The sun settled down, and the breeze wandered carefree throughout the railway station. A perfect day to walk on the track, I said to myself. I tuned my playlist, plugged the earphones, and started walking on the concrete platform. The grey tiles of the station stretched for a kilometer. While the crowd walked toward the train, I walked in the opposite direction from the group. Many interesting people passed me, ranging from different sizes to colours. About 30 minutes into the walk, a small kid submerged in his phone was sitting on the rail bench. I stopped walking to observe him from a distance. He was short with a grey hoody and white sneakers. He must be a spoiled millennial; I exhaled and walked past him. Suddenly a hand pulled my jacket from behind. It was the kid. What's the time? He asked.
I flashed my smartwatch to him without uttering a word. No matter what time it was, it was late. The kid understood that, packed his bag, said thank you, and ran away. I believe the kid was the last company I had in the entire station. I was alone in the empty fortress of silence when he ran out. I opened my phone to check for power; it had juice for one last song.
The land below me transformed into a track. I kept on walking near the metal railing without stopping. The beat from the song and my footstep went in tandem. The light gradually disappeared, and the darkness enveloped the space around me. It was a dramatic walk for the last song. The power bar in my phone started to flash when the song came to a crescendo. At the song's end, I turned back and realised I had walked more than a kilometer. I had two more kilometers to cover. It's going to be hard without music; I sighed and continued walking.
The excitement of going alone and walking in a deserted area diminished. Every few seconds, when I looked around, strange sounds occupied my senses. My pace increased, and I did not want to turn back. My breath became heavier, and I started to worry about the desolation around me. In times like these, I always hum or sing my favourite song. A special habit I do when I am alone.
I stopped for a few seconds, closed my eyes, and recollected the lyrics. It started nice and went well. The song kept me company and made me focus on my walk. My pace became normal, and I became calm again. The solace continued for a minute. But, precisely after a minute, I forgot the lyrics. All the anxiety and tension came back running to my brain.
Should I stop or go ahead?
Should I walk fast or slow?
What are the lines?
Questioning myself, I stopped for a second to calm down. The noises reemerged. Gradually it turned into whispers. A chill ran through my spine. I cleared my blurry eyes and saw again. There was a black figure from a distance. He stood there motionless. I froze at his presence and started to let out heavy drops of sweat. It took me a while to muster some courage and walk fast. Like a small child afraid of a dark room, I walked fast. I tried my best not to look back, but the whispers were daunting and distracting. I continued to walk while turning back. The black figure was still there. The hair on my skin rose, and a wave of bad vibe crawled from my gut to my brain. I started to panic and ran. My leg crashed into the metal railing suddenly, and I fell hard. Everything was confusing, like an afternoon nap. My ankle was swollen, and there were a lot of scratch marks on my palm. My brain and body were not in a condition to maintain their alarming state anymore. It gave up.
The black figure approached closer, and the whispers grew louder. He stopped at around 3 meters away from me and continued to stare. Somehow the fear inside me grew into a curiosity. I wanted to know what was the whispers all about and get a good look at the dark character. I stood up, limped slowly, and got closer to the stranger. We both were at an arm's distance. The stranger had the same shoes and jacket as mine, but the face was still under-lit and not clear. Surprisingly I calmed down and felt a warm and nostalgic vibe near him. Even the whispers gradually turned into a beautiful melody. I just wanted to listen and not disrupt the flow. After a few moments, it all made sense. He was the forgotten lyrics of my favourite song.
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