Stargazer Pt.3 (Bonus Chapter)

Yamin woke up the next morning to her alarm clock ringing.

SMACK!

She slapped it until it stopped ringing, then sat up from under her blanket with a yawn.

The blinds of her window were dark, meaning the sun had yet to rise. There was so much to do in a day, so many possibilities. She preferred to start things off in the dark hours of the morning.

After a few stretches to get herself active, she went downstairs to brew some hot water for tea and coffee. The sweet smell of the morning brews were a natural wake up call to her mother, who quickly raced downstairs.

Yamin took a glance outside to sample the weather. Snow had been falling all night, but was currently ankle deep.

“Guess winter came early.”

“Hmm?” Mother took her focus off the hot beverage and turned to the window. “Is it snowing?”

“Yeah.” Yamin nodded. “You couldn’t tell?” She opened the curtain wider to give a clearer view. “See?”

Mother stood up and put her hand over the glass. She closed her eyes and let her head slide ever so slightly down, then upward.

“The window's not very cold.” Her brow furrowed and she opened her eyes. “But the temperature might be dropping soon. So make sure after you drop me off you head right back home.”

Yamin wasn’t planning on going home after seeing her mother off. Her real goal was to spend time at a café. Being around people would help fend off a bit of her hermit tendencies.

“I’ll be fine,” she claimed, not telling her mother her actual plans.

~☆☆☆~

Time flew by as they both chatted and enjoyed the morning. Before long, noon crept up on them, leading them to the railway station.

Oddly, nobody seemed to be here. There were usually other souls who departed alongside mother when she’d leave for work related trips, but they didn’t show up.

“Strange…” Mother put a hand over her chin. “Where’s Benet and Johnson?”

Mother rushed to a pay phone and started tapping away at the buttons. The phone rang a few times, but nobody answered on the other side.

“Those dopes…” Mother hung up the phone. “They’ll miss the train at this rate. We’re on a tight schedule.”

Yamin thought back to how light traffic was on the way here. Granted they only went two blocks down, but the lunch rush should have been brutal compared to the nearly empty streets.

“Well, I guess I’ll get there on time, at least." Mother shrugged. "Besides, they aren't necessary for this job, so the boss might be saving money if they don't go."

"Won't they be fired for not showing up?" Yamin asked.

"Absolutely, especially since they signed up for it. That's a salary job for you." Mother looked off into the snowy hills beyond the town. A disturbance brought her countenance down. "Those two have never been late though. I'm pretty sure they're simps too, so I wonder if something happend."

If there were more time, she'd have checked on them herself. But the train was appearing just off in the distance.

~☆☆☆~

*CHOO CHOO!*

The train finally arrived, but mother’s associates did not.

The conductor stepped off the train and called out to those in the station, surprised to see merely two young ladies standing on the platform.

“Er…all aboard!” he shouted. As they approached, he expressed his shock that so few people showed up. "We usually have at least ten people heading north around this time. Weird not seeing them. Is there a holiday?"

Not to their knowledge. Yamin wondered if it was a coincidence between all the people not showing up today.

Before stepping on, mother and daughter both shared a goodbye hug. The train would be heading out, so mother needed to take her seat as soon as she could.

But Mother stopped just between the train doors. They were closing and she held her hand out to stop them from shutting on her.

“Yamin…” mother turned back, her eyes covered by shade. “Are you going to be alright alone?”

The question was strange to the young maiden. The words may have been simple, but her feelings caught a hidden code within them. Worry was filling her mother with doubt, but the uncertainty of why made her speechless.

The quiet and calm of the empty platform made it all the more uneasy to consider.

But this wasn’t uncommon. Why suddenly did the tides of feeling shift so dramatically? She rationalized that nothing was indeed wrong, and that soon everything would be back to normal. A normal where she fought the daily drive of life alone.

“Everything’s fine, mom.” Yamin smiled.

Mother continued to face her daughter with unease.

The snowy clouds passing over the train continued to drop their contents all over. The flakes absorbed the sounds of the trains engine and bells.

“Alright. I’ll be home soon.” Mother smiled and waved one last goodbye, then boarded the train. "Head home and stay safe."

*CHOO CHOO!*

The doors shut behind mother and the train let out a loud horn. It departed the station, heading true north.

Yamin had become officially alone again, but she didn’t want it to stay that way for long.

“I should head for the café. Maybe that’ll take my mind off things.”