Love train blues

I was waiting for the Love Train. Heard the whistle sounding. The buzz on the tracks. A crackle and hiss. An announcement. This train runs express to Disillusion.

I kept waiting, now more pensive than excited. An engine approached on the opposite track. Men and women who’d recently left the place I wanted to be straggled onto the platform. They said nothing to each other. Their faces were blank.

I waited through the afternoon. The Love Train didn’t come. Every hour or so there’d be a train to somewhere else—the 3:10 to Passing Time, the 4:45 to Dulling. I waited into the black of the night. No stars above.

The lights on my platform dimmed. I was left alone in darkness.

Then a glow reflecting from the tracks caught my eye. A whistle. Attention passengers, the electronic voice crackled, the train arriving at Platform One is the Love Train.

The engine came into view, a single carriage behind it. I climbed on board. A single seat for two. No other passengers to be seen. The conductor approached. ‘Ticket to Love?’ she chirped. I moved aside to let her sit.

It wasn’t what I expected. The train took a sidetrack. Disappeared into the night.

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2 thoughts on “Love train blues

  1. Richard,that was somewhat Maccabe!!! I was expecting a completely different ending.But I like that! I like stories that seem to be leading you down the path of obvious conclusion,then pull the rug out.Did you watch alot of Twilight Zone,as a kid?I did!!!

  2. Yes, I loved Twilight Zone, though I watched it as early morning re-runs in my first shared house, so my memory of the actual plots is hazy. But it’s a lot of fun sometimes to locate a story in that surreal ‘zone’ so that certainty is just out of reach. Glad you’re enjoying the posts, Terry.

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