First Draft

By Jennifer Wilde

The train ride was long and bumpy. Cade wondered how long she would have to sit beside this smelly old man. He was wearing a gray suit that was worn through with holes, and a stain was visible on his tie. The only luggage he had was a small briefcase that he had placed in his lap, his hands resting gently on top. His hair was grey and his face was wrinkled, and it looked like distorted jelly as his face rested against the window. Sleeping would have been a nice thing to pass the time, except Cade couldn’t fall asleep anywhere other than her own bed. Thinking about it, she wasn’t quite sure how she was going to manage at her new school. But at least they didn’t have roommates there; she could stay awake all night and wouldn’t have to worry about someone else being bothered by her.

Squeaking and jerking, the train slowed down as it reached the next pick up station. In Ulrik, there were only trains for transportation, and only two of them ran. They both would start at either end of the country and work their way through it, going in the opposite direction. Eventually, they would reach the last stop and then turn around and do it all again. It wasn’t very convenient but it was how the world worked, and no one complained or argued. Ulrik was very laid back and peaceful.

Only a handful of people got on in Lumdergton, while almost every passenger got off. Cade thought about how this might be the old man’s stop, but instead of waking him up, she just glanced quickly at the ticket clasped in his hand. He was getting off at the same stop as her. She found no harm in changing seats though, maybe she could finally breathe.

Hopping over to the empty seats across from hers, she settled in. The train was taking an unusual amount of time to leave. Everyone had already gotten off, and all the people waiting were already seated. What could be wrong?

Cade noticed someone running from the station’s ticket centre, as fast as he possible could. He was holding the hand of a younger child, who seemed to have been crying. They both were wearing school uniforms, the same one that Cade had tucked inside her luggage. The station must have told the train that they were coming, they only waited a few minutes though, so they had to really hurry. Cade watched them with interest as they ran like their lives depended on it. The older boy had brown hair that was falling in his eyes, he looked slightly younger than her, maybe by a few years. But the little one looked almost too young to go to school. His golden curls were so perfect, he looked like an angel.

They reached the bus seconds before the conductor came on, warning everyone of departure. Once in the aisle, they stopped to catch their breath. The little one was still crying and whipping his face, and seeing them closer, Cade was able to see the small resemblance they shared. They both had the same perfectly shaped face and green eyes. Ever since she was little, Cade had always wanted a sibling, weather older or younger, she never cared. The more she watched those two, the older brother trying to comfort his sibling, she became more intrigued. She didn’t realize she was staring until the little one looked directly at her. His eyes were so sincerely sad, she was startled, but still couldn’t look away. It wasn’t until the brother’s gaze followed that she looked away, embarrassed.

They both started down the aisle, not sitting in any of the empty seats they passed. The small one was leading, pulling his brothers hand and causing him to crouch slightly over because of the large height difference. His face was still wet with tears, but he didn’t look like he was going to cry again. They passed right by Cade, but she was looking out her window with intent. She had been discovered and probably was thought of as a creep. But just because she was focusing else ware, didn’t mean she didn’t notice them sit in the seats right behind her.

Trying to breathe normally, she stared out the window. She could feel there gaze on the back of her head, and felt her face heating up. Cade was a shy person, who liked to observe people from a distance, and not be noticed. Being observed herself felt extremely weird and unnatural to her. It wasn’t like she couldn’t talk to people; she just didn’t like being noticed. Maybe she could fix things. Explain herself in a way that would douse their curiosity. But she could never have the courage to start a conversation.

Unlike the other passengers who came with people, they were completely silent. Glancing in the windows reflection, she noticed that the older brother wasn’t there.

She pulled out of her bag a large candy sucker, and turned around and smiled. She could talk to kids, there would be no problem. “Here. I noticed you were sad earlier… Candy always makes me feel better,” she offered him the red sucker, and slowly, staring at her with un breaking focus, he took it out of her hand. Cade smiled more, and the little boy looked down, embarrassed. He was so adorable, Cade couldn’t help but want to hug him. He mumbled something under his breath, but she didn’t hear him.

Repeating himself, with a little more confidence, he said slightly louder, but still extremely quietly, “Thank you.”

Smiling again, Cade responded with a ‘you’re welcome’ and turned back around. A few minutes later, she heard the brother come back, from the washroom she supposed.

