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Train Journey - Part 1 and Part 2
To travel from Dusseldorf to Frankfurt, one very good way is the EuroCity(EC) train service that transits every two hours. From Dusseldorf you pass through Duisburg to Cologne, and then to Bonn, Koblenz and Mainz to Frankfurt. That afternoon, in early November, I was taking the EC leaving Dussledorf at 3.28 PM, passing through Bonn at 5.14 and reaching Frankfurt at 7.08 PM.
I had come to Dusseldorf for a trade show, and as always happened to me at the railway station when I was on my own, I was starting to wonder if this would be my lucky day.
I liked travelling by German trains for two reasons. One was of course the comfort, speed and the lack of crowds, and the second was my search for the "stranger on a train" fantasy. I had been unable to shake off this fantasy ever since I had read Erica Jong's "Fear of Flying".
So, as usual, when the train arrived, I boarded the coach and started walking down the corridor searching for a compartment, which had a woman in it. It was fairly crowded that afternoon, and I had to cross two coaches before I found a compartment that had only one man and a woman in it. In a German coach, till very recently, there were six seats in every compartment, three facing each other. The compartment can be closed by a sliding door.
The man and the woman were occupying the window seats, and I took the empty corridor seat opposite the woman. The curtain on the corridor window was open, and I could see the countryside going by in the reverse direction.
The man was busy writing a report of some kind in a proforma. He was completely busy and did not look up. The woman took out a pack of cigarettes and lit up. I realized I had got into a smoking compartment by mistake (I stopped smoking years ago). She looked at me out of the corner of her eye with something a brief smile, then went back to a magazine she had in her hand.
I studied her, first covertly, then quite openly. She had brown hair pulled back and held in a ruffle, spectacles, and was dressed in black stretch pants, very tight the way German women like to wear them, topped by a loose blue turtleneck sweater. It was pretty warm with the central heating, and I thought she must be uncomfortable in her sweater. The curve of her hip on the crossed leg looked slim and shapely, and I began to be glad that I had chosen this compartment.
I stretched my legs out in front of me, and tried to relax. I'm fairly tall (6 ft) and I need leg space and a comfortable backrest. I looked around at the sides of the seat to find the backrest lever. I looked up and found her smiling at me. She said something in German. I speak a
little German, but not enough.
"I'm sorry,” I said in German."I speak only a little German. Do you speak English?" (my standard line!)
"Yes" she said with a slight laugh."I was telling you that that the lever is under the seat" And so it was. I worked the lever and stretched out a little more comfortably.
She was still smiling, and picked the packet of cigarettes up and offered it to me.
"No thank you" I said."I don't smoke. Not any longer"
She started to laugh.
"But you have come into a smoking compartment"
There was nothing to say except to brazen it out. "Yes.' I said. "I do that often"
"And why?" she asked still smiling.
"I like to meet interesting people when I travel. I find smokers to be much more interesting."
"Why is that"she asked.
"Because smokers are people who have let themselves try something new. Non-smokers know only how to follow other people's rules. I've been a smoker myself, remember."
She laughed at that, a full-throated genuine laugh this time. It sounded good and very sexy as it died away slowly.
"What do you do?" she asked.
"I'm a software engineer." I replied. "From India. I'm here for a project. "
"Will you be here long?"
"It's a three month project." I replied."I've got another month to go."
"And where do you live?"
"In Frankfurt." I said."And you?"
"In Hannover." she said, smiling.
"And what work do you do?"
"I'm a radio journalist."She replied.
"Do you specialize in any particular field? You know, politics, sports and so on?"
"Yes. In theatre. Experimental theatre is my specialty, to be precise. In fact, that's why I'm going to Frankfurt. There is a very original set of plays being put up over the weekend."
"That sounds very interesting." I said."What kind of plays?"
"They are completely silent. No speech at all. Everything is communicated through movements and gestures, non-verbal communication as it is called."
"Really?" I said."Is that actually possible?"
"You'd be surprised." she replied."I was also very skeptical earlier. But now, I have become an expert in non-verbal communication. In fact," she snapped her fingers."now I can tell immediately in most cases what the real communication is, behind the spoken words."
Again, there was the slow smile. The silence hung in the air like an invisible thread. I looked at her and felt the slight tension start to build up between us.
I realised the train had started to slow down. I looked out of the window and saw that we were in the outskirts of a city. Cologne, the next stop. The man in the corner, who till then had been silently writing his report, started to pack his papers up and put them into a small briefcase.
The train slid into the station. The man in the corner stood up, collected his coat from the rack above him, and with a brief "Wiedersehn" was gone.
I held my breath. Would we be lucky?
People came into the coach and bustled down the corridor. A couple of them looked in, saw both of us and continued on their way.
The train started again and moved slowly out of the darkness of the station gathering speed into the evening.
The train conductor came in, saw that there was nobody new. pulled the door shut with a clang and moved on.
I turned around and saw her looking straight at me. Her expression was unreadable.
The tension between us was getting to be unbearable. I could feel the blood starting to pound through my body. My penis was now rock hard in my pants.
Then she said. "The countryside is very lovely."
I looked out of the window. And so it was. Flaming autumn colours in the evening sun.
I looked back at her. Now was the time.
"I don't like to watch the countryside going in the reverse direction." I said (my seat was facing the end of the train). "Can I sit next to you?"
"Please." she said.
I moved over and sat next to her. I could hardly breathe.
I turned slowly and looked at her. Her lips were half parted. Then she slowly rested her cheek on my shoulder.