The Train

The noise of the train at night turns a typical man insane and lulls the stranger to sleep. The boys at the Academy groan and pull their pillows over their heads and curse the lucky ones who’ve already fallen asleep. More despicable children fancy shaking their bedmates awake. The girls across the building have discovered cotton and are unwilling to share.

No one has ever seen the train come and go, and the haze perpetually hanging from the sky obscures any glimpses of smoke.

There is a station at the edge of the casual student’s awareness. The casual student calls it a peculiar resting place, for there is no road one should be wandering upon that warrants a need to sit. There are no roads anywhere, as far as the casual student knows, and certainly no railroads.

It only makes the noise all the more infuriating. Have the people outside no need for peace? Have the people outside no care for the children?

Ah, right. Why would they? They do not know each other.

The train seems to run on endlessly. Exhausted children shut their heavy eyes. Frederick sits with his face pressed up against the window, staring into the darkness. His roommates say they’ve never met a stranger creature.