The station was nearly empty,
save for a few late travellers and the sound of rain tapping against the roof. Anna pulled her coat tighter around herself and glanced at the clock. 11:47 PM. The last train home was in thirteen minutes.“Waiting for the last one?” a voice asked.
She turned. A man in a worn-out leather jacket stood a few feet away, hands stuffed in his pockets. His face was familiar, though she couldn’t place it.
“Yeah,” she said cautiously. “You?”
“Guess so.” He chuckled, looking at the tracks. “Funny, isn’t it? Last trains. Last chances.”
Anna frowned. “Do I know you?”
He smirked. “I was wondering when you’d ask.”
She studied his face again—dark eyes, sharp jawline, a small scar above his eyebrow. Then it hit her.
“Daniel?”
“Hey, Anna.”
She took a step back. “You—” Her voice caught in her throat. “You disappeared ten years ago.”
Daniel nodded slowly. “Yeah. I did.”
“Everyone thought you were dead.”
“I know.” His voice was soft, almost regretful. “That was the idea.”
Anna felt a chill that had nothing to do with the cold station. “Why?”
Daniel hesitated, then sighed. “Because sometimes leaving is easier than explaining.”
She shook her head. “That’s not an answer.”
He looked at her then, really looked at her. “You ever felt like you didn’t belong somewhere? Like no matter what you did, you were living someone else’s life?”
Anna swallowed. “Yeah. I have.”
“Then you get it.” He exhaled. “I had to go. Start over.”
Silence stretched between them, filled only by the rain. Anna glanced at the clock. 11:52 PM.
“Why now?” she asked. “Why come back?”
Daniel hesitated. “I don’t know. Maybe I just wanted to see if anything had changed.”
“And?”
He smiled sadly. “It hasn’t.”
The announcement rang through the station “The 11:57 train will be arriving in five minutes”.
Anna felt the weight of the moment pressing down on her. “Where are you going?”
Daniel shrugged. “Not sure. Maybe nowhere.”
She looked at him, the boy she used to know, now a ghost of the past. “You could come home.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think home exists for me anymore.”
The train’s headlights appeared in the distance, cutting through the rain. Anna felt something inside her tighten.
“Will I see you again?”
Daniel smiled, but there was sadness in his eyes. “Maybe. If I ever find my way back.”
The train pulled in with a screech of brakes. Anna hesitated, but Daniel took a step back.
“Go,” he said.
She wanted to say something—anything—but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, she turned, stepped onto the train, and watched as the doors slid shut between them.
As the train pulled away, Daniel stood on the platform, hands in his pockets, already disappearing into the night.
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