Hazy Fantasy of the Man

Earl Robinson woke up, groggy. He didn't know how long he'd been asleep, but he was having one crazy dream. In the dream, he was in a car. No. Not a car. Was it a plane? A train? He had no memory of where he was in the dream, but he knew he was in some mode of transportation that was moving fast.

"Well, I guess it's time for me to get out of bed and get ready for the work day," he yawned and stretched his arms out, hitting the woman sitting next to him. "Miss, I'm so sorry...wait. Who are you?"

Earl was a single man in his forties and, even though he didn't remember much from the night before, he knew he went home alone. There shouldn't be a woman in bed with him. He looked around and saw he wasn't in bed, but on a train.

"You're finally awake," the woman smiled. "You've been sound asleep, I was wondering if you were ever going to wake up. I tried waking you up when they brought dinner around, but you wouldn't budge. My name is Eva."

"Wait. Dinner? How long have I been on this train?" Earl had no recollection of getting on the train.

"Since we boarded in Boston."

Boston. The city Earl was from. He remembered that much. But how did he get on the train? The last thing he remembered was leaving Rivera Fisher Sports Center where he worked as an athletic trainer. He finished his work for the day, stopped by his office to get his stuff, then went straight home. He made no detours and he certainly didn't get on this train.

"There has to be some explanation," he said, not realizing he was talking out loud.

"And explanation for what?" Eva asked.

"How I got on this train." He turned to face the woman. "I know what I'm about to say to you is going to sound crazy, but I never got on this train. At least, I don't remember getting on it."

"You were sleeping for a long time. Maybe that's why you don't remember, because of the deep sleep you were in."

"I...I don't know." He took his wallet out. "If I did, in fact, get on this train, I would have a ticket. Right?"

"Yes."

"And my ticket stub would be in my wallet." He opened his wallet, but didn't find a ticket stub. He emptied out his pockets and found nothing. "See. Something isn't right." He got out of his seat. "Where's the conductor? I need to speak to the conductor." He frantically looked around. "HELP! I NEED SOMEONE TO HELP ME!" He screamed.

"Sir, please sit down. You're causing a scene and starting to scare me," Eva said.

"You're scared? How do you think I feel? I'm on a train to who knows where and I don't know how I got on here." He tried to calm down and sat back in his seat. "Do you know where this train is going?"

"Why, this train is going to wherever you would like it to go," Eva smiled.

Earl gulped. What was this woman talking about? "I don't want it to go anywhere but back home."

"Sir, once you get on this train, you're never going back home. This train takes you to where you truly belong."

Eva was scaring Earl. He had to get away from her and find out what was going on.

"Um...if you can excuse me," he stood up from his seat. "I'm going to be right back."

Eva moved over for Earl to get out of his seat. He walked down the aisle of the train, noticing it was moving faster. Why am I not seeing any stations? He thought by now he would've seen one station out the window, but the train didn't show any signs of slowing down.

"Sir, you can't be standing in the middle of the train like this," the conductor came up to Earl. "Please, take your seat."

"No, I won't take my seat. And I will not sit next to that crazy woman again. I need to get off this train as soon as possible. When are we going to reach the next stop?" Earl asked.

"Sir, when you got on this train, you knew the rules. This train doesn't stop until you reach your final destination. Only you know when that stop will be. Now, please take your seat. You will know your stop when you see it."

Earl was going out of his mind. He had all these questions, but wasn't getting any answers. This train was no ordinary train and there was nothing he could do. He had to accept that this was now his fate, stuck on a train that was leading him to a place he didn't know.