The Train to St. Augustine

It was 3:00 PM on a Wednesday when Oriana received a message from her boyfriend as she was getting ready for her shift at the café.

She thought it would say, “Let’s hang out on Saturday. I miss you.”

Excited, she opened it at 3:15 PM.

Instead, the message read,

“I’m sorry, but I’ve started seeing someone else, and I’m no longer in love with you. It’s not you, it’s me. I hope you understand.”

Her heart dropped.

She thought everything had been going well with Jordan. Their one-year anniversary was this weekend. How could this happen?

The sadness hit her all at once. She hadn’t felt this low in years, not since her dad passed away.

Still, she pulled herself together. She put on her work uniform, wiped her tears, and started walking to work. She lived in a small Midwestern town, so at least everything was close.

Halfway there, she realized she was going to be late.

How much worse could this day get?

When she arrived around 3:50 PM, she received another message from Jordan.

“Are you okay?”

She ignored it.

The audacity.

She clocked in and tried to focus on making coffees and pastries. Hours passed. Around 8:00 PM, near closing, her boss asked her to step into the back.

He thanked her for her hard work but said she had been late three shifts in a row. They couldn’t keep her on anymore.

He handed her her final check.

Oriana stood there, stunned.

“My boyfriend and my job of one year both broke up with me on the same day,” she thought.

On her walk home, she overheard someone talking about train tickets to St. Augustine, Florida. They said it was a beautiful coastal town.

She remembered visiting as a child with her parents. Back when life felt lighter.

Now it felt like a different lifetime.

When she got home, she collapsed onto her couch and turned on her old TV, trying to distract herself with a comedy. Instead, she fell asleep and had a nightmare about being chased.

When she woke up, she made herself an omelet.

“You can’t be depressed and unhealthy,” she muttered.

She fought the urge to text Jordan. To ask to hang out one last time. But she didn’t. He didn’t deserve that.

Later, she went for a walk.

Again, she overheard someone talking about a train to St. Augustine. This time, the person mentioned they had an extra ticket.

Without thinking, Oriana approached them.

“Can I have your extra ticket? Please? My boyfriend left me and I just lost my job.”

The man hesitated, then handed it to her and walked away quickly.

She laughed nervously.

“Well… I guess I have a ticket.”

Back at home, she looked up St. Augustine on her dad’s old computer.

Twenty-four hours ago, she had a boyfriend and a job.

Now she had neither.

And somehow, she was going to Florida.

She texted her childhood best friend Celeste in California, explaining everything. Celeste gave the usual supportive responses. Oriana appreciated it, even if it felt distant.

The train left at 10:00 AM.

She packed what little she had and called a taxi. By 9:30, she was at the station.

With $500 to her name and a broken heart, she got on the train.

She didn’t know if this was the best or worst decision she had ever made.

After a few hours, the woman sitting next to her introduced herself.

“My name is Cherie.”

They talked. And somewhere in the conversation, Oriana broke down.

Cherie listened quietly, then said,

“It can only go up from here, sweetheart. If you’re going through hell, keep going.”

The words stayed with her.

After 24 hours, the train arrived.

It was Saturday.

The day she and Jordan were supposed to celebrate their anniversary.

She stepped off the train and looked around.

Now what?

She tried calling Celeste. No answer.

As she walked, she bumped into a tall man with warm brown skin and hazel eyes.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “You look lost.”

“I’m not okay,” she said. “And yes, I am lost.”

He smiled gently. “I can give you a ride into town if you want.”

She hesitated, then got in.

His name was Carter.

When they got to the beach town, she realized she had nowhere to stay.

“You can stay with me tonight,” he said. “Just until you figure things out.”

She said yes.

Oriana stayed with Carter for that first night, then found a small inn down by the water. She felt at peace there in a way she hadn’t felt in a long time.

Her lease back home was up in a week, so she knew she would have to decide soon if she wanted to stay in St. Augustine or go back to that small Midwestern town she never truly felt she belonged in. But she didn’t want to think about that yet. She just wanted to enjoy the beach, time away from Jordan, and what felt like a new life.

There was one thing she realized. If she wasn’t going back home, she needed a job. Anything would work.

She started taking cabs around town, going into different places and asking if they were hiring. Eventually, she had some luck at a local smoothie shop. They were looking for someone full time, which was exactly what she needed.

The hiring manager was an older woman who appreciated hard work. She told Oriana she could start in a week.

That’s when it became real.

Oriana emailed her landlord and told him she would not be returning. She asked him for a strange favor, if he could sell her remaining furniture and split the money with her. Surprisingly, he agreed and said he would mail her a check to Carter’s address since she hadn’t established residency yet.

Speaking of Carter, every night since they met, he brought her dinner to the inn. He was kind, patient, and genuine.

But she wasn’t over Jordan yet.

He had been her first everything. She didn’t want to rebound, and she told Carter that. He respected it.

About six months passed, and Oriana decided to find her own small apartment in town. Carter would come over sometimes so she wouldn’t feel lonely. And no, they didn’t do anything, despite Celeste constantly joking about it. They were truly just friends at first.

Eventually, Jordan stopped texting. Oriana deleted his number. She hadn’t spoken to him since the night he broke her heart.

She could tell she was healing.

She no longer wanted to run him over with a bus.

One night, Carter invited her to dinner with his parents. She was nervous but wanted to look nice.

When she walked into the house, she was stunned. It was beautiful, warm, and welcoming.

Then she froze.

Carter’s stepmom was Cherie. The same woman from the train.

They all sat down and ate meatloaf and mashed potatoes, Carter’s favorite. His parents told stories about him as a kid, like how he used to run through the house pretending to be a superhero. Oriana laughed so hard she snorted.

They told her about his siblings too: Coraline, Celia, Cove, Coast, and Cassian. Carter was the oldest.

It felt like a full, lively family. Something she never really had. It had always just been her and her dad.

They also shared that Carter’s biological mother struggled with addiction, and that Cove had been in an accident that left him partially paralyzed.

It reminded Oriana that no family is perfect.

Later that night, Carter asked if she wanted to stay over and watch a movie.

She said yes.

Something felt different that night. Not love yet, but something real. Something growing.

They sat on the couch watching her favorite movie. He asked if he could put his arm around her, and she felt safe instantly.

Then she leaned in and kissed him first.

It started soft, then became deeper. They kissed for a while, but she stopped before things went too far. Carter respected that.

The next morning, she made pancakes in his kitchen, still in her nightgown. He walked in, kissed her cheek, and asked if she would be his girlfriend.

She paused.

Six months… was that too fast?

Then she thought about it.

Some people fall in love in a day.

She said yes.

Later that day, she went to work at Lion Smoothies. For the first time in a long time, she felt genuinely happy. It made her realize something hard.

Maybe she was never truly happy with Jordan. Maybe he was just a distraction.

When she got home that night, Carter was waiting outside with balloons, a card, and a beautiful beach-themed necklace.

He remembered her birthday.

No one ever did.

She invited him in, and they spent the night together, just talking, laughing, and holding each other. He made her feel something she had never felt before.

She could tell she was falling for him.

It scared her a little. She had abandonment issues.

But this felt different.

The beach, the job, Carter… it all felt simple and peaceful.

Six more months passed, and Oriana decided to enroll in college. She wanted to become a nurse. Carter supported her every step of the way.

They eventually moved in together.

And for the first time in her life, things felt right.

Oriana was finally happy.

Cherie was right.

If you’re going through hell, keep going.