The Last Train

Marissa sat in the dingy corner of the railway station and smoked a cigar. A puff of smoke escaped her mouth as she sighed deeply, partly due to exhaustion and partly due to the chilly wind which bit at her bones. The empty railway station made it evident that she was boarding the last train. She held her train ticket in her hand and memorized her train number- IE01 out of boredom.

When the train finally arrived, she sat in the first compartment and carefully observed the strange woman sitting in the next compartment. She wore a drab black dress, black velvet gloves and a thick veil that covered her face as if she was trying to conceal her identity. Only her snow-white shins remained exposed. Marissa disapproved of her peculiar appearance.

She closed her eyes and lit another cigar, ruminating on the next day's lethargic schedule, endless meetings, and office work. The train felt peaceful, as she and the woman were the only passengers and she enjoyed the solitude of the train. Randomly, the train stopped and the lights went out in the train. Marissa groaned in irritation. Suddenly, annoying noises of metal screeching made her get up from her seat. The eerie woman happened to be writing something on the wall of the train with a rusty nail. She tiptoed carefully to get a clearer view of the engravings. She had written several names and had crossed it out and then, in huge letters she carved 'Marissa". After that, she rummaged through her pocket and started polishing a bloody knife.

Marissa stood quaking in her boots before she quickly scurried to the nearest door and forced it open. She ran without looking back while failing her arms vigorously through the empty railway station. When she ascertained herself that the coast was clear, she walked in a calm manner. She walked past a newspaper stand, in which an old newspaper's headlines caught her attention. In bold letters, it was written-'Train IE01 destroyed in an accident- female passenger killed in an accident.'