Christopher

The train was late, as always. It should have been by the platform ten minutes ago. He shivered in the cold wind. Now the snow was starting to come down too. He decided to go inside and wait there instead.
It was warm and crowded in the station. Hundreds of humans, waiting for their friends and kin to arrive so they could go home and leave this place, stepped on each other’s toes trying to see the timetables. The noise of heartbeats, breathing, people chatting and eating, babies crying and footsteps on stone created a symphony that hurt his ears and sent flashes of pain shooting through his head. He went outside again.
“Where r u?” The text took about thirty seconds to write and send.
He waited for a few minutes more. Watching the pearly gray pigeons and the humans in their thick coats without really seeing them, he thought of her. He remembered her voice, her smell, the line of her neck as he traced it with a finger so much rougher than her delicate skin. He could almost feel her warm lips on his forehead. A sigh. But soon she would be here, with him. Soon he wouldn’t have to miss her anymore. His phone beeped.
“5 min from u. Stuck thought. Snow on the tracks:(”
He cursed the snow trough hard-set teeth. Then he called his brother.
“Hi Paul.” He hated talking to his brother.
“Hi Tiny! I’m a bit… Busy. What do you want?” A man laughed in the background.
“The trains are delayed. I was wondering if you could…”
“If I could help you out. Yeah, I kind of figured. What’s in it for me?”
“Eh… A party? Is that ok?”
“You can do better than that! Don’t you want to see your sweet girly girl?”
“Who said she was coming?” Damn! He was sure he hadn’t told anyone.
“You, stupid! Right now!” More laughter.
“Fine, don’t help me! Bye!”
“Oh, come on.” He sounded a bit apologetic. “Lighten up, will you? I’ll fix it, no prob. Merry Christmas, baby bro!”
“Whatever. Thanks, I guess.” Paul laughed as he hung up.
The wind seemed to hesitate before it changed. It became stronger, harder. The snow danced around rather than fell now. Those few who had been standing on the platform hurried inside. Then, as suddenly as it had blown up, the wind died down once more. He looked at his cell. A quarter of an hour had passed since her text. He looked intently at it. It started beeping. The display showed her name.
“Hey. Is anything happening?”
“Yeah! The train just started moving. We’ll be there in about two. Sorry it got so late!” He heard her smile, felt it.
“Don’t be. It’s fine.” His voice came out all throaty and he coughed to cover it up.
“I’ll see you soon! Got to get my bags!”
“Right, see ya!” He put the phone in his pocket. Something caught his eye and made him look up. It was the train. She was home again.