Our Goodbye

Timeless Night

"Next train will be arriving in thirty minutes"

The sound of people moving from one place to another is rather soothing.  I can hear them talking to someone over the phone, i can see them worrying for the time schedule or waiting for someone to arrive.

"I'll call you later" A young man said on the phone as he hung up, "I'll make it in time, don't worry" A woman said as she passed trough the gates.

Everyone seems to be in another place but here, the train station. It amuses me how they can do such a thing, not living the moment, not taking a second to see what is beyond  their cell phone.

The train station is filled with light, not a single shadow to be seen, it's a rather cold night so the heater is on it's maximum level. The chandelier that hangs on the ceiling is shining with such a warm light, you can even see the rainbows that it projects. The floor is filled with red tiles and some blue flowers scattered all over the place, the benches are a little bit darker and on the corners of the lounge there are white couches and tables with long chairs near the coffee shop.

I've been waiting for my train for at least an hour now but I'm not freaking out, the one who's not worried at all is Red, he even fell asleep on my lap. I was about to close my eyes for a moment when someone sat beside me on the bench.

"Good evening" Said the old man beside me with a happy tone.

"Hello" I said, I wasn't sure if he talked to me, nowadays no one does, they're always talking to someone on the phone. 

"Are you waiting for someone?" 

"Who? Me?" I asked him as I looked both ways.

"Yes, I noticed you've been waiting for quite a while" He looked like a decent man, he was wearing big glasses and a hat with a black bow on it, kind of like the one an uncle would wear, or a grandfather. He didn't have any luggage so I figured he was waiting for someone.

"No, i'm taking the train. What about you?" I asked with a yawn.

"Yes, my daughter. She's visiting me after a few months of traveling with her husband, I was expecting her to come weeks ago but she kept postponing it until today" I could see a slight hint of sadness in his eyes but it faded away as fast as it came.

I smiled with a warm feeling in my heart, seeing the old men with hope in his eyes made me realise that I made the right decision, staying in the city wasn't going to make me happy or make my life better.

Red shifted and woke up with his tongue out. I love it when he does that. "Oh! what a lovely fellow, I once had a dog like him, my brothers and I used to play with him every day, we even tried to snuck him inside the house but our mother always catched us" He offered me his hand "By the way, my name is Oscar" I smiled back and shook his hand.

"Ellouise, and this is Red" Oscar scratched him on the head while calling him what a pretty boy he is. "So your daughter is coming, you must be really happy" 

"Indeed, I even bought her her favorite candy, I know she's not a childe anymore but, she always liked it, ever since she was a little girl she begged me to buy it every time we went to the store"

I was about to say something else when a young woman held Oscar in a hug from behind and kissed his cheeks.

"Dad! you haven't aged a day!" She turns to look at me with a smile "Thank you for taking care of my dad, my train left two hours later than scheduled"

"It's alright, you are lucky to have him for a dad" Her smile widen "I think so too" . She helped Oscar get up from the bench and lead him to the entrance. Before I could close my eyes again, Oscar tapped me on the shoulder.

"Here, i'm sure you'll like them too" He held my hand and put some of the candy on my hand, and with a wave goodbye, he exited the train station.

***

After fifteen minutes of waiting for my train, it finally arrived, it was around 10 o' clock when it did so it was kind of dark out, the weather was a little bit colder than how it was when I left my apartment but I made sure to bring a scarf with me. 

The lounge was a little bit empty but you could still see a few people coming and going from the station, some of them were yawning while others were rushing out with tired faces. 

I got up and went to where my train was with Red by my side, he seemed more awake now that he had a long nap, but in my case, I didn't sleep at all. I was too immersed in my own thoughts that I didn't shut my eyes close for a minute to rest, I kept thinking about Oscar and his daughter, I hoped he had a happy life but i also wondered if he knew he was going to end up like that, waiting for someone to make him remember the good days and moments when his life was more than waiting. I don't want to be like that.

I'm sure that by moving to a new place, starting a new life and being who I really want to be will make me realise that my life actually has meaning, not just a nother light in the city, but to be somebody that people can rely on, after that dream, maybe...just maybe I can finally...

"The train will be leaving in five minutes" The voice on the speakers made me come back to earth, I was daydreaming like always.

"Ok Red, just let me carry you and get you settled on the wagon" I know he doesn't scare easy but this was his first time traveling and I wasn't sure if he was going to be Ok getting on the train by himself. Luckily, i wasn't carrying that many luggage but still, Red wasn't light weighted.

"Excuse me miss, can I help you with your bags?" The young man was wearing the station's uniform, he looked at Red and my bags and stretched his hand to offer me help "I can carry them inside for you if you like"

"Yes! thank you" I gave him my bags and followed him inside "Sorry, i wasn't sure i could carry them both" I sat down on my seat and place Red on my lap. He put my bags on the seat beside me and left with a smile. 

"Well then Red, I guess we're on our way to a new life, how do you feel?" I smiled to him and in return I got a goofy smile with sleepy eyes. I laughed at the scene and looked outside the window "Goodbye city, thanks for keeping me safe" And with those last words, the train left the station.

***

Hey guys! here's the second chapter, hope you're liking it so far, things are about to get interesting so stay tuned! See you in the next chapter...