the great escape

I was on a train to Inverness when I saw her. Her bag was almost as big as she was and nearly twice as heavy. To get it down the aisle of the carriage, she had to stand it on one end , her whole self wrapped around it, as she walked it along with slow deliberate steps. The carriage was shaky. It was tricky to keep moving the bag along, but she managed.

He might follow her. She wasn't sure if she cared if he did. He was turned away when she got up from the seat and left. He didn't watch her walk away, as she struggled along with her bag. He was keeping himself to himself, trying to remain calm.

She made it through one carriage, and then the next, and then the next. She didn't know where she was going, only that she had to keep moving to get there. She found herself in the luggage compartment between carriages on the far side of the train. She propped her bag against the others. Across from her was an old man, a young mother and  small child all waiting to use the bathroom. I was stood on the other side.  I stared at her for a moment too long, before looking away.  She steadied her bag again.

What was she doing here? What was she doing?  She found a little space for herself beside the window and pulled it all the way down. She pushed her head out above it as far as she could. She watched the landscape rush by. Lush valleys led to lakes and rolling hills. Even as it rained it was beautiful. She wanted it to calm her. She wanted...

He was there now, standing behind her. How long had he been there? She heard him say her name. His voice was unintelligble.  It was as if someone  had knocked a radio between two frequencies. She looked at him, saw his mouth moving, but couldn't make out any words. She turned away.  He placed a tentative hand on her shoulder. She bristled, shrugged it off. He, visibly wounded by this, stepped back, turned away. Softly he called out her name again. People around them were watching now. She knew he didn't like that.

She pushed her head forward out the window again. Greedily sucked in gulps of rain soaked air. She wanted to inhale the landscape. She was trying to breathe. She was finding it hard. He had gotten louder, he was standing behind her now. He was going on and on and she heard someone else ask when they would get to the next stop. The conductor saying, half an hour. 

Outside it looked peacful. Outside she could surround herself with sky and breeze and hills, all she wanted was....The train suddenly stopped. There was an announcement of flooding on the tracks ahead. They would be stuck there for an hour, at least. Her boyfriend touched her on the shoulder again. He said

"Come on..."

She nodded. pulled open the latch of the door she was leaning on, jumped forward, door slamming shut behind her as she ran. Ran fast through fields thick with tall green grass, whispering to each other as she passed. It had stopped raining. Her flaming red hair streamed behind her. She had no idea where she was going, but she was desperate to get there.

On the train, her boyfriend stood silently amongst the others. Someone went for the conductor, asking for help. The police would be called. It;s illegal to run off of trains between stops apparently.  He... stood where she had. Leaned against the window, and strained to see a hint of red amongst all the green..