It's been quiet for a while. Everyone else seems to have left. Which leaves me the only one here. Where is here again? I glance at the sign above my head. Crossroad Station. Right. I'm waiting for a train.

The bench I'm sitting on is old fashioned, made of wood. I glance around. There isn't much else here. The platform is empty. There's a single track a few feet ahead. There hasn't been a train yet. To the left, I can vaguely see the outlines of what I assume to be a city in the distance. To the right I see nothing. The tracks bend off in a curve after about half a mile, and obscure my view.

A sigh escapes me.

And I continue to wait.

There is something peaceful about this place. It's neither cold nor warm, there are no noises, no one else is here.

Or so I thought.

A shape shifts into my peripheral vision and I turn my head. A boy around my age steps on the platform warily. When he sees me, a warm smile appears on his face and I find myself smiling back. He is handsome. Dark brown tousled hair, chocolate colored eyes. Well-build as far as I can tell. He wears his jacket open over a lighter colored hoody, and a pair of jeans with worn down sneakers.

He sits down next to me. "Hi," he greets and I nod in return. "Waiting for the train?" he asks.

"Yeah," I say.

He studies me curiously for a moment and tilts his head. "It's raining where you are," he comments, like it's the most normal way to start a conversation.

I blink at him. Just my luck. Cute boy is a nut job. But he reaches out a hand and lifts a strand of my hair. Sure enough, when I look down at it I can clearly see it's dripping.

I frown. How can my hair be wet? I don't remember any rain.

"What's your name?" he then asks.

I look up at him again. "Cassie," I answer, the matter of the rain forgotten for now.

"Nice to meet you, Cassie," he says and he smiles again. It's a smile that usually would have made me blush. But oddly enough, I can't feel heat rising to my cheeks. The boy looks ahead and nods towards the tracks. "So which way are you going?"

"Way?" I echo confused and I follow his gaze. Where am I going? Now that I think about it, I don't really remember how I got here.

To hide my discomfort, I ask him a question in return. "Where are you going?"

He smiles again, but it holds something sad this time. "Well, either Somewhere or Elsewhere. So it could be anywhere."

I huff. "You don't have to tell me," I say annoyed. Why is he being so cryptic? Didn't he ask me the same question just now?

"How long have you been here Cassie?" He leans back on his hands now and glances at me from the corner of his eyes. His jumps in conversation are confusing me, but I still find myself wanting to keep talking with him. He is someone with just the right combination of self-confidence and kindness. He is an easygoing person, I can tell. He makes me feel comfortable.

My eyes wander up to the clock next to our bench and I frown. The clock has no hands. All the numbers are there from one to twelve, but nothing to indicate the time. Strange.

The boy must have followed my gaze. He is staring at the clock now too. "Huh," he says, "time must not matter much here." He looks at me again. "So, what's your story?"

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"You know," he says, "how you ended up here. I have to say, it wasn't what I expected. No white walls or blinding lights. No singing or pitchforks." He smirks at me at that last comment. "Though I guess that might be yet to come. This looks more like a waiting area." He grins. "Or an in-between station."

"Wait... what?" What is he talking about?

"Ah," he says when he sees my confusion, "I see. I've said too much. My mistake. Sorry. Forget what I said." His smile holds pity now, like he knows something I don't.

I stand up from the bench. I'm suddenly angry, though I'm not sure why. "You're not making any sense! What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Ah, I wouldn't use that word here," he says sheepishly, "you never know."

I start pacing. When is that stupid train arriving? At least then I can get away from this place. The peaceful atmosphere from before has turned into something eerie. I don't want to be here anymore.

Suddenly a gust of wind blows my hair in front of my face. I push it back and stare in the direction it came from. There had been something just now... "Did you hear that?" I ask.

The boy looks up surprised. "Hear what? There's nothing to hear."

There it is again, like a whisper, something I can almost remember.

The boy must have walked up to me, because he's now at my shoulder. He smiles his sad smile again . "Someone must be calling you. I guess you are not here to stay."

My eyes find his. Now that I take a better look, I can tell something is not right. The warmth in his eyes is disappearing, giving way to something vacant. It worries me. "What about you?" I ask.

