girl hated shoe laces. But the odd thing about the girl was that she was 14- and yet she looked young for her age- at least 12 or 12 1/2.

But the girl certainly looked like she was 12. She was small and freckled and to many seemed to be a very mature 12 year old- that is, until they learned how old she was. She was quiet and distant. She never talked much, just sat still and minded her own business. She sat away from others, thinking of her odd life, full of disasters and bouncing around from foster home to foster home.

Yes, she was in foster care, and she had been since she could remember. She never really bonded with her foster families- she stayed to herself as she was a quiet girl. Now, her foster parents always seemed to be bothered by this. They always thought they were doing SOMETHING wrong, so they always gave the girl up.

On this particular day, she was standing on a train platform, a small bag in hand. She owned very little- some clothes, some books, and her most valued possession- the only thing that linked her to her mother. The photograph. The photograph that was in a pretty silver picture frame. It had been found in Sariah's arms when she had been abandoned at an orphanage. In the photograph was a beautiful woman many believed was Sariah's mother. But they had no proof. But Sariah knew deep down that the woman WAS her mother.

On that day, as Sariah stood on the train platform, a man in a wheelchair approached her. "Hello," he said.

Sariah stood as she was and, not bothering to look at the man, said, "I suppose there is something you want from me?"

"Of course not," said the man, confused.

"Then please leave me alone," said Sariah, "I must watch for my train."

"I was merely wondering if you needed anything, or if you could tell me where you are headed?"

"Why?"

"Because, I wish to help you."

"Well, I do not wished to be helped. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must watch for my train."

Nodding, the man left Sariah as she was. Such a strange little child she was!

Sariah stared off into the distance. The train station's occupants bustled around, dragging around luggage such as suitcases and duffle bags. Heavy trunks on trolleys were being pushed around and people were chatting and laughing. Many passed the young girl, but unlike the man from earlier, nobody paid any attention to her. They were very busy running off to catch their trains or else they were rushing to meet up with friends and family. Those who were rushing around were either about to board a train with their friends and family or else they had just gotten off the train and were now going to greet friends and family.

Sariah barely noticed; she was not jealous of those who were meeting with friends and family or those who were off to go on vacation to have fun. She wasn't ever jealous of those who were going to see friends and family. She didn't care. She had no friends, no family, and had never been on vacation. How could she be jealous of those who had something she didn't know or have?

After a short wait, Sariah's train pulled up and she climbed on. She sat in an empty compartment and was relieved that there was nobody else there except for a muscular man in a leather jacket with a hat pulled low to cover his face who sat across from her.

As the train slowly began to roll down the tracks, Sariah could hear people shouting goodbye. She didn't need to look out the window to know that people were waving, blowing kisses, and dabbing their eyes with handkerchiefs. Having been on trains many times, this was a familiar sight. She felt that those people were being babyish. It's not like these people would be gone forever, right? But Sariah didn't understand, of course, what with having no family or anyone to care about. She didn't have anyone to care for her, either, so why should she care for other people?