Unknown individual at Station
The elderly man arrived at the small, weathered train station at the town's edge each day precisely at 3:15 p.m. His cane gently tapped the cracked concrete platform with his deliberate, slow movements. He wore the same faded brown coat, its collar frayed at the edges, and a flat cap that shadowed his weathered face. His name was Henry, but no one at the station ever asked. He was just known as the "Train Station Stranger," a quiet figure to occasional passersby who seemed to exist outside of time.
Henry would use the same bench, which had green paint that was peeling away and had warped wood from years of rain and sun. He would take his small, yellowed, leather-bound notebook with notes and sketches out of his coat pocket. However, he never wrote anything in it. Instead, as he stared at the tracks, he would concentrate on the horizon, where the train would eventually appear. He didn't wait for the train because he never got on. He was awaiting an individual.
Clara, the station attendant, had noticed Henry's daily routine. She initially thought he was just another eccentric elderly man, but curiosity eventually took over. She approached him with a steaming cup of tea one afternoon as the train whistled in the distance.
"May I accompany you? she asked, her voice gentle.
Henry looked up, startled, as if pulled from a deep reverie. After he gave her a small nod, Clara sat next to him and set the tea down on the bench between them.
When she said, "You come here every day," she didn't mean it. "Are you expecting someone?"
Before returning his attention to the railroad tracks, Henry paused. As it roared into the station, the train screeched to a halt. The voices of the passengers were a cacophony of greetings and farewells as they poured out. Henry watched them intently, his eyes scanning each face before they settled on nothing in particular.
He finally said, barely raising his voice above a whisper, "Yes." "My little girl." 5
Clara raised an eyebrow. "Does she visit frequently?"
Henry gave a head shake. “She left on this train twenty years ago. said she would return in a week. She never, however, returned.
Clara’s heart ached. "Has she communicated with you since?"
Henry reached into his coat and pulled out a crumpled photograph. It was of a young woman with bright eyes and a wide smile, standing on the very platform they now sat on. The two shared the same set of jaws and sharp cheekbones, which Clara could see.
Henry said, his voice cracking, "Not a word." However, I keep waiting. I might be here to welcome her home once she gets off that train.
Clara was unsure of what to say. She comforted him by placing her hand on his arm as much as she could. The platform became quiet once more as the train whistled its departure.
Clara continued to serve Henry tea throughout the weeks and days that followed. They'd sit together and watch the trains go by in complete silence. She learned more about him—how he’d been a teacher, how he’d raised his daughter alone after his wife passed, how he’d never given up hope.
One afternoon, as the sun dipped low in the sky, Clara noticed Henry wasn’t at his usual spot. She waited, her heart beating increasingly quickly. When the train arrived and departed without him, she knew something was wrong.
The next day, she visited his small cottage on the outskirts of town. She opened the door and found Henry sitting in his armchair with his notebook open on his lap. His eyes were closed, a faint smile on his lips. A drawing of his daughter, her face glowing and full of life, was on the page.
Clara’s eyes welled with tears as she noticed the photograph tucked beside him. The words "I'll always wait for you" were written in shaky handwriting on the back.
From that day on, Clara took up Henry’s vigil at the train station. She didn’t know if his daughter would ever return, but she understood now—some loves are so strong, they transcend time. And sometimes, waiting is an act of hope, a quiet defiance against the unknown.
Every day at 3:15 p.m., Clara sat on the old bench, a cup of tea in hand, and watched the horizon. She also felt Henry's presence beside her, his hope still alive in the stillness of the station, despite the fact that she never saw the face in the photograph.