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”Damn that woman, damn, damn, damn,” Laura muttered to herself as she hurried down the little road that led to Newby railway station. Every Friday she left work at 5 PM precisely, as she was always given a lift home in her colleague April's car.
When you had only been married for less than a year, you yearned for the weekend, especially when it was a raw November evening, and it was only the thought of cuddling up to Alex her husband in front of a video and the blazing fire.
Well, thanks to that dictator of a boss of hers, Laura had been told in no uncertain terms to find a much-needed
file. She had searched high and low for it, only to be told in a curt manner half an hour
later that Hilda, her boss had found it at the back of her drawer. She wouldn't have cared so much if there had been an apology, but oh no, miracles didn't happen, did they?
Nevertheless, April had very apologetically said that she had an appointment to
attend. She'd left when Laura told her that she would catch the train home.
So here she was at 6 PM on a wintry evening. It was so cold and damp, and Laura pulled her coat tightly around her small frame as she walked briskly into the small station.
She hadn't been here on many occasion, but it looked so different here today, very drab and brown, with a huge clock ticking loudly on the wall.
As Laura waited for some sign of life, she noticed the dirty stain on the front of her cream wool coat, 'blast' she said quietly to herself. As she had crossed the busy road before she'd got to the station approach, a car had narrowly missed her and she had endeavored to fight her way through the throng of people nearby, she acknowledged that the dirty mark on her coat was related to that particular incident...more dry cleaning bills.
Suddenly Laura was aware that someone was watching her. She looked up into the face of the station-master who, after giving her a warm smile, asked where she was bound for.
He looked so familiar, Laura supposed that she had probably seen him in the town before. When she had been to this station, she had always got her ticket from an automatic
machine. Although there didn't seem to be any about today, they'd no doubt been vandalized ...typical!
Laura smiled back at the old man, who introduced himself as Jim
"A single fare to Derwet please. It looks so different in here," she said quizzically.
"Well everything's a-changing nowadays," replied Jim. "Now m'dear, the trains are all running a bit awry tonight due to the festivities. Don't worry, I'll be here to look after ye."
How sweet thought Laura. Because she was so slight, everyone seemed to look out for her. She smiled at Jim and was just about to ask him about the festivities when he wandered into his little back office to make a call.
Laura waited for a while, then decided to have a slow walk along the empty platform, the dead wispy sounding leaves from the cold and bare unfriendly looking trees swirled and danced in the cold
wind. She shivered and plunged her cold hands into her deep coat pockets.
There...she heard it again, the sound of soft music hung in the night air. Laura recollected the
tune: one of those dance band tunes that her granddad had loved so much. Every Christmas the whole family had got together, and grandma would always play the old
tunes. She always said they helped her to feel close to her dear James who'd been killed in the second
World War. Although Laura had obviously never met her granddad, she had heard so many stories about him. and her grandma was always saying that she was so much like him.
As Laura stood lost in her thoughts, she suddenly noticed two young women of about her age walking, arms linked towards her.
"Hi" she smiled at them, but they just looked straight through her as if she didn't exist.
How rude, she thought. The least any civilized person could do is acknowledge
you. She watched them as they giggled together, seeming very excited. One or other of them kept peering along the track, but there was just intense blackness all around.
Within minutes, more and more people were converging on the platform. Nobody smiled or nodded at Laura, but they all seemed so happy and in a positively party-like mood, making the noise level rise considerably.
The soft haunting music seemed to get louder and filled the dank night air.
Suddenly Laura's brain began to go into overdrive. What were they wearing? The women seemed to be in another
age. She had seen fashion like this in the old 40's films, and there was a lot of evidence of military around.
With an increased awareness, she realized not for the first time tonight that things were not as they should
be. She was standing on a station that she didn't recognize with people in old fashioned dress who were all intent on ignoring her.
The night air was simultaneously filled with smoke, and an ear piercing whistle...no surely not, but yes...a steam train chuffed defiantly along the track and came to a stop with a screech of
brakes. Doors were flung open as men flung themselves into the waiting arms of their sweethearts.
They danced and danced and twirled together until they seemed to resemble the dead rustling leaves swirling on the
ground. Amidst the smoke, Laura saw Jim coming towards her. The music grew
louder. The train whistled. The leaves twirled. Jim held out his hand...
"Time to go now Laura," he said smiling all the while at her. "I'll look after ye lass."
"Coming granddad," she said obediently, and she smiled as they walked together into the
blackness.
The morning's newspapers carried a headline about the nasty car accident in Newby just before
6 PM last night. Evidently a young woman, Laura Wells had been knocked down by a car and fatally wounded as she had rushed to catch a train. Killed instantly, she looked as though she was sleeping with no visible
injuries and just a nasty mark on her coat, and she appeared to be smiling!
©2002 StoriesByEmail.com
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