Evening train.

The train stopped at some station in a small town, one of those towns that look ghostly at night and full of life during the day. They got on the train unaware of the five pairs of eyes set to them five, they were so enthused in each other they were bound to notice nothing and no one. It would have been better for them if they had noticed something but then fate would have been rendered powerless.

The eyes pursuing them were sharp, inquisitive, eyes to be feared if you became aware of them. Thing was, the couple was only aware of each other, period. They had no interest in their surroundings.

" They would do", whispered a skeletal woman to her robust husband.
"I think you're right" he conceded in a conspiratorial tone.
Their friends,sitting behind them, agreed with the woman. It was marvelous to see how well they all got along.

The train stopped at the station, a new station. The observers of the young couple wondered if they were going to get off and prayed they weren't, not yet. They were so perfect for what they had in mind. Pity it was always the same, you found them and after whatever happened you could not keep them, they had to go. Still they were perfect.

The train moved on. Another station and another couple got on it. The older woman with glasses size them up and whispered to her husband "these are better". He agreed.
Another station and the first couple got off, they hadn't noticeD the glances that followed them till they set a foot on the platform and the train moved on. Wondering glances, already mournful for what could have happened if only they had stayed and if they had remained first choice.

The second couple stayed,they were going to the terminal. They were not lovers, they were just friends on a joy ride. Not being lost in each other they had time to look at their surroundings and advertently at the people who shared their journey. For some reason they wish they had not chosen to take the evening train, they could have traveled in the morning, something about the eager eyes of their traveling companions made them uneasy. There was something in the air, something subtle and yet suffocating.

Just in that moment the skeletal woman turned to the girl and asked,
"Excuse me, are you going to the terminal?"
" Yes".
"Oh, how lovely, we have a house there, just across the station. Would you like to join us for dinner? Our children are gone you see, you'd be doing something kind by accepting."
" Well..."
"You can even stay the night if it gets to be too late. These are dangerous times for young people to go around alone."



"Wonderful, thank you very much"
"So you accept?"
The boy and girl said yes in unison and the older woman smiled warmly. Young people were easy targets. She dozed off happily, once the prey was caught there was no need to fret.

It was then when the girl said to her friend "We have to get off now"
"Now, why?"
"Something is wrong, I know."
" It is almost night, we'll get lost."
" Good, so they cannot find us"
"I think you're exaggerating a bit, they are odd I agree but still..." he left his sentence unfinished. His eyes travelled to a newspaper that one of the passengers had dropped on the floor when going to sleep. He picked it up and showed it to the girl. It was just an average newspaper, the kind people read on trains and leave on the seats when they get off but one of the headlines caused them to keep silent." Bodies of missing couple found"
Just at that moment the skeletal older lady woke up.
" Reading the newspaper?" her tone was almost cloying.
" Oh, just curiosity"
" Well, you know what they say about curiosity..." They wondered if it was a sick warning,one they could not take because in the woman's mind, they were already caught in her game.
" Oh,yes we know it killed the cat"
The woman nodded and said "indeed" and dozed off again.The others were already asleep.
The train got to the following station. Swiftly the couple of friends got off and hidden its restroom as quickly as they could. The train went on.
When the passengers woke up the young couple was gone. Well ,they were not that lucky that night. Such a pity. Still the youngsters were bound to take the next train and they would be met by Ellen and Pete. Most likely something will come out of that encounter.

"Let's not take the following train, said the boy, it will be better to wait till morning"
It was the girl's turn to be skeptical."Why? They lost us"
"Yes, they lost us but it will be better to travel in the rush hour than in a half empty train at this hour."
" You may be right, so where do we go?"
" Nowhere, we just stay here."

And so they spend hours hidden till early morning. They freshened up a bit and abandoned their hiding place.
They didn't know but they had been close to making the headlines in the following days only that they would not have been able to tell the story to their grandchildren one day.

Elizabeth Aldam, March 24, 2025

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