Moving past the past
From the age of four to the age of fourteen Annie lived in a house that abutted to the railroad tracks. When she was indoors as a train passed the entire house vibrated. She remembered looking at her mother’s houseplants as they shook while the train passed. She could feel the vibrations passing through everything in the house, including her own body.
When she was out in the backyard playing when a train passed, her mother would immediately open the back door to check on her children. Annie had been told a thousand times to stay in the yard and not go near the railroad tracks.
To Annie, a train passing was always an exciting thing. She could feel the weight and power of the train as it shook everything. She fantasized about where the train was going. She imagined being on that train as it sped to some unknown destination. She imagined herself sitting on that train and looking out the window at the passing scenery.
She remembered that time a train passed by while she was playing in the backyard. Her mother came out of the back door and became hysterical when she did not see Donnie, Annie’s younger brother. Her mother came running out into the backyard screaming Donnie’s name. Of course, she could barely be heard over the passing train. She screamed and screamed. Annie could feel fear coursing through…
