March Madness, I have to give it a try although I write (and tell) mainly short stories and for sure I might have a lack of words.
Who knows I can make a long story out of all the short stories I will write this month. I learned, thanks to @mariannewest, there is always a story to tell, no matter what the prompt is. If you like to join or like to be a #MMFan (reading the novels written this month) please do so @freewritehouse see HERE.
I did not use a prompt for my second day of March Madness. It was not there as I looked and I can not count on my internet connection (neither on my health) it willbe there in time. My day is nearly over.
The story I wrote at day 1 you can read HERE.
The picture is a pixabay.com pic.
03-02 (Day 2) - word count: 1643
'Hi sleepyhead', a soft voice said.
He smiled. He always did as he heard her voice. He could tell by her voice she did so too.
'Are you going to sleep whole day and night?'
'Well you know me', he said. 'No matter how hard I try I am not able to stay awake. The sound of the train carries me away. Besides... I love being there, its hard to return.'
He grinned. There was no need to wake up yet. In the end he would, if the train stopped. There was nothing to do for him anyway. He would go to the PuB, have a hot meal, a shower and soft bed for the night. Next day he would take the train back as soon as he got the message it was ready to leave.
'Yes, I know you', she said and laughed. Her voice sounded like hundreds of clinging glass bells.
'I am so happy I met you'.
The love he felt for her was deep and everlasting. He felt a soft, warm breeze, smelled the flowers she called magnolia. He knew she left, just passed by to have a look at him. He also knew she would always come back, be there of he needed her, was watching over him. Meeting her was the best thing that ever happened to him.
'Magnolia', he whispered in his sleep, 'I wish I knew what it looked like.'
As the train slowed down he tried to open his left eye.
The train couldn’t be there yet. He didn’t know the time, had no watch to check it out, but he was 100% sure about it. His inner clock was always right. He tried to sit more upright, to stretch his arms and legs. It wasn’t really comfortable the way he had slept, but he became used to it. For some reason he never could stay awake in this train. All these years he was driving it he fall asleep as soon as it left the station. No need to worry, actually he didn’t do much. The train knew when to start, where to go. His task was only to drive with it, being there in case of emergency, but there never had been one in all these years.
It was an easy job, he got payed well and most of it he felt save in it. He was sure there was no better place to be.
He listened to the wind for a while.
Strange, he thought, usually winds like these are a sign of a storm coming up. He did not hear any rain there was no lightning or thunder. Just wind. A wind of thousands of voices. He tried to hear what the voices said. Were they saying something at all or just laughing and giggling?
The train slowed down a bit more.
He tried to look outside of the small window, but the darkness of the night was all he could see. There was nothing there he recognized. We can only be halfway by now, he thought, I better sleep a bit more. The train will know what to do and we will be in time like always. 'Like always', he mumbled.
At the same moment he decided to go back to sleep something big and white flung against the window. A body? Two dark eyes looked him straight into his eyes, a mouth was forming words. Words he could hardly hear. He saw it moving, understood it wanted to tell him something. Words in a long forgotten language.
'What', he shouted, 'what is it you want to tell me? You need to come inside I can not hear you. The wind... come inside it will kill you.'
He tried to open the window, but it was stuck, just like the door. Annoyed he pushed against it. How come it was stuck, it never was. Did someone lock him in as he slept?
The train started driving faster and the white person disappeared as if it was dissolved in the air. Where did it go? Did it jump of the train or was it hit by it? As in a flash he read the sign at the train station he passed by: 'G’s Hill' it said.
He was right, they were only halfway. The train would not stop anywhere. Like usual it would drive from the harbour to 'WE' (World’s End) in between these two places there was nothing to stop for. Not one single human being would live in the forgotten and abandoned areas. A place even birds would not fly above.
Birds... how long ago it was he had seen one or heard one?
He wondered if they were still there, somewhere. The little creatures that once filled the air with their never ending twittering and singing. He thought of the meals his mother once made. How he loved them.
'White meat is the healthiest meat you can eat', she always said. 'It will keep you healthy and strong your whole life on.'
After she said that she always gave him an extra piece. With a twinkle in her eyes she whispered in his ear: 'Do not tell your dad it was his favourite chick.'
I wish you were here now to tell me some more stories about how it once was or just to talk about the things we did. I wish you could meet her. I am sure you like her. There is so many I want to tell you. I wonder what happened to you. Are you still alive? Should I go find you?
The train was back at its top speed and he felt so sleepy.
There was plenty of time left to live his dream, to be in the world he loved most. She would be there, wake him up like she always did.
With a smile on his face he fall asleep again. He was back in, the long forgotten, time, the world most people can no longer remember or see.
The sun was shining, it was busy at the seashore. People laughed, played ball games, were sunbathing. He smelt the salty air and heard voices speak all kind of different languages... the same kind of languages the wind spoke.
'One day you will understand them too and who knows even will be able to speak some of them', his mother said, as she rubbed his back.
'I have saved some great books for you.' He felt her warm hand on his back.
'Don’t you think it is time to start studying them', a soft voice said. 'You can teach it yourself easily. You are smart enough and do have plenty of time. You still saved all those books she gave you don’t you?'
'Yes, I did. I could do it, you are right. I will do it, soon.'
He smiled back at her and sank into a deeper sleep where even she could not reach him.
"I wonder what reason is behind his sleepiness", she thought.
There must be a good reason why he is chosen for this job, but also why someone keeps him asleep. Each time it is harder to get him awake.
She thought about what he told her about the white person, the stuck window and door. What did that person wanted to tell him and why was he chosen? He did not seem to speak, nor understand, the old languages and the only way she could talk with him was as he was partly asleep, in between the two worlds they lived.
She decided to keep a better eye on him as she did during the past years, simply be there and watch. Once he was in the PuB she would tell him about her worries and see if an other job was available. One that made him less sleepy. She would help him to study the books. It was time to wake him up, start to live in the real world instead of living his dreams in the other world.
For now she would leave him and see if she could find out anything about that train. The wind did not harm her neither did the night, her eyes and senses were as sharp as at daytime.
Carefully she opened the door and stepped outside the train. 'Come wind my friend', she said, 'you need to take me back.' And so the wind did. She was carried back to 'G’s Hill', the place the freight train had slowed down and the white person was seen by him.
'Do not worry', she said, 'I will be back in time, but this is something I need to do first.'
Away she floated, carried by the wind.
There was just one person who saw her.
He was hiding on the freight train. He jumped on it right after he saw his younger brother do it. He felt proud the boy made it and knew getting off the train would be a piece of cake.
As he saw her floating away he wondered how she did it, but also why she did it. The train would go back the next day. She just needed to wait for some hours. He knew because he frequently took it back home.
It was the only thing this train did. Driving up and down with some freight. He never had seen any living person on it except for the ones who took it with him. He stood between the piled up crates and watched the sky. The wind did not dare him. He knew it would make his brother feel miserable and he hoped he would find a place to hide and stay warm.
As soon as they were off the train he would tell their companions they are alright. He hoped the boy was and he would give the club a chance.