Train of Memories
By, Kathy F
Chug-a-chug-a-chug-a
I opened my eyes with a throbbing headache and the faint sound of a train in my ears. I looked around at my surroundings; there really wasn’t anything to see. I sat alone in a small train compartment. The curtains were tightly drawn and didn’t budge when I tugged at them. I tried to remember where I was going, or why I even got on the train. That’s when it hit me, I didn’t even remember who I was, what I looked like or even my name. I looked around the compartment for a mirror or even just a piece of glass that could show my reflection. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and desperately tried to find something, anything that would remind me of who I was.
I pulled out a piece of damp, crumbled paper from my pocket – it was covered in dark red blotches and smelled awfully like rusted metal. It was a picture of two people, probably brothers and sisters. The boy had short brown hair and eyes the colour of the ocean. The girl standing beside him had long dark brown hair but her face was covered by a blotch of dark red, dried up liquid.
Then I realized the golden bracelet the siblings wore in the picture and looked at my own wrist. “We have the same bracelet, wait, could this boy be me?” I asked myself. “Yes, this is definitely me and this girl must be my sister,” I took a closer look and realized on my bracelet the letters L-A-N-C-E were carved into it. “Lance? Could that have been my name?” I stuffed the picture back into my pocket, opened the compartment door and stepped outside.
“Brother come and find me,” A soft, familiar, female voice called out to me.
I searched for the speaker but strange enough, there was no one around. After a second I realized I’ve heard the voice before. That’s right! It was my sister’s voice, she’s also somewhere on this train. “I’ve decided, I’ll go find her,” I said to no one in particular.
“Boy, are you new here?” An old man said as he walked out of the compartment next to mine.
“Yes, my name is Lance…well that’s at least what I think it is. More importantly, where exactly am I?” I asked him. “I woke up with a headache and I lost all of my memories!” I said that all so fast I wondered if he caught any of it.
Surprisingly, he did. “Come, Lance, follow me and let me explain,” He replied and led me to the cafeteria on the train.
“Can you please start explaining now?” I said impatiently, “I have to find my sister, she’s somewhere on this train.”
“Listen Lance, this is the train to afterlife,” He said with a very serious tone. “Every passenger on here is dead…they are souls who have not yet reached their destination.”
I blinked and stared at him blankly. I opened my mouth to speak, “What? So you’re saying I’m dead?”
He nodded and smiled sadly. “It may seem hard to believe at first, but it is the truth.” He said in almost a whisper.
“This is the afterlife, Heaven?” I asked. This sure didn’t seem like Heaven. “Where are all the angels?”
“Were you not listening?” The old man questioned, “This is the train that will take you to Heaven.”
After that I gradually understood what he said. I died and my soul made its way to this train. I have something I need to do before I can pass on, before the train will stop and let me into Heaven. I quickly thanked the old man and began the search for my sister and my lost memories. How did I die? Was it a horrific murder, a tragic accident or maybe a deadly disease? I wanted to know about my past, about my family and friends. What kind of person I was, an athletic sports player or a smart honor roll student?
“Brother I’m here, come find me,” The voice of my sister called for me again, this time it was much louder.
“Where are you?” I shouted, “You’re my sister right?”
People turned to stare at me like I was some mad man. Did they not hear the voice of my sister? It didn’t really matter what the people here thought, I was determined to find my sister and leave this train with her. I ran out of the cafeteria and back to the hall which led to the compartment I woke up in.
“I’m here brother, you’re getting closer…” my sister’s voice was even louder this time as she said that.
“Closer?” I ran down the hall trying to find someone, “Are you in one of these compartments?”
There was no reply.
That’s when I noticed that one compartment door was slightly ajar. I walked up to it and knocked on the door. When no one answered I slowly slid the door open, sitting on the seat was a girl with her back turned towards me. She had the same hair colour as my sister. “Um,” I cleared my throat, “Sorry for just entering like that…”
The girl didn’t turn around and didn’t say anything. Maybe she didn’t notice me.
I decided to keep on talking anyway, “Excuse me, my name is Lance. I’m looking for my sister and you look like her, a lot.” Nice going, way to be creepy Lance.
She slowly turned around. According to the picture I have, she looked just like me. Brown hair, blue eyes and even our noses look exactly the same. Her hair was a darker shade and her blue eyes were so light they were almost gray. “You’re looking for your sister?” She finally spoke, her voice exactly the same as my sister’s.
“Y-yes!” I replied.
“I’m sorry, I’d love to help you find her but,” she hesitated before speaking again, “I’m kind of lost myself.”
“Oh, can I take a look at your wrist?” I asked. Hey, that’s the second creepiest thing I’ve said today. What’s wrong with me?
She stuck her arms out to let me look at her wrist without asking any questions.
“Thank you,” I looked at her wrists but didn’t find a golden bracelet. I felt my heart drop to the bottom of my stomach. So this girl, who resembles me so much, isn’t my sister?
“You look disappointed,” she said, “were you trying to find something?”
