Gazing Out At It
November 17, 2022 - 258 words
A rattata ratatat!! A rarrratatata!! Ratatatattt!!
This was the sound the train cars made as they clicked along the clacker. The sun was going down or coming up. It was that part of the day where it could be either. I liked that. I liked to trick my brain and would often say “What if it was 12 hours earlier or later? I wouldn’t know the difference.”
“Are you listening?”
“Huh?”
“C’mon man, pay attention.” Shliver put her cup of steaming tea down on the rattling fold-out table and took a practiced breath. I didn’t know if she was irritated or just sad.
“Sorry, was thinking about something else.” I turned my face from the blurry landscape and faced her. We had important business to discuss.
“It’s all right, but let’s focus. Now where we?” She picked up her tea again and took a sip.
“I guess we were talking about Maaaaaaaaarvort.”
“Yeah, are we keeping her?”
“I’d like to, honestly. I know she’s a pain but I’m home all day. I can do better. I’ll take her out in the mornings and let her into the office when she wants to play.”
“We can try one more time. But this is getting really hard.”
A rattatat!! Arrratatatata ratttterman!! RaRRATATATATTATT!!
A fair wind pummeled the side of the train and rocked us gently. It was a decent feeling. I kind of liked not being in control. I lost the thread of the conversation again and vaulted my attention back to the passing trees and water. It was evening.