The Empty Car, on the last train west…

Jana and Eddie stepped up into the empty car of the train, pulling themselves up the steep steps as they gripped the rusting rail. How many people had laughed in delight at the sense of  adventure the train promised when it was new and fresh and freshly painted? Jana stood at the top of the last step and turned to look at the station. It must have been beautiful once, filled with conversation, destinations shouted out to friends, the thump and rattle of luggage lifted and set down, little wheels shushing along the floor tiles, now cracked and chipped.
This train was going west, away from the blighted cities, the crowds, the docks that stank of fish oil and creosote.

To read the rest of this story, see link to The Wilight Mirror and the New Dawn by Jordan Amar

© 2020 Eschate/J Amar