The Train of Life
By David Barth
This story was written on November 18, 2005. The idea for it came when my Brother-in-law, Steve, sent me an email with a similar concept. From that short email,
this story was developed, sort of like "improv night" at a comedy show where you take a few words and develop and expand a story from them.
Kile and his wife, Barbara, were on a train trip. But this was no ordinary train. It was the train of life. A lot of people were on the train. Kile and Barbara knew only
a few persons on the train; their relatives, friends, and people they had heard about or read about in the news. Every now and then, the train would come to a stop,
and some of the passengers would get off and go on their way. Then the train would start rolling again, carrying its passengers on their life journey.
Kyle and Barbara would walk around the train from time to time, to visit with friends and relatives, and they would invite people into their compartment to share a
meal and have good conversation. Life was great on the train for Kyle and Barbara, and although the entire spectrum of humanity was aboard, not everybody was
as fortunate as they. Every day several thousand children from third world countries would get off the train. Barbara would watch them as they walked away
and disappeared into the distance.
Barbara had already seen some of her friends and relatives get off the train, including her mother, at the young age of 57, and her father, later on, at age 80. Kyle
had seen his mother leave. When Kyle's father, Peter, got off the train, it was much to Barbara's and his sadness because Peter was a light in their life.
One day Kyle picked up his bags and went to the vestibule, preparing to get off the train. Barbara was shocked. She ran after Kyle and begged him not to leave the
train. Kyle said, "Barbara, I love you very much, but I have to do this. Don't feel badly when I'm gone. Live your life and enjoy it. Barbara burst into tears and
clutched at Kyle's shirt, but it was no use. The train rolled to a stop, and Kyle worked his way out of Barbara's arms and stepped off. Barbara screamed and tried
to follow him, but she couldn't. It wasn't her time to leave the train. Through teary eyes, she watched Kyle walk away. He turned to wave goodbye, and flashed his
wide, reassuring smile. At the windows of the train, many of Kyle's friends and relatives sadly watched him go. Everybody agreed that Kyle was much too young
to get off the train of life.
The train continued its incessant roll through time. Barbara stayed alone in her compartment. She did not want to share it with any other man. Kyle had been
such a good husband that there could be no way of replacing him. She involved herself in philanthropic work to try to keep from thinking of her beloved husband
and former passenger on the train of life, every minute of the day. Barbara set up a foundation in memory of Kyle, but she did not have sufficient money to fund it.
All she could provide was a small amount of seed money. When people who had known Kyle found out about the Kyle Fund, its assets swelled dramatically,
and it became self-supporting, even though Barbara began to give away millions of dollars to deserving persons each year. She did not know how much longer the train
trip would last for her, but she hoped she would keep her health along the way.
One day the train began to slow, and Barbara sensed that it was her time to go. While on the train of life, everybody accumulates baggage as a result of friendships
with others on the train. Barbara had quite a bit of baggage. She picked it up and stepped off the train, looking back to wave goodbye to her friends and relatives
still aboard. She didn't know what was in her future. She just knew that she had to walk away from the train. Suddenly, she found herself in a universe of stars
and galaxies. She looked across the star fields and was imressed by their beauty.
Then she sensed someone standing beside her. Startled, she turned and there was Kyle! He grinned and they embraced. She asked, "Kyle, how did I get here
and how did you find me?" Kyle grinned and pointed to his right. There was his father, Peter. Barbara excitedly ran to Peter and they hugged. She was glad
they were together again. Kyle said, "Barbara, there is a lady here that I would like you to meet." Those words cut Barbara to the bone. She feared that Kyle had
found someone else, and she did not want to lose him. He said, "Here she is, now." Barbara felt a hand slip into hers. She turned to see her mother. Barbara
was shocked. Her mother smiled and said, "Barbara, I've been keeping track of your journey on the train of life, all this time! Now and then I look in on you to see
how you're doing. You've became a great woman!" As she began to cry, Barbara embraced her mother and whispered, "Mom, I didn't think I'd ever see you again!"
Her mother had died in an automobile crash in Holland in July 1971, when Barbara was 24 years old. She was very close to her mother, and had missed her terribly.
Barbara had been the first daughter born into her family in three generations, and she and her mother formed a strong bond. A day didn't go by on the train that
Barbara didn't kindly remember her mother.
As her eyes adjusted to the dim light in the universe, she looked around to see all of her friends and relatives who had left the train before she had, including her
father and Kyle's mother. She nodded to them. It would be fun to get reacquainted with every one. But first, she wanted to, needed to, talk at length with her
mother whom she had missed so much over the years during her journey on the train of life.