“Do you by any chance own a golden bracelet?” I asked.
She furrowed her eyebrows then her face lit up after a minute of thinking, “Yes I do!” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a golden bracelet.
I quickly grabbed it and examined it. I pulled out the picture from my pocket and compared the two bracelets. They were exactly the same! The letters carved onto the bracelet read ‘Kyra’.
“Is that a picture of you? Who’s the girl standing next to you?” she asked as she leaned in to look at the picture.
I looked up from the picture and beamed, “I finally found you! You’re my sister!” Just then there was a bright flash and the next thing I knew, I was looking at myself. It wasn’t a reflection of myself, it was more like I was dreaming and I could see myself in the dream.
“Lance hurry up, we’re going to be late for school!” A familiar female voice called out.
I saw myself sitting at a kitchen table, slowly spreading jam onto my bread. The person who just spoke rushed in and hit my head with a book.
“What was that for?!” The ‘other’ me yelled.
“Did you not hear me? I said hurry up!” the speaker was my sister.
We continued to argue some more then we headed out the door. I realized that this was probably one of my old memories and the house we just left was probably where I used to live. It looked like it just snowed and the floor seemed extremely slippery. At that time my sister, Kyra, and I didn’t seem to care.
The past me crouched down and made a snowball then threw it at Kyra who screamed and chased me around the street. We were laughing and having a great time.
“Kyra! Where are you going?” I called out to her who was crossing the street. “School’s the other way.”
She stopped walking halfway across the street. “I don’t feel like going to school today,” she said.
“Well don’t stand in the middle of the road, it’s dangerous,” I walked up to her and just as I was about to grab her arm, a car’s honk sounded from behind us.
I wanted to know more, I wanted to see what happened next but the bright, blinding flash appeared again. When I opened my eyes I was standing in the train compartment. “D-did you see that?” I stuttered.
“Y-you mean that flash of memory?” she asked with a surprised expression.
“So that’s how we died,” I sighed and returned the bracelet back to her. I only just realized I was still holding onto it.
She put on the bracelet then smiled and said, “At least now I know what’ going on. We’re dead?”
I nodded. “How can you stay so calm? And why are you smiling?” I asked.
“Well at least I’m here with my brother, right?” She stood up and took my hand, “Let’s leave this place.”
I nodded and smiled back, we walked out of the compartment. Just then the train halted to a stop and the doors flung open in front of us. A warm light engulfed us as we stepped outside to what was probably ‘Heaven’. I looked back and noticed the train completely gone, only the faint sound of its engine still rang in my ear.
The End
I opened my eyes with a throbbing headache and the faint sound of a train in my ears. I looked around at my surroundings; there really wasn’t anything to see. I sat alone in a small train compartment. The curtains were tightly drawn and didn’t budge when I tugged at them. I tried to remember where I was going, or why I even got on the train. That’s when it hit me, I didn’t even remember who I was, what I looked like or even my name. I looked around the compartment for a mirror or even just a piece of glass that could show my reflection. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and desperately tried to find something, anything that would remind me of who I was.
I pulled out a piece of damp, crumbled paper from my pocket – it was covered in dark red blotches and smelled awfully like rusted metal. It was a picture of two people, probably brothers and sisters. The boy had short brown hair and eyes the colour of the ocean. The girl standing beside him had long dark brown hair but her face was covered by a blotch of dark red, dried up liquid.
Then I realized the golden bracelet the siblings wore in the picture and looked at my own wrist. “We have the same bracelet, wait, could this boy be me?” I asked myself. “Yes, this is definitely me and this girl must be my sister,” I took a closer look and realized on my bracelet the letters L-A-N-C-E were carved into it. “Lance? Could that have been my name?” I stuffed the picture back into my pocket, opened the compartment door and stepped outside.
“Brother come and find me,” A soft, familiar, female voice called out to me.
I searched for the speaker but strange enough, there was no one around. After a second I realized I’ve heard the voice before. That’s right! It was my sister’s voice, she’s also somewhere on this train. “I’ve decided, I’ll go find her,” I said to no one in particular.
“Boy, are you new here?” An old man said as he walked out of the compartment next to mine.
“Yes, my name is Lance…well that’s at least what I think it is. More importantly, where exactly am I?” I asked him. “I woke up with a headache and I lost all of my memories!” I said that all so fast I wondered if he caught any of it.
Surprisingly, he did. “Come, Lance, follow me and let me explain,” He replied and led me to the cafeteria on the train.
“Can you please start explaining now?” I said impatiently, “I have to find my sister, she’s somewhere on this train.”
“Listen Lance, this is the train to afterlife,” He said with a very serious tone. “Every passenger on here is dead…they are souls who have not yet reached their destination.”
I blinked and stared at him blankly. I opened my mouth to speak, “What? So you’re saying I’m dead?”
He nodded and smiled sadly. “It may seem hard to believe at first, but it is the truth.” He said in almost a whisper.
“This is the afterlife, Heaven?” I asked. This sure didn’t seem like Heaven. “Where are all the angels?”
