The rain was pouring down the rail tracks, and it seemed like it would never end. They already cancelled two trains because of a “technical error”. They never say what actually happened, it is always this standard message, “technical error”. I wonder if I’ll get home today. I only wanted to buy some groceries in the next town, because the grocery store in Lorwen is overpriced; they only sell co-op products. There is nothing wrong with co-ops, they have a really nice concept, but I also need to watch my purse.
It would be nicer if they would just open a normal supermarket, especially considering that the supermarket is as they say a supermarket where all the profits go back to the community. I don’t see these profits going back to me, I only see that there is one supermarket in Lorwen with overpriced food. One overpriced supermarket during a pandemic when travelling on public transport can be quite dangerous.
Then I checked the announcement board and it said: “Five Minutes until the train to Lorwen arrives”.
“Well at least that’s something,” I thought as I got up from the bench. It only took them two hours to fix this “technical error”. I looked in the direction of the train, and I could see a light in the distance. It was slowly approaching through the thick oak woods of Nevermore. I hope this is the train and not my hypothermia-driven body playing tricks on me. The light was slowly taking the shape of a train, and rolling into Nevermore train station. When the train stopped a message came through a speaker: “This train will continue its journey to Lorwen in 45 minutes, we are sorry for the inconvenience.”
Then the doors opened and dozens of people left the train without keeping any distance. Well what distance, would be the question? There is no distance on public transport. Luckily I could still enter the train; it didn’t say nobody could enter it until the train driver arrives – that is always a good sign. So I entered the dry train through the metal door and went looking for a place without any people that are close to me. I walked through the corridors until I managed to find said seat. Then I sat down and looked through the window.
There it was, my bench. The blue bench I used for over two hours, now occupied by a woman clad in red. Maybe she’ll wait two hours for her train too. Underfunded public transport is one of the most unreliable sources of transport, but still cheaper than paying for your own car. So that is what I do. Students need to watch their budget after all. I kept on staring through the window until the train started moving.
The oak woods of Nevermore were slowly disappearing and being replaced by fields filled with sheep. The sheep were replaced by stone buildings and eventually, we arrived in Lorwen.
I waited for a minute until everyone had left the train so that I wouldn’t get caught in the crowd and then left the train too. The train station in Lorwen was nothing more than a small stone building with two train tracks. Luckily, they at least had a bus stop that was close to the station. I walked through the stone building until I reached the bus stop, then I sat down and waited for the bus. According to the plan, it should be here in three minutes.
Well, according to the plan…
