The Clock by Donna Page 24/07/2021©

The Clock by Donna Page 24/07/2021©

Tick, tick, tick, tick.  

She looked up. She had not noticed the clock on the wall beside the door before.  She was sure it wasn't there when they called her through.  But there it was, ticking loudly.  It showed two minutes to five.  

Slowly a train pulled into the station.  She could not believe what she was seeing.  This was no ordinary train, at least not in her world. She was used to catching the 7:15 to the city every day. A sleek silver train with matching carriages. Free WiFi and full of people, jostling for a good seat.  All ignoring each other, concentrating on the device in their hand.  Some actually reading a book.  This train was different.

Firstly, it was a steam engine, the type you saw at the old Railway Museum in Ipswich.  The tender full to overflowing with coal.  Two old men were in the engine, covered in blue overalls and soot.  Beards to their waists.  

The thought crossed her mind "Did people really look like that, am I stuck on some movie set."

The old lady tapped her shoulder "That's our train, love. Time to go"

The clock chimed.

Dong, dong, dong, dong, dong.  Five rings resounded through the station.  

"I am not going anywhere, this is not real" 

She found her legs and finally stood up. The stairs were at the other end of the platform.  She ran towards them. If she could just get off this platform, she would wake up, surely.  She ran faster, the stairs didn't get any closer.  She was moving as fast as she could now. But she could not reach those stairs.  She stopped, puffing, she hadn't run like that since sports day at high school.  

She turned around.  She hadn't moved.  "What the heck" 

The old lady came up to her again.  "Love, you have to stop fighting this. You need to get on the train.  You can't move forward until you do"

Dong, dong, dong, dong, dong. The clock chimed 5 again.  "What? How?"

"No, I am not getting on any train, what the hell is this, why will you people not let me out of here.  I am not ready to move on anywhere"

The old lady looked at her with kindness. She made her feel strangely comfortable, she was the only thing that did.  This was all wrong.  Except for the old lady, she was vaguely familiar.  She seemed right.

"What has happened to me, why am I here.  I know I stepped off the footpath and I fell.  It was just a fall.  I am dreaming, aren't I?  This is me being unconscious on a hospital bed somewhere, right?" she looked pleadingly at the old lady.

"Love, I can't tell you what happened.  That is not my job, my job is to get you on the train.  See, the blue carriage there, that is where you need to be, just open the door and get on."

Suddenly she was at the blue door. 

"How the heck did that happen?"

People were getting in the carriages all down the train.  The yellow carriage was already full.  People were leaning out the windows looking at her. 

"Just reach out and open the door, grab the handle and turn it, it really is that easy" 

"NO! I am not getting on this train" 

She shoved through the people behind her. Somehow the old lady was on the other side of the crowd before she got there.  She stopped.  Falling to her knees she sobbed into her hands.

Again the clocked chimed five.  "That is impossible," she thought "time does not simply stop."

The old lady held out her hand, she looked at her resignedly, she took it and stood up.  Guided towards the train again, she reached out and turned the brass handle.  

The door swung open.