Esme sat looking out the train window as the rugged mountain landscape flashed by in a blur of color. She had been traveling overnight and still hadn’t decided exactly where she was going to stop, but she knew she would get the feeling as soon as she found it.
She bunched her fists up and tucked them under her arms. It was cold in the carriage, and even though she had slept well, she was starting to feel it. Her nose was like ice, and her fingers were numb. She had to get warm and not turn to stone while she sat there and waited for the next part of her journey.
“Maybe the next stop will be the one,” she smiled to herself as she looked out at the snow, and the trees, and the mountains beyond.
She had no idea where in the country she was even, but it was so incredible and beautiful it was taking her breath away. She wanted to find somewhere wintery to wait out the rest of the season, somewhere she could ski and feel as if she had found a place to call home. She had spent so much time traveling from place to place that she was a expert at being on the road and living out of a rucksack, but even she was starting to feel the pace.
After all this time, Esme was starting to get tired.
She opened her mouth wide and yawned, blocking it with her hand. Her stomach growled and all she could think about was a coffee and something warm to eat. So, she finally pried herself up from the seat and headed toward the sliding door of the train cabin.
She had been lucky to get the overnight sleeper to herself, she hadn’t paid for it, so she had been expecting to get bunked up with some other traveling girl looking for an escape. But, by chance, this ride had been quiet, and she hadn’t had to make small talk with a stranger. Not that she would have really minded. Sometimes, life on the road or, in this case, the tracks, got lonely, and Esme was always glad for a little bit of company.
She steadied herself as she moved down the train corridors and breathed in deeply when she started to smell the delicious scent of coffee and pastries. She was near the bar and restaurant cart, and she found herself picking up her pace as she got closer and closer.
The last time she had eaten was before she had got on board the train, so it easily could have been a full twenty-four hours, and now she was starving. It had been a while since she had put down any roots and had taken a job, and as a result, funds were starting to run low and she was watching every penny she spent.
She opened the door to the restaurant cart and wobbled inside as the train bounced over the tracks. She swung into a seat and picked up the menu, scanning down it at all the breakfast options available. Even for peak time, there was barely anyone in there, and she looked up to the woman who was serving behind the counter, before she got shakily to her feet again and went to order.
“Morning,” the woman smiled. “What can I get for you?”
“A pot of coffee please, some toast and preserves, and maybe some bacon, if you still have some?” she asked hopefully.
“Sure,” the woman grinned.
She rang up the tab and Esme paid, before she grabbed some serviettes and some plastic cutlery and went back to sit down. The train bounced on and she tried to make out what they were passing, but the world was flashing away so fast that she couldn’t make out a single feature, just the green blur of trees and the odd white flash of snow.
When the waitress came over with her coffee, Esme smiled up at her and rubbed her hands together.
“Boy, do I need this,” she grinned as the waitress started to pour her a big, steaming cup.
“I know the feeling,” the waitress smiled. Esme noticed the name on her badge was Shereen. “Where are you heading?”
Esme thought on it for a moment before she shrugged her shoulders.
“You know what?” she admitted. “I don’t really know. I booked a ticket all the way to the end of the line, but I was going to see if the feeling grabbed me at any particular place, and then I may jump off to see what it’s all about.”
“Very brave,” Shereen said with an impressed smile and a nod of her head. “A true explorer.”
“I like to think so,” Esme laughed. “But who knows.”
“Have you ever been over this way before?” Shereen was holding onto the backs of the seats to stop herself from losing her footing as the train bounced over the tracks.
“No, I haven’t,” Esme admitted. “I just really wanted to wait out the rest of the season somewhere wintery and quaint. A small town with picturesque surroundings and a good ski scene. I don’t suppose you know of anywhere?” She raised her eyebrows, expecting to be shot down immediately, but Shereen wagged her finger and nodded her head.
“I do, actually,” she said with a grin. “We pass through it every trip up here, and I think I’ve only ever known four or five people get off, but when they travel back, or if we do a pick-up, they always say what a wonderful little town it is.”
“Oh yeah?” Esme’s eyes widened, and she found herself sitting forward in her seat.
“Yeah,” Shereen said as she looked toward the ceiling as if she were trying to remember. Suddenly, she held her finger up and nodded, before she looked back down to Esme and caught her eye. “Lost Creek,” she said with a smile. “That’s the one.”
“Lost Creek…?” Esme said as she started to mull it over. “And are we close by?” She looked back out the window and could see a mountain coming into view up ahead.
“It’s not this next drop off,” Shereen said. “But I’m pretty sure it’s the one after. We always stop there, you’ll know because there’s a red bench on the platform. I’d say we’d get there in maybe just under two hours.”
Esme felt a ripple of excitement underneath her skin.
Lost Creek.
She liked the sound of that.
It sounded like the perfect place to disappear for a while and wait out the rest of winter. It also sounded exactly like the kind of town she was craving.
“Brilliant skiing,” Shereen said. “Small town vibes, cheery locals. By the sound of what you’ve just told me, it should tick all the boxes. Hell, I’m tempted to get off with you and disappear there for a while myself… But then, who would serve the coffee?”
She winked as she walked back to the counter and Esme laughed.
Lost Creek.
Well, it looked like maybe her luck was coming in.
She sipped her coffee and cradled it in her hands to warm them through. When Shereen brought her breakfast to her, she picked at it slowly and savored every last bite. The restaurant cart was much hotter than her own cabin, and she wanted to stay in there as long as possible. She figured if she waited it out in there for another half an hour, then by the time she went back through, she could pack her things up, do her make-up, and then wrap up warm to get ready to disembark.
More and more people started to filter into the restaurant cart, and Esme watched them all head over to the counter to order. Shereen was friendly, and happy to serve all of them, and Esme couldn’t help but hope the place she was heading would have the same kind of vibe.
When she walked back to her cabin, she slid open the door and stepped inside. She was so glad she had gone down and got something to eat and met Shereen. When she had woken that morning, everything had still felt very uncertain, but now she had a plan. She had a place in mind, and as soon as she got off the train, she was determined to find accommodations in one of the motels and then she would head on out and look for work.
She stood sideways and looked out the window. She watched the landscape beyond the glass properly for the first time in hours, and she realized how far she had come. There had not been a whole lot of snow when she had started out on her journey, but now it was thick and heavy, and the range of mountains in the distance were so impressive and stunning it almost took her breath away.
She packed her bags and pulled on some warm jumpers, before she wound a scarf around her neck and put her gloves to one side. Even though Christmas had already come and gone, she felt incredibly festive being out there amongst all the pine trees and snow, and she decided she would reflect that with a bright red lipstick smoothed over her lips.
She smacked them together and rosied up her cheeks with pink blush, before she put all of her make-up away and zipped up her rucksack.
She was ready to get off the train and head into her new life.
As the train started to blow out steam and she heard the familiar blare of the choo-choo, she grinned and got to her feet. She slung her heavy rucksack over her shoulder and tied it at her waist for extra support, before she slipped her hands into her thick gloves and left her cabin behind. As she stepped out into the hallway, her heart was racing in her chest. She stopped close to one of the exit doors and looked out the glass panels of it and into the slowing views beyond.
As the train began to halt, she saw the platform crawl to a stop too, and there, just like Shereen had said, was the red bench.
She looked up to the sign on the wall of the building behind the platform and she smiled…
Welcome to Lost Creek.
She had arrived.