Places Beyond Maps
The alarm rang at 5:30 AM.
Arin opened his eyes.
For a few seconds, he didn’t move.
The ceiling fan rotated slowly above him. Morning light slipped through the curtains and painted faint lines across the room.
Outside the window, a train passed.
Its distant sound echoed through the morning air.
Arin closed his eyes again.
Once upon a time, that sound excited him.
Now…
It was routine.
The train tracks.
The stations.
The city lights.
The endless roads filled with cars.
Everything moved.
Everything changed.
Yet somehow, his own life felt stuck in the same place.
Wake up.
Go to work.
Drive the train.
Come home.
Sleep.
Repeat.
The world outside kept travelling.
He didn’t.
His eyes slowly moved towards the wall opposite his bed.
Maps.
Pinned photographs.
Travel postcards.
Red marks across countries he wanted to visit.
Japan.
Norway.
Iceland.
Hidden villages.
Abandoned places.
Places he had only seen through screens.
Sometimes he wondered—
Would he ever leave this city?
Or would he spend his entire life watching other people reach their destinations?
A soft voice came from outside.
“Arin…”
He sat up immediately.
His mother.
He left the room.
She sat near the window with a blanket around her shoulders. Medicine strips and a glass of water rested on the table beside her.
“You should’ve called me,” Arin said quietly.
She smiled.
“And wake my son on his day off?”
He poured water into the glass and handed it to her.
“You need rest.”
“And you need to smile more.”
He looked away.
She always said things like that.
As if she couldn’t see the tiredness in him.
As if she didn’t notice how quiet he had become these past months.
“Did you sleep properly?” she asked.
“A little.”
“Liar.”
Arin smiled faintly.
His mother took the medicines slowly.
The room became silent again.
Rain clouds covered the morning sky outside.
The city looked grey.
His phone vibrated.
Dad
Arin answered.
“How’s mom?”
The usual question.
No greeting.
No pause.
“She took her medicines.”
“Good.”
Silence.
“I might not come this month.”
Arin lowered his eyes.
“Work?”
“Hmm.”
“I’ll send money.”
The call ended.
Just like that.
Arin stared at the blank screen.
His father worked in another city.
Construction projects.
Deadlines.
Meetings.
Months passed between visits.
Sometimes it felt strange.
Having a father who existed mostly through phone calls.
His mother looked outside the window.
“Don’t think too much,” she said softly.
Arin forced a smile.
A few hours later—
The city metro station was alive.
Announcements echoed through the platforms.
Footsteps.
Conversations.
The sound of arriving trains.
Passengers rushed in every direction.
Arin walked through the staff corridor and entered the driver’s cabin.
He placed his bag down.
Adjusted the controls.
Checked the systems.
Everything perfect.
Everything familiar.
He looked outside the front glass.
People stood waiting.
Students.
Office workers.
Tourists.
Everyone had somewhere to go.
The radio crackled.
“Train 47 ready for departure.”
Arin pressed the controls.
The doors closed.
The train moved.
Buildings passed.
Roads crossed below.
Cars filled the streets.
The city stretched endlessly.
Arin rested one hand near the controls.
He loved trains.
Always had.
Not because of speed.
Because they moved forward.
No matter what.
No matter who entered.
No matter who left.
The train kept moving.
He wished life worked the same way.
The next station arrived.
Doors opened.
People entered.
People left.
The cycle repeated.
Station after station.
Hour after hour.
By afternoon, the sky had darkened.
Rain finally began.
Water streaked across the glass.
The city lights reflected on wet roads.
Beautiful.
Yet strangely lonely.
During break time, Arin sat alone near the platform edge.
He opened social media.
Travel videos.
Snow-covered mountains.
Old streets in Europe.
Hidden tunnels.
Abandoned places.
He watched silently.
Then locked the screen.
Sometimes he hated these videos.
Not because they were beautiful.
Because they reminded him of everything he hadn’t seen.
His phone vibrated again.
Mom
“Did you eat?”
Arin smiled.
“Not yet.”
“Eat first.”
“Yes, boss.”
She laughed softly.
The call ended.
For a moment…
The heaviness disappeared.
Evening arrived.
His shift ended.
The station slowly emptied.
Arin walked home through streets covered with rainwater.
Cars passed.
Neon lights reflected on the road.
The city looked alive.
Yet he felt distant from it.
He entered his room.
The maps welcomed him again.
Countries.
Routes.
Dreams.
Places waiting somewhere beyond the horizon.
He opened the drawer beside his bed.
Inside lay a black diary.
Old edges.
Scratches.
A single word written in white.
BEYOND
He sat near the window and opened it.
The final page.
PLACES BEFORE I DIE
• See the Northern Lights
• Travel the world
• Explore forgotten places
• Visit abandoned places
• Find haunted places
Arin looked at the list quietly.
Five dreams.
Simple.
Yet they felt impossibly far.
His eyes stopped at the last line.
Find haunted places.
He smiled.
People feared abandoned places.
Arin searched for them.
Hidden places felt honest.
They stayed.
Even when people forgot them.
He closed the diary.
Rain continued outside.
Far beneath the city…
Tracks stretched into darkness.
And somewhere beyond those tracks…
Something forgotten waited.
END OF CHAPTER 1
