The Train Transfer

It was a day like no other, here in Saskatoon. It was one of those days you think you've woken up in a dream. There was freshly fallen snow on the ground, crisp and polished, as if the earth had never met human contact. Early in the morning, the glorious, glittery sun rested on the horizon line, tinting our surroundings with a rosy glow. It shined through our large panel windows and flooded over the ruffled bed sheets where we sleep. I woke up to that, drowsy. I gripped the pillowed blanket in my fists and threw it onto her, my wife. She didn't budge. I felt a smile creep along my face as the cold from last night's weather hugged my body. I breathed in a long breath through my nose and jumped out of bed. Time to go, I thought.

We sat in my old rust bucket of a car, dust tickling my nose as I drove. My coat enveloped my body with warmth, yet my hands felt as if I'd stuck them in the snow overnight. But I didn't care- we were almost there anyway. She slept peacefully beside me, dreaming about who knows what. It painted a smile on my face. The road that stretched out in front of me was as far as the eye could see, but I could see the train station in the corner of my eye. I turned into it and easily found a parking spot.

Once and a while, Lara and I like to go into town, but we take the train- it's just more interesting.

"Lara," I spoke, shattering the silence, "we're here."

She blinked her eyes open. We didn't speak, just stepped out of the car. My feet sank into the thin layer of snow covering the parking lot. It had started to snow again, just lightly enough to give off a soft look to my view. A familiar, warm, smoky sent filled my nose. I breathed it in, secretly enjoying it. A small building was standing in front of me, rails looking as of they had sprouted from the sides of it. A long screech sounded in the distance and the cars of the train filed into view.

"Looks like we got here just in time." Lara pointed out, grabbing my hand. Together, we raced toward the train. We took our seats on the left side of the car facing eachother. I felt my body jerk backwards as the train started up again.

"Where should we shop?" I asked, getting the conversation started.

Lara looked up at me and smiled. "Everywhere we possibly can." That made me laugh, but I didn't know why- it wasn't even funny. She giggled softly too.

"I've always loved this," she stared happily out the window. Scenery was zipping by, more trees than you can imagine.

"Loved what?" I questioned, even though I already knew.

"Train rides. I used to beg my mother to take a train to school."

"Your poor mother," I teased.

We talked for awhile, sharing childhood memories and laughs. It's moments like these I tresure. They make me happy and I hope we-

"Hey!" Lara's protest broke my thoughts.

I looked up at her. "Wha-"

"Do you smell that?" I gave a sniff, and a thick smoky smell filled my nose.

"Is that-"

"Smoke!" Lara yelled.

"Perhaps they just dropped some coal on the floor," I tried to comfort her.

The train came to a sudden stop. Lara and I both got up, along with a few other passengers. Before we got anywhere, a voice blared above our heads.

"Please remain seated."

We all went back to our seats, worried and confused. We looked around at each other, murmuring anxiously.

All of a sudden, red flames burst into action behind the car door, lapping at the small window. A few people let out a screech, others gasped in horror.

"C'mon!" A man gestured to the back of the car. Everyone got up and started racing to the door. The man swung it open and we all frantically jumped out into the snowy woods. The front half of the train was lit with flames. Thick black smoke clouded around us. No one spoke, just ran as fast as we could in the opposite of the direction of the train. The conductor had somehow managed to catch up with us, and we all clustered far away from the incident.

The conductor, Lance, had managed to calm everyone. "Another train is going to meet us here." He explained.

Lara groaned. "All I wanted was to go into town." She turned her back to me to get a good look at the forest. I wanted to cheer her up somehow. I looked around. All I saw was trees and snow.

All I see is trees and snow.

I bent down to the ground and buried my bare hands into the cold powder and scooped up a mass of it. I formed it into a sphere and threw it at Lara's back. I let out a chuckle as she turned around. There was a hint of amusement in her eyes, but she kept a straight face.

"Did you just throw snow at me?"

"Yes Ma'am."

She bent down and gathered some snow. She packed it ever so neatly into a perfect ball. She grinned. "Well then, sweetie," her voice twinged with lust for revenge, "two can play at that game." She launched the ball at me and I tried to dodge it, but it exploded right into my face, spraying snow everywhere. Frosty tingles erupted all over my skin. We now had an audience or four children, laughing and cheering us on.

Soon, we were both covered in snow, the kids rioting and even some adults were chuckling. I held one snowball in my hand. I threw it, but Lara dodged it, and it hit someone else. This "snowballed" into a huge pandemonium of screaming, laughter and snow. Everyone was soaked, but content. As the sun began to set, the train rolled up the tracks and Lara and I, plus our new friends, made our way onto it and took our seats once again.

Night had fallen by the time we had finished shopping in town. The neon signs and soft shop lights bathed the the snow and slick streets in colour. Our arms were full of bags as we waited for the train ride home.

"Thanks." Lara said simply. I didn't know what she meant, but I didn't care either.

The night train screeched towards us, it's harsh light temporarily blinding me. As we climbed on, Lara looked back at me and gave me a large smile.

"Maybe this train will catch fire too."

-

sorry I was really proud bc my teacher told me I could be a novelist and shit and my dad even thought I playgerized this :"") thank you for reading it means a lot to me:")