World Beyond Darkness

Frozen pellets of snow thrashed against the window, as the last train raced through the chilling winter night.

Six passengers sat in an eerie silence, all on for a different reason, and all waiting for their stop that was never to come.

An old man sat near the back of the train. An old black and white photo shaking in his hands, a smile on his lips. A once full and beautiful bouquet of flowers next to him; wilting, petals falling to the cold metal floor.

The silence broke with a cracked sobbing.

A woman in the front seat was rocking, the small child in her arms was still. Singing soft lullabies with trembling lips, eyes red and puffy and cheeks stained with tears. There was no pretending.

The child was gone.

A young couple was placed in the centre of the train, hiding under a blanket of mist. Bodies meshed together, left hands intertwined afraid to let go. Looks of terror painted on their face. It could have been the situation or the cold damp winter air that had goosebumps jumping on their skin.

Slowing, the train pulled up to a beaten and broken down ghost town. Coming to a stop at an unstable wooden platform, cracked and worn out.

This was the end of the line, the point of no return.

The once existent snow had disappeared, warm air heating the ice cold skin of the passengers as they stepped off the train. One by one the five disappeared into the darkness beyond.

Gone forever.

As for the sixth passenger. Well, I stayed on for my ride was not over, my job was not over.

Names of passengers continued to fill the worn out pages of my book; as I ripped them away from their life. And while they stayed in the memories of those who would not forget them.

They perished from mine.

With a wailing screech, the wheels turned once more, piercing the silence.

The train departed once again, frozen pellets of snow thrashing against the window, as it raced through the chilling winter night, to the world beyond darkness.

Those who left, were nothing more than words on a blank page,

Meaningless.

Author's Note

Ignore grammar problems, ignore spelling mistakes

Reviews

[Sally Hope]

This is beautiful. Reminded me of a KDrama I recently watched - Goblin, it was. You sound like the Grim Reaper, and the entire analogy about the path to the darkness beyond compared to a train journey is haunting. Good work. Keep posting.

[Theo Ratcliffe]

Thank you very much

[APOORVA]

There were six of us on the train. An old man holding a bouquet of flowers, a young couple tightly gripping each other's hands, almost afraid to let go. A mother holding her sleeping child in her arms, and me staring out the window watching as blackness past before my eyes.

i can easily picture what you have shown.
wow !! superlike

[Theo Ratcliffe]

Thank you very much! :)