Member-only story
Railroad Crossing
A spell finally broken
It was well past midnight when Russell boarded the train in New Jersey. He was not due to be discharged from the hospital until morning but he could not wait. He had to get out of there.
With his entire left leg in a cast he was able to move only with the aid of crutches. While both of his hands were firmly grasping the crutches, in his left hand he also held the rolled up top of a small paper bag which included toiletries and a very small stack of love letters.
The paper bag and the clothes he was wearing were all the possessions he had at the time.
There were three steps leading up into the train. Steps were not easy with crutches although Russell had already learned that going up steps was easier than going down. Once aboard, he found two empty seats next to each other and sat in one while placing the paper bag in the empty seat next to him and leaning his crutches against that seat.
He was not going far but there were several scheduled stops that would make the trip last longer. He was glad there were not many passengers on the train. As the train began moving he closed his eyes.
Russell had not seen HER in three months — six weeks of which he had spent in the hospital. He could still see HER mesmerizing face plain as day, however; as though SHE…