“Were you not listening?” The old man questioned, “This is the train that will take you to Heaven.”
After that I gradually understood what he said. I died and my soul made its way to this train. I have something I need to do before I can pass on, before the train will stop and let me into Heaven. I quickly thanked the old man and began the search for my sister and my lost memories. How did I die? Was it a horrific murder, a tragic accident or maybe a deadly disease? I wanted to know about my past, about my family and friends. What kind of person I was, an athletic sports player or a smart honor roll student?
“Brother I’m here, come find me,” The voice of my sister called for me again, this time it was much louder.
“Where are you?” I shouted, “You’re my sister right?”
People turned to stare at me like I was some mad man. Did they not hear the voice of my sister? It didn’t really matter what the people here thought, I was determined to find my sister and leave this train with her. I ran out of the cafeteria and back to the hall which led to the compartment I woke up in.
“I’m here brother, you’re getting closer…” my sister’s voice was even louder this time as she said that.
“Closer?” I ran down the hall trying to find someone, “Are you in one of these compartments?”
There was no reply.
That’s when I noticed that one compartment door was slightly ajar. I walked up to it and knocked on the door. When no one answered I slowly slid the door open, sitting on the seat was a girl with her back turned towards me. She had the same hair colour as my sister. “Um,” I cleared my throat, “Sorry for just entering like that…”
The girl didn’t turn around and didn’t say anything. Maybe she didn’t notice me.
I decided to keep on talking anyway, “Excuse me, my name is Lance. I’m looking for my sister and you look like her, a lot.” Nice going, way to be creepy Lance.
She slowly turned around. According to the picture I have, she looked just like me. Brown hair, blue eyes and even our noses look exactly the same. Her hair was a darker shade and her blue eyes were so light they were almost gray. “You’re looking for your sister?” She finally spoke, her voice exactly the same as my sister’s.
“Y-yes!” I replied.
“I’m sorry, I’d love to help you find her but,” she hesitated before speaking again, “I’m kind of lost myself.”
“Oh, can I take a look at your wrist?” I asked. Hey, that’s the second creepiest thing I’ve said today. What’s wrong with me?
She stuck her arms out to let me look at her wrist without asking any questions.
“Thank you,” I looked at her wrists but didn’t find a golden bracelet. I felt my heart drop to the bottom of my stomach. So this girl, who resembles me so much, isn’t my sister?
“You look disappointed,” she said, “were you trying to find something?”
“Do you by any chance own a golden bracelet?” I asked.
She furrowed her eyebrows then her face lit up after a minute of thinking, “Yes I do!” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a golden bracelet.
I quickly grabbed it and examined it. I pulled out the picture from my pocket and compared the two bracelets. They were exactly the same! The letters carved onto the bracelet read ‘Kyra’.
“Is that a picture of you? Who’s the girl standing next to you?” she asked as she leaned in to look at the picture.
I looked up from the picture and beamed, “I finally found you! You’re my sister!” Just then there was a bright flash and the next thing I knew, I was looking at myself. It wasn’t a reflection of myself, it was more like I was dreaming and I could see myself in the dream.
“Lance hurry up, we’re going to be late for school!” A familiar female voice called out.
I saw myself sitting at a kitchen table, slowly spreading jam onto my bread. The person who just spoke rushed in and hit my head with a book.
“What was that for?!” The ‘other’ me yelled.
“Did you not hear me? I said hurry up!” the speaker was my sister.
We continued to argue some more then we headed out the door. I realized that this was probably one of my old memories and the house we just left was probably where I used to live. It looked like it just snowed and the floor seemed extremely slippery. At that time my sister, Kyra, and I didn’t seem to care.
The past me crouched down and made a snowball then threw it at Kyra who screamed and chased me around the street. We were laughing and having a great time.
“Kyra! Where are you going?” I called out to her who was crossing the street. “School’s the other way.”
She stopped walking halfway across the street. “I don’t feel like going to school today,” she said.
“Well don’t stand in the middle of the road, it’s dangerous,” I walked up to her and just as I was about to grab her arm, a car’s honk sounded from behind us.
I wanted to know more, I wanted to see what happened next but the bright, blinding flash appeared again. When I opened my eyes I was standing in the train compartment. “D-did you see that?” I stuttered.
“Y-you mean that flash of memory?” she asked with a surprised expression.
“So that’s how we died,” I sighed and returned the bracelet back to her. I only just realized I was still holding onto it.
She put on the bracelet then smiled and said, “At least now I know what’ going on. We’re dead?”
I nodded. “How can you stay so calm? And why are you smiling?” I asked.
“Well at least I’m here with my brother, right?” She stood up and took my hand, “Let’s leave this place.”
I nodded and smiled back, we walked out of the compartment. Just then the train halted to a stop and the doors flung open in front of us. A warm light engulfed us as we stepped outside to what was probably ‘Heaven’. I looked back and noticed the train completely gone, only the faint sound of its engine still rang in my ear.
The End