The train went on a loop and nobody noticed until it went around a fourth time and by then, the fifth loop had started. A scream escaped into the air but no one claimed it. The twenty-something passengers all paused to look at each other as another loop began.
A short man ran to one end of the car and a tall man went to the other end but neither were able to open the exit doors. What's even more strange, they were by themselves and not attached to other cars or even the car with the engine that kept the train moving. Everyone stared out the windows at the passing scenery of trees and buildings under the dull winter sun.
The passengers' panicky voices rose and fell. In his corner with his shopping cart piled high with stuff, a man wearing many layers of clothing was enjoying a bowl of something soggy soaked in milk. In between bites, he muttered, "Can't stop. Got to keep going til someone makes a wish."
Just a few feet away, sitting by the window, Jill heard him but she ignored him. She was thinking if she was late to work, she would be fired. But she didn't panic. She was trained by her firefighter grandfather to stay calm during emergencies. If he was here, he would say, "This is a puzzling puzzle. We'll need to figure this out with our brains, not our emotions."
It was the wrong morning to stop paying attention to the train. Normally, Jill read her book and trusted the train to get her to her destination. The train had made its usual stops and passengers got on and off but now it was passing all the stops. What are they to do? Back and forth they went on with the loops and nobody had any answers to this strange predicament. So far, Jill counted nineteen loops. She glanced around her. This was no longer the B train - the sign was now a blank orange circle and not only that but all the advertisements all over the car were missing words.
The man with the layer clothing was now reading the newspaper. Jill thought to ask him why was he so calm but he would probably answer with something too wild for her to believe. She glanced at her wrist watch: 8:56. She was already late since it took five minutes to walk to the office from the station.
The train began to speed up. Loop after loop, it went faster. Jill barely felt the velocity and no one tumbled but the scenery through the windows became long blurs. A little boy screamed that he wished to go home. A few people mumbled their assent.
The man with the layered clothing put down his papers. He looked around him. "Who else wish to go home?" he said.
Everyone raised their hands including Jill. But she didn't want to go home and yet, she didn't want to go to work. She wished she could move to an island and bowl under the sunshine.
After a few more loops, the train began to slow down and came to a leisure halt. The doors whooshed open. For a moment, no one moved. Then they all rushed out the doors. Two uniform men appeared and directed them from the station while citing that the train was no longer in service.
Jill got to work ten minutes late but she was just glad she wasn't looping anymore. Was she wrong that the man with the layered clothing had disappeared from the train? She was sure he didn't get out with them.
In the afternoon, her boss came out of his office and announced the company would be moving to an island and it will occurred in a month. Jill was enjoying the idea of testing the new pins and bowling under the sunshine to worry about getting fired or having her wish come true.
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This month's
Words for Wednesday prompts are
posted here. This week's prompts are:
train, loop, scream, puzzle, bowl.
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