John stepped onto the train. He watched other passengers as they put their belongings away and chose their seats. He breathed in - slowly.
“Can you hurry up mate?”
John gave an apologetic smile, “Sorry sir.” He quickly found a seat and sat down with his shining, new, black briefcase in his lap. He glanced out the window, awaiting the beautiful scenery. He felt content; like nothing could ruin his day.
John hurried onto the train, shoving his case into the compartment above and taking the first available seat he saw. He glanced at his watch in a panic. He was so late.
The train set off and he calmed down a little. His stress seemed to fade as the train continued on. He noticed a girl sitting a few tables down from him. She had long, blonde hair that curled up at the ends. She was wearing a light blue dress which matched her eyes and hugged her petite figure. Suddenly, he realised she had caught his gaze. She looked amused.
John pulled Lisa onto the train, squeezing her hand as he smiled down at her.
“There’s two seats!” her voice chimed. He watched in adoration as she sauntered over to the seats. Her light, blue eyes sparkled as she looked back at him, signalling him to join her. He went to her – like a force was pulling him. They curled up together, more on one chair than the other. John listened to her as she spoke, fascinated by the sound of her voice. He placed a light kiss on her forehead.
He did not notice anyone else on the train that day. They were there. But he did not notice them.
John was pushed onto the train – his friends laughing as they stuck a funny-looking hat on his head and chanted his name. They drank beers and reminisced, sharing stories about John.
His friends continued to laugh at a story one of them was telling, when John noticed a young, blonde woman in the corner. She was reading a book, but from the smirk on her face, he could tell she had been listening. He grinned to himself, thoughts of Lisa running through his head. It was only days now.
John slowly lifted his daughter, Tessa, onto the train. She grinned up at her father, humming a little tune and looking around at everyone, and everything; “Look at that daddy! Look at this daddy!” He loved how enthusiastic she was about everything.
They took a seat at a table, as insisted by Tessa. John took out her colouring book and handed her some crayons. She started scribbling away excitedly. John smiled as he watched her fill the page with colour. He laughed to himself as she coloured the elephant in bright pink and the monkey in yellow.
John noticed the young boy looking over at Tessa. He dreaded the day his little girl started talking to boys. He looked out the window and watched as the landscape flew past him; it went by so fast.
John stumbled onto the train, nearly crashing into the person in front of him. His surroundings blurred, and he tried to make out where everything was. He wobbled this way, and that, before falling down onto a chair.
He noticed a woman looking at him in disapproval. “What y-youuu l-l-looking at?!” He slurred. She looked away and he sunk further into his chair, grumbling curse words to himself. His eyes closed, and minutes later, he was fast asleep.
When he woke, he looked around; his vision was still not its best, but he noticed that the woman was gone, and for a second, he wondered if it had all been a dream – maybe the alcohol had caused his mind to make up the whole thing.
But moments later – he knew it was real. She was gone. He had lost her.
How would he tell the children?
John followed his son onto the train. There were no seats today. They stood amongst other people by the sliding doors; it was a bit tight, but they still managed to chat about the upcoming day.
“Are you nervous?” John asked his son.
“Not at all,” replied David. “I can’t wait to meet…my flatmates.”
“You can’t wait to meet all the girls,” John corrected. “I was young once too, you know.”
David smirked at his dad.
“Now, you better have everything with you Dave. We’re not going back now.”
“Yeah, yeah Dad. I’ve got everything. Jeez, you weren’t this bad with Tessa when she left home!”
John noticed his son’s face fall. “Sorry, son,” he said. “You’ll be great! Your mother would have been so proud of you today.” And with that, they continued the journey.
John struggled onto the train, using his stick to help pull him on. A few people offered their assistance, but he insisted he could manage. Once he was on, he hobbled over to the seat nearest him, sat down and settled his stick down beside him.
He pulled out his paper and slid his glasses on. After reading the first few pages, he sighed and looked out at the landscape through the window – and then looked away from it, uninterested. He sighed again.
“Is everything alright?” a soft, calm voice asked him. He had not even noticed the woman sitting opposite. She looked about his age. She had short, light curly hair and wore an attractive, flowery dress. He noticed how blue her eyes were. And he thought…she was absolutely breath-taking.
John sat up straight, “Yes, yes. Everything is fine.”
“Good. Glad to hear it,” she smiled.
He held out his hand to her and cleared his throat, “I’m John, he said.
Her smile turned into an amused one as she shook his hand. “I’m Lisa.”
By Chloe Connelly
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