“Where’d you get the candy from?” He asked in a light, playful tone. She didn’t hear a response, so she assumed he pointed in her direction. Then the most alarming thing happened, he came over and thanked her, face to face. “Our mother couldn’t see us off today, and he was really upset. Thank you for cheering him up,” He smiled, and gave off the impression that he was a lot more mature than he looked. Cade nodded in response, making minimal eye contact as possible.

He went back to his seat, and they were all silent for the next four stops. People got on and off the train, a few wearing the same uniform as the two brothers, some obviously with them and going to the academy, but like Cade, not wearing the uniform.

Forever would have taken a shorter time than this trip did. Cade had gotten on at the very first stop and it had been about five days. She knew however, that it took two weeks for a train to get from one side of the country, to the next, even though it only stopped for maybe ten minutes in each town. They would all soon be escorted to the second floor of the train, where they would be assigned rooms and could sleep for the night. Some people had already gone up, and others were in the dining car, which would provide food only during the day. But most passengers, like Cade, didn’t like eating too much when they weren’t really doing anything but sitting. The brothers seemed to be the same, they never moved. It was only when they were all told by the conductor that they should head upstairs, that she noticed the little one had fallen asleep, his head resting on his brother’s side and mouth slightly open. Cade couldn’t help but aw at his adorable face as she passed. The older brother noticed and smiled, and for some reason, Cade didn’t really care anymore. She had already been redeemed as a creep, so she felt almost relaxed.

Ulrik was the name of the country, but it was really a group of five countries. Licar was at the top beside the very large Silic, and then many Islands making up Riversa, then Candon with its large lake in its middle, taking up almost fifty percent of its mass. Then Froag, the smallest country that no one lived on was at the bottom. All five countries were separated by water on all their boarders. Froag was where all the students were going, but most would already be there.

Before she could get up the stairs, Cade felt a tug on her pant leg. She looked down to see the little boy staring at her, his other hand still tightly grasped in his brothers. He smiled brightly, and Cade felt her heart melt. She imagined that if she had a little brother, he would look just like him. Her father and mother both had blond hair. Her mother’s would glisten and was so light and soft. When Cade was little, she hoped her hair would be just like her mother’s when she got older. Before she got on the train, her father had kissed her head and said “It’s like looking at a picture of her…” and cried. Cade’s mother had passed away when she was only six.

“I’m sorry, he seems to really like you,” The older brother seemed embarrassed, but slightly amused.

Cade smiled. “That’s alright, I like him too.” And the little boy, who was already smiling, smiled bigger than you would have thought possible on his little face. He let go of his brother’s hand and walked in front of Cade, leading her into the dining car. Startled, she glanced back at the older brother, who was laughing.

Sitting down at one of the tables, the little boy looked at her with expecting eyes. She understood what he wanted, and quietly sat in the chair across from him. Apparently that wouldn’t do, because he immediately got up and sat in the chair next to her, seizing her hand. Still laughing, the older brother sat down across from them. Cade found herself a little uncomfortable, to the point where all she could do was smile awkwardly.

“His name’s Able and I’m Anthoen.” The brother was still laughing, but he seemed to have settled himself. “And to explain his attachment, you look like his mother.”

A small blush formed across Cade’s cheeks. “Oh, well, my names Calisa. But I go by Cade.” Anthoen nodded and smiled. Able fidgeted and looked at Cade admiringly. She laughed, “Do I really look that much like her?”

Able blushed and looked away, and his brother seemed to love his reaction, because he started laughing again. “You honestly don’t in my opinion, our mother has brown hair. Your face shape maybe, but I think it’s just because you were so nice to him. Mom always gives him candy too.” Cade smiled at Able, who immediately turned red again. Anthoen laughed a bit, but remained calm. He looked at Cade with a curious grin, then asked, “So where are you from?”

Cade smiled politely. “Licar,” she expected him to look at her strangely, because people from Licar don’t travel much. When the train comes in, it only brings products, and when it goes out, it only takes them. But instead, he looked extremely excited. Before he could say anything, someone had come by to take their order. Cade said she just wanted some water, but Anthoen and Able both got meals, though Able’s was a child’s. After the waitress left, Anthoen just looked at Cade curiously.

