Child of the Tracks

 By Owen Webber

The tracks by the sea have been there since before Laura was born. Now she is dead, and they are still there, carrying cargo and people on their way. 

As the seasons change, she remains, unable to let go. She spends all her time at the tracks — now that she has all the time she could ever want. Laura often watches the trains rush by on their daily trips to the station. When she was alive, she loved to walk and loves it still. The smell of the sea, the beauty of the leaves in autumn, and spring’s blooming flowers. Nature’s beauty provides comfort. The birds singing from their perches in the trees above the tracks keep her company. Now the birds are her only friends.  

Laura was visible to nobody but herself, and always appeared entirely white and translucent. Sometimes, she would use the glass at the train station or the seawater to look at her reflection. Looking into her own eyes, she wished the color would come back. Color was one of the things she couldn’t get back, no matter how much she wanted it.  

Recently, Laura thought of a new way to enjoy the trains — from the inside. But not in the way she did when she was alive. She stays on the tracks instead of walking to the side of the train and watches as the cabins pass her by on all sides in a vibrant blur of colors and shapes. The conductor’s cabin, private rooms with beds, dining cabins, a bar serving drinks, and people’s luggage stacked neatly by the train company’s staff flew by her. 

Laura had stayed at the tracks for years. She knew why. She couldn’t let go. Those tracks had been too instrumental in her life and her death. It was late December, coming up on Christmas again. Laura only remembered because of the wreaths hanging at the station. She never enjoyed Christmas very much, despite her family celebrating it every year. Remembering it now, she only wished that she could talk to them again. 

Laura was walking past the station thinking about her last Christmas with her family when she saw a passenger train coming into the station, as she had seen hundreds of times before. She hopped up onto the station platform and stood among the people waiting to board. A smile broke out on her face as she once again remembered waiting for the train with her parents. 

As the train got closer, her thoughts were interrupted by a woman only a few years younger than her. Her skin was light brown. She had a calm yet tired look on her face, and her long black hair blew in the wind as she stood waiting for the train. The young woman walked up close to the tracks; much too close to be safe. Barely a step to Laura’s right, the young woman’s deep brown eyes glanced down the tracks towards the fast-approaching train. She wore a black winter coat that had a zipper down the front, and a scarf around her neck that was half cyan and half light gray. Her tall winter boots had imitation animal fur at the top and fit her feet snugly. Her body language was familiar; Laura knew what she was going to do. 

The young woman began to hop down onto the tracks right before the train pulled into the station. Laura reacted without hesitation — she grabbed the young woman mid-air and threw her back onto the station platform as the train arrived. Laura looked into her eyes, and for a brief moment, it seemed as if they could see each other. The young woman stayed sitting on the ground, face covered in tears. Laura, unsure if the woman would even notice, knelt down and embraced her. 

Artwork by Ally Wilke