The Abandoned Island

An Unhappy Decision

Zeph groaned awake as the sun filtered in through the windows in the shed side. It had been several days since her and her new friends had arrived at Wellsworth. While the engines caught up and rested, she had been scouring through town. They had been stuck in Wellsworth for three days due to a powerful storm that came through, trapping them inside the shed. Thankfully, all four engines could fit, but it was a TIGHT squeeze as they were quite literally buffer to buffer from wall to wall.

She slowly got up and began to pack up her belongings. As she did, she looked down at the pitiful amount of food she had left. Despite her best efforts, she hadn't planned for such a large adventure, so her week and a half of supplies were running very thin. She had been cutting out meals to try to eek them out longer, but it could only go so far. She was also filthy and hadn't had a shower in all the two and a half weeks of being here. She had wiped herself down with a wet towel, but that was it.

Sighing and looking at the sleeping engines, she had to decide how to proceed.
They could try to make a run for Brendam, but if they were stopped anywhere along the way, she would run out of supplies. But on the other hand, if she went back to the mainland, who knows when or if she could come back. The bridge could collapse, or something else could happen. To top it off, she hadn't planned to be gone for so long from home. As nice as this place was, she couldn't stay here.

She was so lost in thought she didn't notice Edward had waken up and was watching her changing expressions. Being the wise engine he was, he knew all too well that she was struggling with a choice. It was a choice that he knew would come as soon as he met her. He watched her brow furrow in anger, then relax as it changed to sadness. This decision was clearly tearing at her.

"Zeph," He said softly to not wake the others. Her head shot up and looked at him before she smiled, obviously trying to play it off. "y-yeah, Edward? Need something?"

"It will be ok. It is obvious what you are thinking. We will be fine. You have made all the engines you've met incredibly happy, and all those you haven't met don't know any better. You have given us gifts we will never be able to repay you for, even if some promises were unkept." The blue tender engine would say with a smile. "You coming here means we won't be forgotten completely, and that makes us all happy ."

Zeph sat down and hugged her legs to her chest. Despite what the wise engine was saying, it still hurt to know she would be leaving her new friends to their fates. She had brought them hope, just to wrip it away days later.

Edward sighed softly, "Don't think about the bad you are about to do, but remember all the good you have done. We all appreciate it far more than you realize."

"Doesn't mean I will enjoy leaving you all. I'd like to stay and help you all, but I just can't." She softly squeezed her legs in frustration. "I'll come back someday...I promise...." She mumbled, unable to look at the engines.

"I know you will, if not physically, then in spirit. Now we better be off so you can get to the mainland by days end."

Zeph slowly nodded and opened the doors on the berths. Together, they slowly marshaled a train together. Edward, Bert, Arry, BoCo, and then the breakdown train. Riding in Arry, the consist headed back down the line through the previous stations, up Gordan's hill, and by a little past mid-day, had arrived back at Crovan's gate. The entire ride back to Crovan's gate had been filled with Zeph thinking, and over thinking, and feeling worse and worse for what she was going to do; what she HAD to do.

When they arrived back at the Steamworks, she would help Edward move the other engines and the breakdown train inside before backing him in as well. He was a bit puzzled by this, "Aren't I going to be taking you to the bridge?"

She shook her head, "I don't want to let you sit out there for who knows how long waiting for me to return." She turned her head and softly mumbled, "If I am even able to..."

All the engines could see how upset she was, but she just smiled. She smiled because if she didn't, she knew she would cry her eyes out, and she didn't want her last moments with them to be her just crying. She wanted them to see her smiling so they could have hope she would return.

She closed the doors and mumbled goodbyes before going to the narrow gauge engines and saying goodbye to them as well. Then she would begin her trek all the way back to the bridge, crying her eyes out the whole trip. But every step she would look around, taking in every inch of the island she was crossing. The trees, the birds, the rails, the sleepers... She imagined the island in its prime with engines; big and small, steam and diesel, trundling around with goods and passengers. She could imagine them talking to eachother as they sat at a signal, one whistling to the other as they pass by, the thundering of metal wheels on metal track, sun gleaming off of vibrant paint work and brass.

Every step kept her in this beautiful world, but it all faded away as she stared at the bridge to the mainland. On the other side, this precious world would be gone, lost to time all over again, with only her knowing. Even in this day of age, where people could take pictures on mobile devices, anyone and everyone would think she was crazy if she said she visited an unmapped island full of talking vehicles. So, as she resigned herself,  she crossed the bridge with a heavy mind and an even heavier heart. She would slowly walk to the train station, reaching it by nightfall, sitting on the platform on a bench.

Above her, the stars twinkled, but she didn't notice as she slumped forward, her arms resting on her knees. After ten minutes of her being alone, in pure silence, the echos of dress shoes on concrete filled the night air. Zeph did not look up from the concrete or make a sound of acknowledgment. She just sat there, knowing she most likely would never be able to visit her new friends again.

The person who had made their way onto the platform slowly walked over with aged steps and slowly lowered themself beside her. Resting back, they looked up at the stars in the sky. "So, how did your adventure go?" The old but kind voice asked her.

She didn't answer as she sat silently next to them. The stranger sighed softly, "All adventures must come to an end one day, and no matter how it ends, you will always come out the end better off than when you started. You'll have memories and scars from everything you did, from every moment you enjoyed. They will always be with you....and you'll never forget them." The stranger smiled as they remembered their own memories from their own life

The pair sat in silence for several minutes, before in the distance, came the honk of a diesel. The stranger sighed again and slowly stood up. "Never let yourself forget your good times and remember, just because one adventure ends, doesn't mean another can't begin." With that, he slipped a small package into her backpack before beginning to walk away.

"Did you and your fathers before you miss being there?" She softly asked as she looked up at the stars. The stranger stopped, "We always miss it, but eventually, everyone returns to where they belong."

"Thank you for sending me on an adventure of a lifetime. I hope I miss it even half as much as you do, Sir Topham Hatt."

The stranger, in the dark suit and top hat, smiles and nods before walking away. The train arrives moments later in which she gets on, riding to the docks, and eventually
taking a ship home. Hoping she'd never forget her new friends and that they'd never forget her.