Instead of continuing my quest of finding the man who saved my life on the train, I decided to go back home to my family in the city of Derby. But the train kept me in England for a couple of hours, and so I picked up the book I had left on the seat and started reading it.
The gentle lapping of the high seas became a nostalgic and comforting setting for the story. In a way, it felt like I was reliving the past by becoming that boy.
Exactly 20 years had passed since that day. I returned to the crash site a couple of times after that, but always in vain. I never found out who my savior was, or even his name. The retired editor of the local paper told me that there was no passenger by my description in his paper's registry of the passengers and crew members that had been onboard. The police officer who was on duty at the time of the crash told me that no passengers or crew members were reported missing. Baffled, I returned home.
Now, for the first time in 20 years, I was back at the scene of the crash. It was early morning, and I was approaching the crash site on foot. There were no other pedestrians on the path, and the only sound I could hear was the lapping of the sea against the pebbles at the shore. I inhaled the fresh salty air, and as I exhaled, I tried to bring my mind to total silence. I didn't want to bother the scene of the crash anymore than I already had. When I arrived, I paused for a moment to take a look around.
The path was covered in a thick layer of gravel, and I could still see the slight imprint of the train tracks. Cutting into the grass alongside the tracks were marks from the radiator that had been there for days after the crash, until someone finally dragged it away. On the other side of the tracks was a wooden bench, half broken and rotting from the exposure to the weather after the crash.
I went to the bench and sat down. The place was exactly as I remembered it. 20 years ago, I had exited the train and walked to this very spot. The only sound I could hear was the gentle sound of the sea. Suddenly I heard the sound of a box falling from the train onto the rocks near me. The box contained a large piece of china. I picked up the china, and for some reason found it very bulky for its size.
I finally opened the box, and in complete astonishment I saw a newborn baby boy inside. He was completely naked, with strange round shapes tattooed on his skin. I looked at his eyes and saw that they were slightly bulging out of the sockets and that the color of the pupils had a strange golden hue. He didn't cry at the fall, or even at the sudden change in the temperature of the air which was noticeably colder than the air inside the train.
I then noticed that there was something unusual behind his ear. I examined it further and realized there was some kind of device on him, similar to a hearing aid. I quickly reached out to touch it, and I heard his voice inside my head saying “Do not touch me, Nicholas. I am here to take you away from all this.” I stared at him for what seemed like hours. I had so many questions I wanted to ask, but before I could do that, he then leaped out of my hands and onto the back of the train.
I quickly ran toward the train to see which car it was, but when I arrived near the train, I was astonished to see the train standing there, motionless on the tracks. The man was nowhere to be seen. I checked the time, and it was exactly four minutes before the train was supposed to arrive.
I blinked twice and returned to reality, sighing deeply.
“It was all a dream.” I said to myself. I hadn't realized that I had spoken the words out loud until a voice replied.
“It was no dream.” the voice said.
I gasped. I recognized the voice, and it couldn't have been anyone but him. “What are you doing here?” I gasped.
He smiled. “I told you I would return, Nicholas.”
I tried to remember the words he said after he appeared on the train. I tried to understand what he meant at the time. I had many questions, but I decided to just ask him one. “What are you?” I asked.
He lifted his finger and pointed it at me. “My name is Nicholas.” He said.
I blinked twice, and for an eternity, I couldn't think of another question. When my mind finally returned, I looked down to see a shiny coin in my hand. The coin had a large picture of a scene from my past. I tilted my head to see the scene of the crash with the wagon crashing into the side of the train, and the man who rescued me. Right next to the picture was a word. The word said “Victoria.”
My eyes widened in shock.