They talked more about Licar, and then Candon where they were from. Candon was the largest, so on the two week trip, they spent a week going back and forth it. Able and Anthoen had gotten on near the beginning. Anthoen had never traveled outside of Candon, so he was very interested in Licar and even just the sightseeing that Cade could do from the train as they traveled through Silic and Riversa.

Anthoen and Able’s last name was Dairen, and they had four other siblings. Able had one younger sister named Stacy, and Anthoen had three older sisters, Darcy, Hilda, and Gamma. Anthoen's mother had died shortly after he was born, and when he was seven his father had re married. Able's mother, though not biologically his, loved Anthoen dearly and to him she was his mother. His older sisters remembered their birth mother better, so they had a little more distance with their new mother, though they knew her to be a very kind and loving woman. Hilda and Gamma were both already adults and married, but Darcy was still in school. Stacy had caught the flue, and because she was so young, it was extremely important that she was taken take of. So Darcy had stayed behind to help.

“… That’s why Able was crying before. It’s his first day and mom couldn’t see him off at the train. He was really excited, poor kid.” They both looked over at able, who after he had finished eating had fallen asleep, still holding Cade’s hand tightly.

“I hope he feels better now. He seems like it,” Cade said, smiling down at his angelic form.

Anthoen nodded. “It helps that you’re here though. He was upset until he saw you, then he calmed down completely, and after you gave him the candy,” he laughed, “He couldn’t stop smiling and fidgeting. It was the cutest thing I’d ever seen him do.”

Flattered, Cade smiled larger than she had all night. She was comfortable with these two, she felt like she could actually talk to them. Though she didn’t offer information about herself, she would answer their questions if they asked. It was getting pretty late, and so they ended there dinner, heading upstairs where they parted ways for the night. Instead of waking up Able, he had been carried to the room him and his brother would share.

What a day Cade had had. She would normally stay to herself, and defiantly not chat with someone for more than an hour. Despite that, she had a lot of fun. She hoped they would get along for the rest of the trip, though Anthoen seemed to laugh quite a lot.

Sleeping soundly, Cade got up the next morning feeling refreshed. She hoped that maybe she would get to talk to her new friends. Which was a weird thing for her to wish for, but she found herself drawn to them. Maybe it was their relationship. They had a family, they even had a family while they were away from home. Cade had never been away from her dad before. It had always just been the two of them, facing the world together. As she got changed to go, she worried about her father. Was he doing okay on his own, and was he missing her? She knew the answer would be yes, but still, she was concerned about, not wanting him to miss her, but also not wanting him to not.

Even though Cade had been alone all her life, without friends or really anyone to really talk to, she had been okay with that. She had her father. Now he was gone, and it was time for Cade to move on to other people. And maybe without realising it, she already had. Throughout the rest of the week, she sat with the Dairen brothers and learned more about their life in Candon. They lived on a farm, but they went into town a lot. No one in their family had ever gone to a school in the city, only ever gone to Froag and the Academy. Eventually, they learned that Cade was going there as well. Able was so delighted, he even started to talk, though it was very minimal. He would say a few words here and there, answer questions instead of just nodding, but he never really spoke louder than a whisper. He only said Cade’s name loudly, smiling like he just won a puppy made out of rainbows and cars.

Another topic of discussion was the smelly old man that Cade had sat beside on the first day. He never got off the bus, and he was always wearing gross grey suits. He had gotten on someplace in Silic, though Cade couldn’t remember where.

“Where did you say he was going?” Anthoen asked. They were sitting beside each other on the train, a couple rows back from the old man, who was sleeping again. Able was sitting on Cade’s lap, playing with a lock of her hair.

Cade shrugged, “Froag. Is it that weird? Is there not a town there or something?”

Anthoen’s brows furrowed. “No. It’s only the Academy. Maybe he’s a teacher? But then again, that still wouldn’t make any sense. He’s a little old. Plus, I’ve never seen him before, or heard of a teacher being replaced.”

“Couldn’t he just be visiting home or something? And teach older students?”

Anthoen thought about it. “Well… wait, how old do you think I am?”

Laughing, completely at ease with Anthoen, she responded honestly. “I don’t know. Fourteen, thirteen?… Surely you’re not… twelve?” she found talking to him like talking to a brother. Or she assumed it would be anyway. It was a thrilling sensation, to be able to joke with someone. She had never done it before, not even with her dad. Able laughed his light little laugh and grinned evilly at his brother.

