Through the Darkness: Of Love and Loss Series Book One

20

Elyria waited on the bench outside the Malad train station, straining her ears for any sound that would signal the train's approach.

Her left hand rubbed the well-worn wooden pommel of her walking stick, and her right clutched her ticket and bag handle.

To anyone who saw her, she assumed she appeared prepared for a journey, just like everyone else waiting for the train to arrive.

However, the outward calm and composure she worked so hard to convey was a complete fabrication. It hid the stark panic, excitement, and nervousness consuming every nerve of her body.

An hour had passed since Marcus left her, the time noted by the dull clang of the clock inside the station and the change in temperature as the sun's rays warming her lap shifted away.

For the most part, she spent her time in quiet solitude, broken now and then by birds. Some with unfamiliar tunes sang in a tree to her right before flying out of earshot.

The wind blew wisps of her hair into her face, tickling her nose before it rustled through the leaves. The door inside the station creaked softly back and forth—as though unable to decide if it wanted it left open or closed.

Despite her best efforts to focus on anything other than her inner turmoil, questions and worries continued their unrelenting assault.

Did Marcus tell the truth? Had Everett gone to propose to her? What would he do when he discovered her gone?

Was he waiting for a train in Washington D.C. at that very moment, hoping to return and reach her before she left Idaho? What would she do if she returned home and found that to be the case? Would she spend the rest of her life forever on a train, failing time and again to cross his path?

Or would he be there upon her arrival and not be able to recognize her? For all she knew, they could walk past each other and never know it.

A faint whistle sounded in the distance, signaling the train's approach and offering her a blessed reprieve from her tumultuous thoughts.

Footsteps shuffled against the wooden platform as passengers prepared for its imminent arrival. Elyria straightened and tightened her hold on her bag and walking stick, waiting until the train pulled in with a loud rhythmic chug-a-chug before standing.

Brakes screeched, and metal ground against metal. A jet of steam hissed its release until the train finally rolled to a stop with a heavy, clanking groan.

"FIFTEEN MINUTES TILL DEPARTURE LADIES AND GENTLEMEN," The conductor shouted, walking the entire platform length, "FIFTEEN MINUTES."

Elyria took several halting steps forward when his footsteps sounded near her location. "Excuse me, sir?" She raised her voice to be heard over the commotion. "Sir? Excuse me!"

His footsteps faltered, but then he continued past her.

Elyria hung her head and sighed as she dug her walking stick into the wooden platform. Oh, how she loathed her blindness in times like these.

Boarding a train unassisted could be done, but not without coming away with a few bruises or injuries in the process. A while ago, she missed the first step altogether and ended up black and blue from shin to elbow.

Following the noise of the crowd moving to board, she carefully made her way over. Once it was her turn, she reached out for the iron handle, usually located somewhere along the right side of the passenger car.

"Would you like some assistance, miss?" The conductor said, coming up beside her.

She gave him a grateful smile. "Yes, please."

"May I have your bag?"

Elyria nodded and handed it over. "Thank you."

Taking hold of her right elbow and helping her up the three steps onto the train, he said, "My pleasure, Miss—?"

"Ormond," she murmured.

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Mr. Woolerton, your conductor until we reach Chicago. I've got a niece who's blind. Quiet little thing." He silently directed her to turn left and then down a narrow aisle to her seat. "Would you like me to stow your bag for you, Miss Ormond?" He asked in a warm and friendly tone.

She nodded, gritting her teeth against the stares settling on her with his prolonged attention. No doubt in the hopes they'd be able to determine what about her would warrant his continued presence at her side.

It was one of a handful of things that irritated her about being blind.

Ever since her accident that had caused her blindness, she'd come to learn that fully sighted people were oblivious to the fact that gawking—regardless if it was done out of curiosity, sympathy, or rudeness—all had an uncomfortable weight to it.

But what made it worse was that when the question of her blindness crossed over from curiosity to fact within their awareness, their heavy stares were most often replaced by some form of condescension in how they chose to interact with her.

However, Mr. Woolerton seemed to be an exemption to the rule. He tucked her bag under her seat, then said in a tone that harbored nothing but kindness, "I'll be back this way shortly. Should you need anything along the way, just let me know."

"Thank you," she murmured. Then, she gripped the arms of her seat in surprise when the vehicle lurched forward into motion. A sharp hoot of the whistle accompanied a loud burst of steam.

Thinking of what lay at the end of her journey—or, more importantly, who—Elyria's stomach knotted with anxiety, and her palms grew sweaty.

By its mad pounding in her chest, her heart didn't care that there were still at least two days of travel involving multiple stops and connections along the way. Or the fact she didn't know if Everett would even be there when she arrived.

But she hoped he would be, and for now, it was enough.