The Train to Life

The blaring horn woke Adeline out of her sleep. Her wary eyes focused on the images of trees swirling past her in the window.

"Where am I? How’d I get here?"

"Welcome! You're on the train to life!"

Adeline turned around to see who the voice belonged to. A young gentleman was the only other person on board. He had a newspaper covering his face and lowered it just in time for Adeline to see him fully.

"I'm sorry," she said, "Did you say we're on a train to life?"

"Yes!"

She looked out the window then back at the young man. "What does that mean?"

"Miss, Adeline, is it?"

"Yes, how'd you know my name?"

"Let's just say," he continued, "We've met before, in another life so to speak. To answer your first question, we'll have to dig inside your memory. Take a look at my newspaper."

Adeline hesitated to get closer to the young man.

He came closer to her without any hesitation whatsoever. "It's funny. The newspaper is supposed to tell us the news, meaning new events, but as you can see, it's already in the past!"

Adeline took a closer look. On the pages, she saw images of angels, sculptures, streets of gold and a beautiful castle. She started to remember and a feeling of Deja vu came upon her. She once lived there, but it still didn't answer her question of how she got on the train with the unusual young man.

"You're transitioning," he said. "You're going to a new life; this life will be filled with good times, bad times, and sometimes a little bit of both. You'll no longer be an angelic being, but a human being. Humans have no recollection of this train ride or a memory of the heavens before they get to Earth."

"Are you sure? It sounds like a scary place."

"It is! It's not safe, but not to worry. I'll be with you always. You'll feel my presence, you just won't be able to see me. Now, take a look at my device here."

She leaned closer to the young man as he pulled out a digital device. With the touch of his hand, he pressed on the screen. On the screen, it showed several unborn babies. He swiped to the left and it showed the parents of these unborn beings.

"This train will be coming to a stop soon. You must pick a body to reside in and the parents who are responsible for the body," he said.

She noticed the train came to a sudden halt and the doors to outside creaked open. Adeline swiped left again and noticed a fetus forming. It already had most of everything ready to come into the world. All it needed was a soul. She took a look at the parent of the child, a single mother. Under the description, the mom had a terrible fight with the baby's dad. He wanted nothing to do with the unborn child. She could see most of the pictures were of the mother crying and praying for the unborn child.

Adeline took a deep breath. She swiped right and headed to the doors of the train.

"Adeline," said the young man, "How did you come to this decision?"

Adeline smiled. "I chose her, so she'll feel true love, the kind of love a daughter gives back to her mother. This is the kind of love that no matter what happens, I'll always be her child and she'll always be my mother. I chose her to give her the confidence and the bravery to keep going. When times get hard, she will look to me and she will keep pushing. I chose her for this and many reasons. I chose her so she will never be alone again."

Adeline stepped into the light outside of the train. It overtook her and welcomed her into the soul of the fetus she selected.