The Trains

"I had a dream.

In my dream, I was at a train station. There were two sets of tracks, stretching away from each other until they disappeared in the distance. I was standing on a simple wooden platform beside the tracks. A throng of people were pressed together, waiting. Between the steps that led to the two trains stood a man in white with the most welcoming, joyful smile. The people pressed towards him. Some of them wept silently, tears of joy streaking down their cheeks as they reached for his hands. Some of them shrieked excitedly, and leaped to embrace him. Some of them knelt and kissed his feet. He knew the name of each one who approached him, and threw his arms around them, kissing them, and laughing uproariously. He took their right hands, and put a beautiful ring on their fingers. He gave them a dazzling white robe to wear, and sent them to board the train on his right.

But many of the others slunk by him without saying a word. They silently boarded the train to his left. They did not weep, but their faces were a mask of terrified regret and sadness as they boarded the train, and never looked back.

One man boldly approached the man in white. He crossed his arms, and demanded. "I belong on that train," and nodded toward the train on the right. The man in white looked at him, and said, "I do not know you."
The man's face got red, and he angrily thrust out his right hand, showing off a garish ring. "Look, I even have a ring. Now let me on!"

Nobody breathed. The man in white looked at him, and his face was stern. "I never knew you. Depart from me."

The man opened his mouth, and shouted, but no sound came out. His feet turned abruptly, and marched him toward the other train. He disappeared into it, mouthing angry protests.

The man in white turned back to his work, and the angry man was forgotten.

It must have been a long time, but seemed only a moment, and the tiny station was empty. I stood there alone with the man in white. He smiled at me, and nodded towards the train on his right. I followed him into the train.

There was only one car, and inside it were millions and millions of people. I could never have counted them all. They stretched on forever, and at the same time, everyone was near the front, where they could see and speak to the man in white. He sat down in the conductor's seat, and shouted out with a laugh, "All aboard!" and started the train.

As we pulled away from the station, singing, laughing, and shouting. I caught a glimpse of the other train, dark, silent and miserable, pulling away from us in the opposite direction. I looked ahead of us, and saw the tracks rising sharply, like a roller-coaster. I cried out, "Please, I'm afraid!"

The man in white turned and winked at me, "No you're not." he said.

And I wasn't."

The End

Unlike many of my short stories, this really was a dream. It was a beautiful, and somber dream. I woke up crying and really happy. So I wanted to share it.