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NOVEMBER 21, 2011 1:28PM

The Sound of a Train

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A train whistle is heard in the distance.  The sound of the train calls to her, not unlike the migrant workers of the 1930's.

It is time to leave.

Where is the train headed?  When will it arrive?  Who are it's travelers?

She is on the fifth floor of a nearby building.  She sticks out her foot, to catch an elevator- just barely getting her foot in the door before the doors close. 

It is going up.  She will ride it for a while.   

After the elevator reaches the tenth floor, it begins to descend.   Near the bottom floor, a young woman gets on.  She holds a baby in her right arm and the hand of a small child in her left.  The child is singing a song that she learned in kindergarten.  The trio appear penniless but happy.

She reminisces.  While being entertained, she misses her floor.  The elevator is heading back up now. 

About midway into the climb, another woman get's on.  She has dark cicles under her eyes, and her arm around a young teenager.  The two seem inseparable at first- perhaps, mother and daughter.  Then, the daughter pulls away trying to find signal for an outgoing text.  The mother stares forward into some far away place, wearing a forlorned expression. 

By the time she gets off the elevator, it is too late to catch a glimpse of the train.  She stands near the tracks looking off into the distance.

"Did you miss the train?" She is startled by an unfamiliar voice.

"Yes, I guess you could say that," she answers holding up her camera.  Her intentions are clear now.  She is only prepared to admire the train for it's mobility.  Never indulging too much in fantasies- she is not willing to actually use the train to expand her horizons. 

 

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Badly misunderstood is what I am best at.