The Tracks

Pusher

They waited for Bugs to tell them more about what happened, even as Basti and Sol kept eating the casserole. Chip brought his chair closer to the table, as if wanting front-row privileges. Jay looked at Dei, who was eagerly waiting for his uncle to continue with his story, her eyes focused on the man who was looking down on the bowl of casserole.

"Uncle Bugs? Can you tell us more about what happened?"

The man leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms on his chest, breathed deeply and pondered on how to begin.

"How come Rick hasn't told you about this, Jay? He was with us then."

"You know how Dad is, Uncle Bugs. He's not as outspoken as you are."

"You kids sure you want to hear about this? Dei? What you might learn here will make you think differently about your folks in the North."

"I suppose there's a reason why Jay saved me that day on the tracks, Sir. I think it was leading me to understand better why our towns have this bitter relationship."

"Really? Don't you think it just led me to you because, well..."

Chip hit Jay on his arm, earning a giggle from Dei.

"Jay, I seriously want to pee right now but I don't want to miss your Uncle's story so please reserve your flirting for later."

Bugs chuckled at the exchange then began his story.

"It's been four decades, I suppose, since that day. Since your father and I, along with two more boys from the South, raced against Walter, Sammy, Jose and Leo from your town, Dei. We were around 12 and 13 years old back then, and we'd get together by the diamond after school. We'd wait for the six-o-clock train and we'd run beside it, competing against each other on who can run fastest up to the eastern tunnel."

"Wow, that's almost 2 kilometers Uncle Bugs!"

"That's right. The trains then weren't that fast, those old ones were still in use then, so running beside it was fun game for us. Then we all got bicycles. And we just became more adventurous. We would race against each other and the train. We'd start from the diamond, and as the train is still a few meters away, we'd speed up towards the eastern tunnel and..."

He trailed off, remembering their younger years and his friends. He was stirring the bowl of casserole unconsciously, and Dei could see that he was about to tear up.

"Uhm, Sir? We can stop if it's too hard to continue."

"What?! He's just about to get to the part where..."

"Shut up, Basti. Just keep eating. Uncle Bugs, Dei's right, we can stop if you want."

"No, no, I'm ok, kids. I was just reminiscing. It's been a while since I last talked about this. Heck, I've never really said this to anyone else other than your dad, Jay."

"Sir, we can just talk about it some other time."

"Call me Uncle Bugs, Dei. And I'm fine. It's about time you kids know this story, and then maybe perhaps learn a thing or two about this town's history which was never really spoken out loud for so long."

He took another spoonful of casserole. In between the alternating chewing sounds and the silence in the kitchen, the five younger people waited for Bugs to continue.

"You see, we were all good bikers. We would show-off our bikes to each other and how fast we could go. Leo was the fastest among us, for sure, but of course we don't want to be always beaten by him so we'd challenge him all the time. All in good nature. We were kids, there wasn't a bad bone in any of us."

"Did your parents know about you racing along the tracks, sir?"

"No, of course not. No thirteen year old kid would ever tell his parents the adventures he goes through with his friends. They know that we bike, but we never tell them that we race."

"What happened that day, Uncle Bugs?"

"We thought of making it more exciting. The first to cross the eastern tunnel ahead of the other bikers and ahead of the train wins. Leo and I were always the ones to beat, but he was faster than me. He got to the eastern tunnel way ahead, but then just as he was crossing the tracks, I saw him fall down. I speeded up to where he was, and his foot was caught in between the metal. I quickly got off my bike and tried to pull him out, but his foot was twisted in between."

"Oh my God..."

"I kept pulling at him, his foot was already bleeding but I had to pull him out. The train was approaching real quick. Your father, Jay, and the rest of the guys were shouting at us to get off the tracks, but I just couldn't leave Leo there."

"Uncle Bugs..."

"Walt ran up to me and started pulling me away. I almost had Leo out, I was certain that I'd be able to pull him free, but Walt wouldn't let go of me. The train was already there, and I... I didn't want to leave Leo..."

A single tear dropped from his cheek, which he quickly wiped away. Dei put her hand on Bugs' arm, comforting him, while Jay put his arm around his shoulder. The other three guys just kept silent. Bugs took a deep breath and continued.

"As the train passed we were all just shocked. It was Jose who first declared that I wanted to leave Leo there. That Leo was begging me to get him out, that he tugged at me and I was trying to get away from him, for fear of also getting hit by the train. But your father, Dei, he knows what really happened. He knows how I was helping Leo out, but he pulled me away to safety. I owe your father my life, young lady, but sadly, Jose has the bigger voice in the North. Somehow, the story that reached Leo's parents was that I was the reason he got stuck in the tracks, and that Walt was helping him get out. Your godfather sure has a way to twist things around."

"I'm sorry, Sir...Uncle Bugs..."

"What about the other boys, Uncle Bugs? They saw what happened, right? Why didn't they say anything?"

"At that time, Chip, Jose was the leader of the gang. Whatever he says, the other northern kids follow. He was a friend, don't get me wrong, but he can be very manipulative."

"But what about Dei's dad? Why didn't he say anything?"

All eyes were then on the only woman in the room. She looked at each one of the men, and she suddenly felt out of place. Bugs felt sorry for her, and Jay, realizing that she was beginning to feel awkward, took her hand and held it in his.

"Hey, we're not ganging up on you, ok."

"I know. But I have the same question as you do. And I think it's time that I have a talk with my father."

***

Pusher. A locomotive added to the rear of a train for a portion of its run to provide extra power to climb a grade. Called a "helper" if added to the front or middle of the train. (Railroading Glossary. TRAINS Magazine)