Jon Foreman Inspired

A Story by Vanessa

Legs entwined, they rested. Her head on his shoulders. His head on her head as music and melodies echoed from their headphones all while being rocked by the "rhythm of this southbound train."

It wasn't long after that they were startled awake. This deep, raspy, and not so friendly voice shouted, "Tickets please!" The boy jolted awake, lifted his head, brought his arms around, and searched his pockets for the elusive tickets, and as a result, woke the sleepy girl next to him. "Ah, here we are," he thought to himself as he pulled the two tickets out of their hiding place. The boy handed them to the conductor, watched him hole punch them, and all three of them said in unison, "Thank you."

The same train that lulled those two to sleep wasn't the same now. The repetitive back and forth motion was now a constant jerk in whichever way the train wanted. The blaring bells, the clamor of the diesel engine, the resounding click-clack of the wheels on the rail was far too apparent to ignore any longer.

He was awake now, for a bit, and much more aware of his surroundings: the businessman talking deals on his smartphone while writing up documents on his laptop, the elderly woman reading a crime mystery novel, and a young mother rocking her baby to sleep. He then looked next to him and saw the girl resting her head against the window glass, and her deep, slow breaths indicated she was dreaming again. He happily gazed at her with a smile slowly taking over his entire face. In fact, his eyes shined with that very smile.

At that moment, his ears heightened to the music still playing in the background. It was their favorite song, the boy and girl's. He mouthed the words playing while looking at the resting girl: "It's the rhythm of my heart and my sleepy girl's breathing; it's the rhythm of my southbound train."

He put his head back on the seat, closed his eyes, and joined his sleepy girl in dreaming.