Punched Ticket

"What are you doing Sir?"

     "Waiting for the train."

"We are in a field Sir, there are no trains coming."

     "Here it comes, look to the left of that farmhouse."

"Oh! It really is a train. But there are no tracks."

     "It is a special train."

"Are we going to get on it Sir? You know I do love trains."

     "Yes, the train is here for us."

"I am so happy, but won't my parents mind?"

     "They might, but there is nothing they can do about it."

"Will I get in trouble, Sir?"

     "No, you will never get in trouble again."

Ploughing through the field without leaving a trace the train stops before them. It was a classic style train, with billowing smoke and lots of noise. Apart from having no wheels visible the blue steam train now waiting on passengers to board was exactly what a person would expect.

Ana loved trains, and above all, she loved blue trains. This train was the perfect blue, just like her sundress she wore today. Her favourite dress, she only wore it on Sundays. That why she called it her "Sundress."

She would love to wear it every day, but the rest of the week her parents did not want her wearing nice clothes. Only when they went to town or people might visit were nice clothes allowed.

The field was behind their house, opposite the farming area. Her Daddy said eventually they would turn it into farmland also but they were not able to do it yet.

She enjoyed the fields because most people did not go there, the grass was always tall and made it fun for her to hide. She would just bend down a bit and like magic, she would be gone.

She knew people could still see her but they had to be really, really close.

Having boarded the train she found the windows came down quite far, and she could easily see out of them without having to jump up onto the seat.

"I always have to jump up to see outside on other trains." She noted.

"This train was built with you in mind," the man says and smiles. He did not mean the smile really, or he was not sure if he did. He just knew that it was expected.

Ana smiled back and looked out the window as she sat comfortably back watching the field behind their farm slowly start to move.

"Hey, there is grandpa. Can't he see us?"

"No he can't see us or the train Ana." The man pauses and adds "You are safe now Ana."

She looks at the man, and nods. She liked how he wore fancy clothes, and even in the field his black shoes were shiny and clean. She always made sure her shoes were still clean even when in the field. Mom would give her a hiding if they were not.

The field was moving past them, but not like things usually move when you are on a train. Ana watched her Grandpa look for her and she smiled because he would not find her this time.

"I don't really like Grandpa she said. He is looking for me now, do you see him? Over there."

"Yes, I see him. Yes, I know you don't Ana. He won't bother you again."

"He is not like Mommy and Daddy, they hurt me because I don't listen. He hurts me even when I listen."

"Look there, who is that?" the man says not wishing to hear the pain and confusion in Ana's voice.

"I don't know," She quickly replies taking her focus off of her Grandpa. "That girl looks just like me, look she even is wearing my dress." Ana continues standing on her knees to get a better look out the window.

With a sigh, Ana sits down and glances at the girl in the field again. "I hope that old man does not find her," she says in a quiet voice.

They seem to have reached the end of the field by now, yet the house and everything were in the same place as before. The season has changed, and the little girl in the field seemed to be younger.

The one moment she was hiding from an old man in the field and the next she was walking with a man and woman. They seemed happy to Ana.

Day turned to night, and Ana could only see the faint lights of the Farmhouse. She could hear the cries of a child and the screaming voices of a man and a woman.

She went to go sit next to the man, it felt safer by him. She did not know why she could see the people in the house fighting, something felt familiar about them.

Looking away from the Farmhouse, Ana looks up at the man and says "I am not scared you know."

"I know." He replies and starts to tell her a story.

"There was this girl once, she had a very difficult childhood." He starts to tell Ana.

Looking at the man and frowning, Ana asks "Like the girl in the field?"

"Exactly like the girl in the field. She even had the same dress and everything." The man replies, then strokes Ana's hair. The action seemed expected.

As Ana listened to the story of the girl. How she grew up to be live an amazing life, at least as it seemed to Ana. The girl was happy, and she could wear fancy clothes any day. She was alone but not lonely, and she was safe.

The man finished the story and on his last words, he and Ana looked out the window of the train. Ana had grown in the time, a young woman, knowing in her eyes.

They watched the farm fade. "I am tired now," Ana tells the man and lays her head on his lap.

"That is a good idea," says the man, as the dark envelopes the train.

_{Read on Uptrennd}