Rolling his eyes and sighing, he said with as much dignity as he could, “I’m sixteen… But I get that a lot, though I’ve never been asked if I was twelve before,” He raised an eye brow playfully, causing them both to laugh. Spending a week with someone was a sure way to make you very close with them. “But back to the original topic. Normally, people don’t actually leave the Academy until they graduate. It’s too far of a distance, so really only for important reasons, like illness, or missing home, that kind of thing. But for a guy that old, the trip to Silic… wow, that would just murder you.”

Noticing how there were only maybe twenty students on the train out of over a three hundred person capacity, Cade couldn’t help but believe his statement. “Why do you think he’s sleeping so much?” Cade just couldn’t stop surprising herself. She seemed so natural, so normal. And she would do anything to stay in this state of mind forever.

They both smirked, and noticed Able nodding off. Anthoen said it was probably time to put him to bed, so they said their goodnights. “So tomorrow’s going to be the day… sleep well. Night,” and with that, Anthoen disappeared into his and Able’s room. Cade quietly said ‘night’ to the empty hallway. She had this horrible feeling in her stomach that all her confidence with these two would vanish as soon as she stepped off the train. Shaking that thought away, she retired for the night and prayed for the best.

The morning seemed to never come, Cade was up all night thinking about how nice it felt to be talking to someone instead of watching them talk to others. Thoughts about how isolated she had felt kept flooding back into her mind every time she would feel the smallest bit of excitement. Cade worried for hours about how she would be at school and if Anthoen would even be her friend anymore. By the time she fell asleep, it was already morning.

Colours and shapes, all unidentifiable, and completely unorthodox, floated about her mind. The way they would splash together and then melt apart was so soothing and relaxing, she regretted their loss as they slowly meld together to make forms, pictures, actual images. And they moved, like the paint of a canvas was being splashed onto a movie screen, giving life to everything.

She was looking at a girl in the reflection of a large buildings glass window. The streets behind her were busy, and the girl was fixing her hair. Cade tried to see where she was, but the girl kept getting in her way, like she was looking for someone in the reflection as well. Then Cade noticed all the things about this girl. She was tall and skinny, and had long blonde hair that flowed down in waves and curls. Her eyes were a beautiful green though… everything about this young woman, even the shape of her face, was exactly how Cade looked, except for the eyes. Those eyes were not her eyes, but Able’s, and Anthoen’s.

Cade didn’t know where she was in the reflection, but the girl still looked there, and so, so did she. She didn’t mind, she liked looking at this girl. They looked the same, enough so that she could have been mistaken as her, except for how she acted. She was laughing, and smiling, and seemed so confident in herself. Cade could no longer see the image of herself in her. No, her most defining feature were her eyes, they seemed to show her true self in every way. Nothing else was important.

Waking with a jolt, Cade saw the sun coming in through her window. It was almost afternoon, and the train would be arriving at three. She rushed out of her compartment after changing, hoping that she could spend her last moments on this long journey with those two. For some odd reason, she expected them to not be sitting in the seats that they had always sat in. But there they were, snuggled up together, waiting.

On her approach, she was spotted by Anthoen first, who smiled and gave a small wave. His arms were slightly contained by Able, who was sitting in his lap with his face tucked under his chin. Cade smiled in response and sat down in the empty seat beside them. Anthoen spoke softly, seeming slightly tired. “You slept in pretty late. We were worried you might miss the scenery going into Froag.” With that, Able lifted his head and his big and innocent eyes locked onto hers. He climbed out of Anthoen’s lap and into Cade’s.

“Calisa, where you go?” Able squeezed Cade tightly, sounding extremely sad.

Confused, Cade looked at Anthoen for help. He just shrugged. “He was scared when you didn’t come this morning. Thought you might have left. He doesn’t really understand.”

Stroking his hair, she spoke softly to Able. “I’m not going anywhere. I apparently have something I need to see.” With the last part she looked at Anthoen with a question in her voice. He just smiled. They were on one of the bridges that connect all the countries to one another, because they’re all basically large Island. There wasn’t any scenery to look at currently, so Cade didn’t really know what he was talking about. Maybe the trees in Froag were really large or something, or there was booming mountains, as far as the eye could see. Whatever it was, Anthoen wouldn’t tell her, no matter how many times she asked.

The train didn’t have to continue on for long before Cade could see land far ahead.