Trains

There's something about trains, especially at night, that just makes me content. There's really no other word for it. I love when a train passes and and I'm walking along by myself and it's cold out and it's nighttime. I really have no explanation for it. It just calms me. Maybe it's because I associate the train with magical childhood wishes -- ie. the train from the "Polar Express" or the train that takes the students to Hogwarts. There's so many different ways that magical beings could transport themselves, but for some reason they stick to the old ways, ways that us non-magical beings rarely even use anymore. Or maybe it's because I love to think about where the people on it are going. Who they are. I make up stories in my head. Some are of course on business, but then some are going to see old friends, find true love, or even just escape. I haven't actually been on a train for years (not counting the metro or the subway), but when I was little we used to travel by train all the time. I really only remember one encounter, I'm not really even sure if it is real or if over time my thoughts became memories. I was at a train station and I was walking with my Aunt. My Aunt is the type of person who likes to walk slow and look at every little thing and point out the obvious. The kind of thing you appreciate as a child, but once you're an adult it becomes slightly annoying because you've already realized the obvious. Anyway, I was probably about three, so her conversation was still highly intriguing. I remember us watching a big blackish-gray old fashioned type train pull away and there was two young adults, maybe even teenagers waving good-bye to each other. I can't even remember which one was actually on the train, I think it was the boy. Anyway they both made the "love" sign at each other (you know, the one that kind of looks like the "rock 'n roll" sign?). My Aunt explained to me that it meant love, and that they must love each other dearly and have to leave each other for some reason. Although it feels awfully real,  I don't even know if that moment actually exists. I can picture it though. Two young loves separated by work or college getting the time to visit but then having to leave. I wonder if they were good for each other. I wonder if they made it.