Time Reversed

Mira, a curious fourteen-year-old, escaped from her house one night at twelve o'clock, just for fun. She wanted to roam around and experience the vibe of staying out alone at midnight. There was no one in the house at that time because her parents had gone out of town for some work. Taking advantage of the opportunity, she packed some important things and began her adventure.

Almost half an hour later, she reached a place she didn't recognize. It was an abandoned railway station. She had never heard of that station and thought she had lost her way. Suddenly, she heard a honk and an announcement.

"Dear passengers, the Train of Time is arriving. Kindly stay away from the railway tracks and board the train after it stops. Thank you."

Mira was confused. She found the train's name mysterious. She didn't believe in ghosts, so she thought this was just a lesser-known railway station. She decided to board the train.

The train was old and cranky. It didn't use a modern engine. Instead, it had a steam engine that Mira had seen only in movies. She found it interesting, and it gave her even more motivation to board the train. She quickly jumped aboard and took a seat. The train started moving.

As soon as the train started moving, the conductor came to check the passengers. He was a mysterious man, old yet active. His face and entire body were covered in wrinkles.

"Mira, finally, you're here. We've waited a long time for you," he said in a hard, bold voice.

Mira was scared. She wondered how the man knew her name and why they had been waiting for her.

Scared, she asked in a trembling voice, "Who are you? How do you know my name?"

"No, I don't know you. Who told you that?"

"But you just called me by my name!"

"I think you're just hearing voices. Maybe you didn't get enough sleep last night."

Mira wasn't fully convinced, yet she thought the old man might be right. Maybe she really was hearing voices.

The conductor announced several names, one after another. Finally, he announced the last name.

"Yatu."

"Ahhh! She had been travelling on this train for twenty years, and now you've announced her name. She disappeared because she was born in March of this year, and now it's January," an old, mysterious voice replied from the back seat of the train.

As soon as Mira heard that, she shivered with shock. She was frightened. She couldn't believe her ears. Her eyes widened, her jaw dropped, and her hands clenched into tight fists.

"What... do you mean that... the person was trav...elling for twenty years, and now she... disappeared? What do you mean? Excuse me, conductor, I want to leave this train right now. Please stop the train!"

Mira spoke in a trembling voice filled with disbelief. She had never imagined experiencing anything like this in her life. Now, she was becoming curious about what was happening, yet she was frightened and wished to return home as soon as possible.

"Sorry, we can't, because the train only stops when it's the right time, and this is neither the right time nor the right place. But don't worry. The right time is just coming."

Mira looked around. She wanted to check the time. As soon as her eyes landed on the clock, she froze. Her jaw dropped, and her eyes widened in fear and disbelief. Sweat trickled down her forehead, and her entire body began to shiver.

The clock showed 10 p.m. But how was that even possible? Mira had boarded the train around 12:30, and time simply couldn't pass that quickly. She became even more frightened when she saw the clock's hands moving.

At first, she thought the clock wasn't working, but the clock was moving backwards.

Author's Note

This is just the beginning of Mira's journey! 👀

Why do you think the train was waiting for her? Leave your wildest theories in the comments, and don't forget to follow so you don't miss Episode 2! 🚂⏳