Excerpt: Fast Fiction ( short stories ) Theme - A dash of Magic

No 3

The girl on the station was a waif. Dark and raven-haired. She watched him as he stood alone at the far end of the platform.

Today of all days he wanted peace but he could not concentrate with her eyes on him. She knew. She somehow knew, and now he was afraid of what she might do. More afraid when she came towards him and stopped next to him, not in front or behind, but standing right beside him. He looked away.

A moment later he felt her hand reach up and tug at his sleeve.
“If you do it, I’ll do it too,” she said.

A great weariness bore down on him. His own life was enough to have on his conscience without some girl copying him.

He looked down at her but she stared away along the track. “No you won’t,” he said.
“But I will.” she said with a soft Irish lilt.

Seconds or hours passed.

How did she know? Was she some witch-girl?

As the through-train approached he looked down at her. There was something about the way she held her head that told him she was serious about this.

As it raced towards them he reached out and gripped both her arms, tight. She looked up into his eyes, and their agreement was struck. He would not and she would not.

As it thundered off into the distance sucking leaves and litter behind it, he let go of her.
“Thank you,” he said, “You saved my life.”
She looked up at him. ”And you saved mine.”

He watched as she walked along the platform, turned and smiled. Then a train on the other track hurtled through, and when he looked back, she was gone.