He shrugs and motions his head back to the tracks. "I have a train to catch." Something lonely has crept into his voice. And something more. Is that fear?

This station is suddenly not so inviting anymore. A sinking feeling sets in the pit of my stomach. If he gets on that train, I'll never see him again. "Can't you come with me?" The wind picks up again and toys with my hair. Again I hear that sound from before.

The boy is saying something too, but I don't quite catch it. I turn back to him. "Sorry?" I ask.

His smile is apologetic and filled with regret. "I said I can't come." He catches my hair again. "Don't you think it's odd how I can't feel the wind?"

It's true. The wind that caught my hair leaves his alone. Why is it that I only notice that now? I swallow a lump in my throat as a thought comes to mind. A truth I don't want to accept. "Where are we?" I whisper.

He looks over his shoulder and nods at the plate. "Crossroad Station."

"Don't," I warn, "don't do that. Don't be cryptic."

"How did you get here?" he asks quietly, "how long have you been here, Cassie?"

I don't remember. "How did you?" I ask. A panic finds its way to my voice.

"Car crash," he says. The way he so casually speaks makes me shiver. "It was raining. I had too much to drink. Got in the wrong lane. Didn't see the other car until it was too late."

"It rains where you are."

The first thing he said to me.

I can see it now. A night sky. Heavy rain. Lights coming towards me. Shattered glass. And then.

Nothing.

I shiver.

It's like a thousand shards are stuck in my body.

The gust of wind is more fierce this time. Behind us a train slowly pulls into the station. He looks up at it and sighs. "Guess this is it then."

"Wait!" I yell when he turns to leave. I try to catch his sleeve, but my hand goes straight through it. I gasp. That didn't happen before.

He smiles at me again. Odd how he has given me all kind of smiles there could possibly be in the world. A warm smile, a sad smile, an apologetic smile. And the rueful smile he gives me now. "I'm glad to have met you, Cassie," he says, "it would have been nice though, to already know someone." He walks away from me and steps onto the train.

"Wait!" I call again, "I don't know your name!"

"Take care of yourself, Cassie."

The doors close and I don't see him anymore. The train sets in motion with a loud whistle and I shield my eyes from the blinding lights as it departs. The high pierced sounds fade into three continuously returning sharp tones. The white lights of the train explode behind my eyelids and become reds and blues.

I can feel the rain now too. It falls heavy on my face. The sounds I heard earlier are starting to make sense as the fall apart into words.

"... back..."

"... four... five... six..."

"...other car?"

"...more pressure. She's bleeding out."

"What about the other car?"

"It's already too late for him."

I think that sentence is what finally connects me to this place. There's a pain in my chest that makes me ignore all the other places my body is hurting and I gasp for breath.

"We got her!" someone yells, "bring a gurney over."

My eyes flutter open and close again. Feeling comes back to me. I'm lying on something hard and cold and wet. Something splatters against my face.

"It rains where you are."

I try to move my head, but I'm unable too. Someone's preventing me from moving.

"We need you to lie still, dear," a voice says form somewhere beside me.

I'm being strapped by and to something. Gone is the tranquility of Crossroad Station. The world is suddenly tool loud to bear. I find myself slipping. This place is cold. I want to go back.

I have a boy to chase. And a train to catch.

But they won't let me.

"It would have been nice though, to already know someone."

"Stay with us, dear."

My eyes flutter again.

"Take care of yourself, Cassie."

I can't seem to get back to that place. It's like something is preventing me from stepping on that platform again.

"Take care of yourself, Cassie."

"I will," I mutter, though I'm not sure who I'm answering.

"What is it, dear? Did you say something?"

"Probably nothing. She's incoherent. We'll be at the hospital soon. Hear that, girl? Hang in there. You were a lucky one, that's for sure. We almost lost you."

If I can't get back I guess I have to stay here a little longer. But someday I'll find my way back there. And I'll find out his name.

After all, there's always the next train.

---

This one was written for yet another competition held by Contests, here on Wattpad. Wish me luck.