Memories Of Grandma's House

  It was December 19th, and nearing Christmas. For months, Jenny had been saving up for a train ticket to go see her grandmother in New York. She couldn’t wait for the night to pass. Soon she would be filled with comfort, with the warm smell of Christmas dinner, the happy laughs, and the colored lights that adorned the houses and streets. Soon, was not soon enough.

 The next morning Jenny′s alarm clock beeped, and she slowly got up blinking away the sleepiness from her eyes. Suddenly she remembered, today was that magical day when she would finally see her grandmother! Rushing around she managed to get herself ready. Stepping out into the cold, dreary world she waved her hands to signal a taxi. Inside the cab it was silent. All she could hear was the ticking of the indicator, telling the rest of the cars that it would soon be turning left. There was a sense of foreboding that she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

  When she got inside the train station, she found that her train would be delayed by half an hour. It was strange as she had never had to wait at the station for very long before. She figured that it was just the Christmas rush, and walked over to the waiting area. Glancing around she saw an elderly couple a short distance away, they were huddled together shivering against the cold. From across the room she could see a young boy playing with toy cars, his parents a little ways off. And finally she saw a rich couple, dressed in designer clothes accompanied by two men who carried their belongings. Standing up and looking around Jenny realized that all of these people would soon be happy, they would soon be filled with the delight that was brought when they reunited with their families.

 A while later, an announcer let the passengers know that the train was ready. His voice sounded automatic, as if a machine was doing was his job. There was no sense of happiness or warmth, and she wasn’t sure but she thought that she could detect a sense of fear or uncertainty.

 As she boarded her train, she realized that so many of the people she had seen in the waiting room had also come onto the same train. She could see the rich couple, the elderly couple, and a few moments later she spotted the young boy and his parents. Taking a seat, Jenny readied herself for the long journey ahead.

 Suddenly, she was pushed to the floor. As she began to gain consciousness, she could hear the sound of a alarm going off and the hurrying feet of passengers. The train had stopped, and the passengers were all frantic, calling the names of their loved ones and pushing through the swarms of people who were in the aisles. Outside the train it was dark, pitch black, and although she was awake she had no energy to get up and move. Her eyes slowly closed until all she could see was darkness. Memories both recent and old, memories of her grandmother’s house suddenly flashed through her head, and as soon as they had come they were gone. And all she was left with was darkness, the same pitch black darkness she had seen earlier, the same darkness she had seen behind the windows of the train. The world around her had stopped, and she was no longer aware of anything. All life had left her body, and it was there on that train floor that she remained. She was an obstacle in the paths of the people who were still left on the train, an obstacle for the people who were still calling in vain for the nightmare to be over.