Miya and her mother traveled by train for two days. The staff made very few stops at neighboring stations and only accepted passengers at a handful of stations, skipping the majority of them, even though there were obviously a few families waiting for the train. The crew refused to even slow down for them to climb on.
Some individuals, including children, would be rushed or shoved away. Others outside fought to get in, sometimes even as it began to move. Everyone aboard the train would eventually start chanting and applauding for those who were able to climb on while the train was picking up speed. It was utter boredom here, with children gambling with adults for canned food or money.
Mainly due to the fact that it had only been two days, the space had begun to build a foul stench. The majority were small children and toddlers who were boarding and had no idea how to change themselves. The personnel on board were also unwilling to embark on the assignment of baby duty.
They couldn't stand the stench any longer and were compelled to leave the window open to stench out the private cabin, which was now supposed to remain open. Miya read a book aloud to her mother, and they spent the day conversing with one another and a crew member who was hiding from one of the conductors.
“Look, I just rushed here a few nights ago to be recruited, so I can receive a free trip and some money to a location far off distant.” As he anxiously peered over his shoulder, he murmured. “I'm an orphan who has reached the necessary military age… “Well, the staff chose to tell me about baby changing duty just now.” He went on about going to live in the mountains.
When the day arrived, everyone kept steering the crew in a different direction to let the boy escape, chanting occasionally as he scaled the roof and retreated inside the train. The teen orphan who had been hiding from the others ended up jumping out the window of the speeding train at the last station. As he stood up, everyone applauded the boy for providing them with some entertainment.
Miya imagined a little chill going up her calf during the late-night commute. She had already covered up as much as she could with the heavy, multi-layer blankets her grandma had made for her. To minimize capacity, the attendants almost didn't allow it on the train before.
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She had no idea why she couldn't sleep that night. She wanted to blame the cold air in the cabin or the anxiety of waking up and not seeing her mother next to her.
In her thoughts, the popular question game 'what-if' kept playing. “What if they toss her while the train is in motion? What if they have us change the kids' diapers?” She stomped her feet in the air. Her upbraided black hair was ruffled around. She realized it was pointless to be thinking about something like this just now, but there wasn't much else to do on the train. Since that kid leaped out, her thoughts have only been on what-if scenarios.
She slept the night away after locking the cabin door. Drifting into a land of unknown magic, she can't help but stare. She spotted a purple wolf hovering over a constantly flowing river. She softly cradled in closer to the water. “What is she up to?” She asks aloud, leading the wolf to turn around.
The wolf heard Miya, but did not appear to notice her loitering nearby. “Hello, can you hear me?” She motioned with her hand to the purple wolf. She couldn't have heard her, it must have been because of something else. The wolf didn't appear to react as Miya's fingers moved lightly through her stomach. She followed the wolf back to its small home, deep within the forest, the property was surrounded by a man-made river.
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“Wah, So pretty! When I went camping with my family, I always wanted to do something like this. Is this where you live?” Miyana waited for the wolf to answer, but she forgot the fact that the wolf couldn't see or hear her. A voice echoed across the forest just as she was going to follow her inside. Followed by a peal of laughter.
“Hello, Miyana. You shouldn't be here just yet. My dear, I'll be seeing you in a few more years.” She twisted her head from side to side, looking for the alluring voice in the forest. Over and over, she called out to him. White, glistening specks floated down from the sky, it appeared to distort the forest scenery. It became difficult for her to even glimpse at the wolf inside the house. “Wait!?” She called, but everything was moving too rapidly. “Wait,” she begged loudly.
Reaching her hand forward, Miyana was thrown by an abrupt stop, forcing her mother to grasp her at the last second. Her mother clasped Miya on top of her lap, with Miya's arms dangling over. Everyone covered their ears from the loud static noise emanating from the speaker above their heads. Someone was attempting to get the speakers to work throughout the train. “I apologize for the rude early morning awakening, caused by the unforeseen stop. Folks, we appeared to have encountered a snag. Please remain seated and sleep well; we will resume movement momentarily.”
Miyana, who was still being carried, glanced blankly at the weeping younger children around her. Her pulse was beating from the unexpected shock, but her expression spoke a different tale. She was still groggy, when she looked at the time above the wall, she discovered it was just a quarter past two in the morning. She cleaned the dust from around her eyes while helping the children up. She sat back down and held her neck in place.
Last night's stop was the worst yet; twice as many children had been gathered and crammed into any available seat anybody could find, nearly empty, since there was no more available space to put them in. This includes the paid registered private cabin as well.
This indicated that the workers would not let any more adults on, even those prepared to pay a hefty price to take the train or their children's luggage. When someone complained about not having enough space, the crew would take that person's possessions and throw them out of the speeding train. Sometimes it's even the person.
Miyana, her mother, and everyone else on the train was forced to sleep sitting or standing since the train was so full that no one could sleep for more than a few hours until the sudden halted. Because of their poor posture, they were aching all over.
Miyana's mother closed the curtain, turning off the cabin lights. If the tracks were to become blocked, it could only imply one of two things. “Mother,” Miyana spoke lightly, near her ear so that the children wouldn't hear her. “You don't believe it's them, do you?” Miya clutched her fists tightly, praying that the obstruction was not caused by people following the train from the last station load.
Even though those yahoos were merely following the train, they never attempted to stop or shoot at it. They eventually dispersed off the path of the train and were not seen since. Miya's mother soothed her, and they were met by even louder shrieks of horror from the children. During the incident, a toddler struck their nose, causing them to bleed.
Miya's mother was the only adult in the cabin; the children were unsure what to do and relied on her, clinging to her as if she were their mother. Miya didn't mind sharing her mother; it made them feel secure. Wiping the blood from his nose, she seated him on her legs and told everyone old stories that Miya remembered from the first few words.
When she was younger, these old stories used to excite her. Worlds with friendly creatures and talking animals that can walk on two legs as if they were humans, as well as magical stones that can offer you magic. What child didn’t want to live there?
The story piqued the interest of the entire cabin of children. Even if she heard the story a dozen times, it never failed to make her smile. Miya would periodically interrupt her mother's narration to provide the minor things she would overshadow. Miya's mother never forgot to mention the details Miya contributed when she was younger. The adolescent Miya once stated that it would make the storyline sound more interesting and chaotic.