"Theodore, don't worry.
What could possibly happen on a train? Besides," She stroked his cheek;
stubble had already begun to grow on his tanned skin. It was barely morning and
already he had something of a 5 o'clock shadow growing. "I'm only going to
Cape Gull, I will be fine!"
Jordan kissed Theodore lightly on the lips
and with a cheerful wave stepped onto the train just as the conductor started
making the final calls.
Theodore could see her walking in the body
of the train and blew a kiss goodbye. "She's right," he muttered,
"They're only going a day out in the country." Still, he felt uneasy
as he left the terminal.
On the other side of the tracks, a large
family gathered around a young woman, who was becoming very overburdened with
many parcels that her family members were giving to her.
"Momma, I'm fine!" Jackie
laughed, but still everyone in her extended family needed to give her something
for her trip. Her youngest brother, nicknamed Billie Goat because of his
stubbornness, slipped a pack of gum into her pocket. "Make sure you eat it
all before you get to ... uh, Momma where is she going again?"
The family laughed at the four year old;
being so young he certainly could become forgetful! Louie solved the problem
and produced a hand sewn bag that he had designed in his shop and placed most
of the parcels in it, before they were in danger of falling all over the
tracks. Jackie, aptly named because her parents were expecting another boy
instead of a girl, laughed and hugged all one more time and boarded the train.
The conductor pulled a string and a whistle blew, scaring poor young Billie
into his mother’s arms. She opened the small window and wiggled her fingers at
her baby brother as the train began to pull away.
As the train began to pull away, one more
passenger boarded the train. He had waited for the train to start leaving so he
could board with no one catching him. He was Colin, something he is over
twenty, but for his boyish appearance others thought him to be almost twelve.
With speed and agility he hugged the side of the train and slipped between two
carriages, shielding himself from the wind and from prying eyes. No one saw him
off with well wishes, or gave him parcels to carry, he only cursed the bad luck
he had gathered in the small town of Arcville, and he hoped in Cape Gull his
luck would increase.
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