The Train

“Wait.”
She stopped in her tracks.
He rushed out of the train, the door closing a few seconds after he walked out.
She turned around, smiled and then said in a quizzical voice, “This isn’t your stop.”
He clenched his fist, not daring to look right into her eyes.
“I…” He stammered, not trusting himself to speak.
She took a step towards him, eyes expectant. “Yes?”
He forced himself to look into her eyes, and gulped heavily twice.
He mouthed the words.
“I like you.”
At the very same time, a train came screeching to a halt at the platform.
“What was that?” she said, a puzzled look on her face.
He took another deep breath.
Better do it now while I still have the courage, he thought.
“I like you!” he repeated, this time it was crystal clear over the din.
She smiled.
She just merely smiled.
Then she hugged him again.
Head swirling with happy thoughts, he smiled too as he embraced her tightly.
But it all came crashing down in one single instant.
Cheek to cheek, she whispered the words into his ears.
“This isn’t your stop.”
Then, as she did a few moments ago, she parted ways with him as friends, nothing more.
She turned away and climbed the steps slowly, away from him, away from the train, away from a shattered heart.
It was not his stop.