Chapter 1: Sara Carton
The woman at the ticket counter told me the train would leave at 11:30.
She was wrong.
The Star Cascade left at 11:28. I remembered because I was standing on the platform when the train disappeared into the snow.
It was a disastrous time; I had to wait for the next train for three hours. Waiting is really not easy. It kills your soul; it kills your spark. But somehow I managed it because no spark was left in me.
I passed those miserable three hours watching little crystals of snow. But now it’s time to board the Midnight Cascade. As the name suggests, it only runs at night.
I stand up from the bench to board the train with a suitcase, a dead phone, and absolutely no intention of speaking to anyone.
The train is beautiful in a way expensive things usually are: dark ebony wood, gold lamps, velvet seats, and doors and windows so clean that they could alternate a mirror. The windows reflect the train’s interior more than the view outside.
I check my ticket again. Carriage 7, cabin 14.
I generally take time to search for my cabin, but this one is conveniently near the door.
I shove my suitcase in the luggage area, take a sip of water, and close my eyes. Life has been a little harsh on me, and this feels like an escape. My meditation is interrupted by a man knocking on the cabin door. I stand up and open the cabin.
"Hello ma’am, may I see your ticket, please?”
“Yes, here you go.”
“Cabin number 14?”
“Yes.”
The man looks a little baffled.
I try to break the silence: “Is there any problem?”
“Are you sure this is your cabin?”
“Pretty sure.”
“OK, have a safe journey.”
He hands me the ticket and walks away without waiting for a reply. That’s strange.
I close the door behind me and sit on the seat. I look around the whole cabin; everything looks so normal.
Then something catches my attention: there are two packed water bottles instead of one. The seat adjacent to mine is supposed to be vacant, as the ticket lady suggested. Maybe the staff didn’t know and they kept it there, thinking someone would arrive.
I pick up my bottle and take another sip of water. A whistle indicates that the train has started to move.
Slow at first, then it picks up great speed.
The carriage grows darker as the lights outside disappear into the night. The gentle movement of the train makes my eyes heavy.
I am on the verge of falling asleep when I hear a sudden bang on the door. My eyes fly open. The cabin door swings open. I realize I forgot to lock it earlier.
Then I see a silhouette of a man standing there.
