The Train Ride

Streams seemed to construe and bend through the green lushlands while all around the earth span, and the floating birds who raced along, found refuge amongst their kin in the grand trees above. A train rattled through the mountainside and beyond. People stared through windows, momentarily escaping the harsh realities of their yesteryears. Further along, brown dust had covered tin huts whose roofs were laden in years of rust and occasionally the wind would whip across that whole damn plain of existence, persevering over dry nothingness until it found foreign mountains and distance. Somewhere on the train, a boy sat alone. His eyes were closed, lost deep in thought, music and other worldly emotions. He was halfway between sleep and consciousness, and like this the sun streamed and bathed his memories. Somewhere else, a girl had begun to listen to music: she let herself become the surroundings. 'Midnight in a perfect world,' she thought. The hours passed. Time ran into night, and later their heads met, outside windows, while smoking cigarettes under the starry glows and sights. Their smoke danced in cool air, spiralling in circles all the way up to the heavens. They smiled.