Short Story - MOM, HERE COMES THE TRAIN !

[Ana]

Mom, here comes the train ...!

I heard of a small village lost in the mountains of the north of Spain, where there was a train station, and it seems to be that there, the oldest of the village used to sit on the old wooden benches to remember old times and dream about the time when the nearby river was full of clean and clear water.

The train never stopped there, but for old people, it  was an incentive, in the evenings, to sit on the benches to see the train pass, always at the same time, six in the evening. They never knew why that station had been built.

There was a boy, coming from one of the poorest families in the village, who was always there at that time. He was wearing frayed shorts and a  bright white shirt. It was said that despite having ten children, the mother insisted on making them appear as tidy and clean as possible. As she was the official washerwoman in the village, some of the wealthiest families, gave her clothes for her children and and in return, she washed theirs. She was also given an amount of money that she used to feed her children and allow her husband to spend afternoons and evenings in the only bar that  there was in the village, drinking wine and playing cards with some other men of the same moral standing.

The mother, spent most of the day washing. From the river, she could see her son, Juanito, who was holding a white handkerchief. He used to wave it, jumping with  joy and determined to be seen by the people who were travelling on the train and that sometimes, returned the greeting through the windows of the train cars, by a gesture or a smile. Juanito´s   voice, was like an echo in the station. "Mom, here comes the train ...!" His mother, used to turn her head and cracked a smile that devoted to her little child.

One afternoon, Juanito, wanted to see the train from  a closer position and shake his white handkerchief almost behind the window panes so that he could see better those  corresponding to his greeting . But, he approached so much that unfortunately, the train took him ahead ...
It is told that his mother had to be attended when she realized that after the repeated expression: Mom, here comes the train ...! she heard screams and a tremendous noise that  paralyzed her heart.

I know that that station, to  which, I will give no  name, still exists and there are some passengers who claim they have been able to  see a child, waving a white handkerchief , greeting them from the platform.
No one could or can see him. Just a few passengers travelling on that train do.

 

A lot of curious people, go to the station to see if the child scene is repeated as it was described by some travelers, but Juanito, wherever he may be, is not interested in being seen by people who are not travelling on that train.

I made that journey and effectively, I could see Juanito, wearing his frayed trousers and white shirt, and holding his white handkerchief, waving it and shouting with great joy: "Mom, here comes the train ...!"