The Bag - Jason and the girl

This is a follow-on from The Bag, The Bag - Jason's Dilemma, and The Bag - The Girl. You may want to read those in order to have context for this.

*

I can't believe that she's standing there in front of me as I'm at the doors.

"Are you getting off, mate, or what?" A burly bloke barges past me and I don't blame him because I'm rooted.

She's looking right at me and I can see something in her face that I can't read. Hope? Anger? Is it both? I don't know. People are shuffling past me, tutting and tsking in that British way and I suddenly come out of my daze and step down onto the platform.

The crowds are receding and it's just me and her.

"How?" I say, meaning how can she have got there so quickly.

She shakes her head. I go to hand her the bag and she puts her hands up as if to say no. Why isn't she speaking?

"Why don't you want it? It's yours," I say, but her expression ripples with a myriad of different emotions, like she wants to explain but doesn't know where to start. It's like her tongue is under siege or she's frustrated during a game of Charades.

"I don't understand. When I saw you from the train, you looked like you'd forgotten it but now you don't want it back? And how did you get here so quickly?"

She gets excited or is it agitation? I don't have a fucking clue but this is getting weirder by the minute. Why doesn't she just fucking speak?

Who is she?

We're drawing attention to ourselves. I can see a guard at the end of the platform watching us as I gesticulate and hold the bag out. He's starting to walk over and I wave at him, which sort of halts him but I can see from his posture that he's wary.

"Come on. Let's sit on a bench," I say and she walks with me so we're facing the trains.

And then something weird happens. She's fading. Fucking fading! I swear! Right there in front of my eyes! And she's raising her hand to point towards the train.

"What?" I'm conscious my voice is raised.

We're looking at a train. It's leaving. It's gone.

Her arm is still raised. A poster.

The Skewered Apple.

***

366 words

The girl mentions "The Skewered Apple" in her story; it's a doodle in the notebook; and now, a clear sign. Things are pointing to "The Skewered Apple" but what is it?

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