"And have a nice weekend," Sylvia said to the only two passengers in this part of the train as she gave back the tickets.
The smartly dressed woman who had accepted them gave a small smile in answering. "I always do." Her green eyes were actually twinkling as she said that and Sylvia found herself returning the smile, despite her exhaustion. And exhausted she was. It was Friday and late while she had been on her feet since eight that morning.
This was the last car and they wouldn't reach another stop for at least an hour so she decided to take a rest. She didn't sit with the passengers but sat down directly behind the raven-haired woman. A deep sigh escaped her when her legs no longer needed to support her weight.
Sylvia shamelessly stretched herself out, heedless of what those two women behind her thought. Only one of them could see her anyway and she seemed something of a non-entity. Having found a comfortable position she lazily directed her gaze out the window, watching the world whiz by.
Her ears perked up when the passengers started talking, well one of them was. It was the one with the infectious smile, Sylvia noted. She liked to eavesdrop on these conversations, it was surprising what juicy stories you could stumble upon.
"I just love travelling by train. You don't have to do, worry or even pay attention to anything. You just sit back, relax and let yourself be led to your destination." Sylvia couldn't hear any response, which was a little odd since she had no problem with the soft-spoken words from just before.
"And then there is the sound," the woman continued. "The steady rattling of the train on the tracks. A steady thrum that follows the rhythm of your breathing. In at every kadeng and out with every kadung." Sylvia absently noted the woman was speaking the truth. Funny how she had never noticed how her breathing was being led.
"It's so relaxing to just sit back and let yourself follow the rhythm. A train journey is just filled with them, the rattling of the train tells you when to breath in, and out. The world outside shows you when to blink." Sylvia frowned slightly at that even as she looked out the window to see what she was talking about. "A tree goes by and you blink." Sylvia blinked.
'I guess she's right, funny I missed so much.' Her thoughts were interrupted by the woman's next words. "And another tree, a new blink. And every blink lasts a little longer, every blink makes your eyes a little more tired." Once again Sylvia found this to be true so when a row of trees came by she simply closed her eyes until she thought she was past before opening them again.
They went by a signal post so she closed her eyes again, slowly and barely in time to notice the trees that allowed her to close her tired eyes again. "Yes, it is so relaxing to let the train do it all for you. Breathing, blinking, thinking. Your weary eyelids can't keep up, they just want to sink down. Cover your tired eyes and sink so your mind can drift on the steady rattling of the train. No worries, no fears. Just breathing and relaxing."
