Destination

Heavy metal wheels rolling along the tracks, a monotonous rhythmic tone clanking with a soothing, eerie repetitiveness. Clinking, followed by a brief moment of silence, then again. Thud-thud. A rare squeal of a wheel slipping on a curve, as the rail car bends slightly along the way, then returning back to the perfect parallel with the others.

Jon woke up with a start, finding himself in an uncomfortable, tiny bed, on linen sheets yellow from age and wear. With a groggy shake he failed to clear the brain fog, then put his legs on the dirty floor and looked around an empty compartment. Low lull of the train rumbling along the track invited him to go back to sleep, but an uneasy feeling of being watched made him prop himself up, leaving his jacket that doubled as the blanket on the bed.

The man walked past empty compartments to the toilet in the back of the rail car, every step made with care of a person on a thin ice. As Jon turned on the faucet over the dented sink a bit of rust came out, then some air exited with a sputtering noise, and, finally, cold water started dripping into the basin. The passenger splashed some cold and refreshing, yet a bit murky goodness in his face and raised it towards the chipped mirror. A face looked back, a face he didn't remember having - dark green eyes, hay-colored hair, a small scar above his left eye and a mangled piece of flesh instead of his right ear. Jon shook his head again, trying to compose himself - it didn't make sense to see the face he was seeing now.

Drying his hands on the inside of the pants back pocket he retreated back towards his compartment. A young boy was sitting on the side of the bench, looking from behind of a divider between old-fashioned beds festooning every inch of available space in the train carriage. Decrepit and harassed-looking blinds haphazardly drawn over the bright windows blocked some of the light coming from outside, somehow failing to catch the little boy in the sunlight.

Jon stopped and looked down at the boy, then smiled. The boy smiled back.

'What's your name, buddy?' he asked.

The boy grunted and mooed like a tiny calf.

'███ ████ ██ ███████' Jon heard a reply from the corner of the compartment. An elderly woman sat there, a full head of silver hair, a stern look on her face, pair of glasses decorating her small button nose. Her stature looked forbidding, but her height and air of frailty failed to accommodate that.

'Hi, Albert, how are you doing?' Jon turned back to the boy.

Another wide smile, another sound more akin to a seal pup's cry.

'██ ███████ █████', the old woman said sharply, '███ █ █████ ██████████ ██ ███ █████ ████ ████████ ███.'

The man tried smiling at the woman.

'I'm Jon. I assume we're going to the same destination?'

The old woman measured Jon, considering if he's worth a reply.

'██ ████ ██ █████. ███ █████ ███ ██ █████████ ██ ██ █████████ ████ ██ ████ ████████.'

Looking slightly abashed Jon continued his way under the piercing gaze of the woman. Once returned to his compartment he sat on the bed and tried to pull the blinds apart and peer into the window. They didn't give. Jon was able to move them only a tiny bit, opening a hair-thin crack between the plastic insulation and the glass. Putting his whole head against the wall surface he tried to peek outside. A milky, brilliant white light flashed into his eye. For miles ahead there was nothing, not a sky in sight, not a landmark, just pure matte glow filling every available inch of vast empty space that seemed like it was both moving and frozen in time forever.

Pulling back and shaking his head Jon composed himself. He stood up, making a plan on the spot; he'll go to the driver's cabin and clarify how long of a journey they have left. Walking at a brisk pace, his legs steadier every moment, his eyes fell on a familiar person further down the narrow car corridor filled with beds.

He wore khaki colored clothes, a kufiya wrapped around his shaved head and had a sun-burnt neck. He sat on a made-up bed, his pillow precariously balanced on one corner into a conical pyramid, staring into the crack in the curtains, not blinking, his eyes reflecting glaring light.

'Hey, are you all right?' Jon inquired, sitting down on a bed opposite. The man didn't move, every muscle on the suntan body strained as if prepared to jump, to pounce on his prey.

Jon's eyes fell on a battered backpack, swinging on a rack with every rhythmic thud of the train's wheels. The bag was almost all covered in small patches, with several of the holes and rips looking fresh, some of them burned around the edges. A name tag near the handle said "R. Cooper".

'Is "R" for "Richard" or "R" for "Randy"?' Jon pressed on. He somehow knew the man as though they met a few times, but being bad with the names Jon could never remember one.

'███', the man suddenly replied.

'Rob, have we met before? You look familiar, did we serve together at some point?'

'██'

'Sorry to have bothered you.'

As Jon stood up from the bed and went to continue his way towards head of the train. A dirty rag of a carpet slipped under his feet, and he had to catch himself on the nearest lamp holder. An announcement went on the PA system.

'We are arriving at the █████ station', the speaker crackled and popped. The train jerked and, after a few long seconds filled with sound of screeching brakes, stopped.

Rob's body suddenly jolted, as if he just woke up. He raised his eyes to the Jon's face, his expression clearing up, facial muscles starting to move.

'█ ████████ ███ ███. ██ ████████ ███████ ████████.'

Jon froze.

'Now I think I'm mistaken. I don't think we've met before', he replied, his voice shaking.

Jon went to retreat back to his compartment, when he heard Rob's words thrown at him.

'████ ███ █ ███ █████ ██ ███ ███ ███.'

He swung around, prepared to confront Rob, but he only saw a glimpse of his wide back and a sand-colored backpack swing out of a view as the train car door closed behind him with a squeal of metal on metal.

'███ ███ █████' he felt a tap on his shoulder and heard a sharp voice of Jenna behind him. Still dazed Jon moved aside and let the woman pass, a suitcase in one hand, long black coat hanging over it, and Albert's tiny palm in her other hand. The boy gave Jon a wave with his diminutive hand and grunted something reassuring, what sounded like a yelp of a hungry puppy.

'█████ ███ ██████.'

The woman gave Jon a withering look, then yanked Albert's hand again and walked out of a train car, head raised high.

'Passengers, this is our final station, please don't forget your belongings when exiting the train,' voice on PA rasped again.

Jon walked back to his compartment, collected his jacket, then walked back to the exit door and slid it open. Blinding white light enveloped him, the milky substance outside washed away feelings of unease. Whatever happened before is no longer important.

'I know she really was a sweet old woman,' Jon thought with his mind melting away.