After graduating from high school, Mathew sets out to do a two-year missionary service like everyone else his age.
Mathew thought that his only problem would be him adjusting to the city as someone who's lived in a farming town all his life. he didn...
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The train ride was hectic and tiring. I had slept for most of it, but when we started to near the end of the trip I had woken up with a cramp in my neck. Olivia was sitting beside me reading a book, while the rest of our mates in the missionary were scattered about the train. She turned, probably realizing that I was staring at her before smiling at me. I smiled back, resting my head on the seat as I tried to get comfortable and ignore the cramp in my neck.
Olivia let out a sigh of relief when the train came to its final stop. There were some announcements from the options corner, and after a while, we were allowed to get up and leave. Olivia went about taking her backpack from the overhead compartments, while I grabbed the bag I had tossed under my seat. We woke the rest of our mates up, talking as we laughed and rubbed our tired eyes while stretching. We got down from the train, moving to check out before we eventually left the train station in general.
We were standing by the metal benches by the white building. The parking lot was just a distance away from us. The heat of the afternoon wasn't intense seeing as evening was drawing near. Our group of about fifteen were chatting amongst ourselves, our boxes scattered about as Elder Alan tried to get us to keep quiet. He was a man in his early thirties, most of us were eighteen or nineteen and would be serving in the mission for two years.
From what I heard from returning missionaries, stations were often built like tiny boarding houses with a church downstairs, and a handful of rooms to talk to people.
"I'm glad Olivia's going with you. You know most times boys leave their girlfriends behind and they come back to find them married." I blushed, remembering my mother's words. Olivia wasn't my girlfriend, and we were too young to think about marriage. Oddly enough I knew Olivia's parents brought up the marriage and dating question with her too, but we just ignored it like it was white noise in the distant background. We liked our friendship, we weren't going to give it up because of our embarrassing parents.
"I'll call for the bus," Elder Daniel said, taking out his phone before wandering away from the small group of missionaries. Most people had taken a seat on the metal chairs, while Olivia and I stood around. Like most girls in our church, she wore pantyhose along with her long flowing shirt. She was wearing a long-sleeved top, but it was loose in order for her not to feel uncomfortable with the summer heat.
We watched as people pulled their luggage and walked about with families in the parking lot while we waited. It seemed like using the train was the main transport system around here. The parking lot was filled with cabs and yellow taxis ready to pick up passengers.
"This place is huge!" Oliva commented, making me look over at her freckled face. She had braided her red hair back, allowing her round face look even more round. A smile made its way to her thin lips, and her grin exposed her pearly white teeth as she looked around the crowded parking lot. "So many people."
"Yeah..." I trailed, looking around. Yeah, there were a lot of people around. I noticed how packed together the buildings that were about the place seemed. It was quite different from how you could literally walk miles without seeing another house back home. I was in a daze when Olivia tapped my shoulder. I gasped in surprise, looking towards her before blinking.
