The Train That Never Came
来なかった列車と、海の時間を知る老人
Haru had come to the small station to catch a train to the port.
The morning was already hot, and the air smelled of dust and coffee.
He was waiting on the when a voice spoke through an old speaker.
The said that the train to the was cancelled.
A had stopped every train in the region that day.
Haru sat down on his grandfather's old sea-bag and stared at the empty rails.
He had traveled so far to reach the sea, and now the way was closed.
While he was worrying, an old man sat down beside him without a word.
The man's name was Mustafa, and his hands were like old rope.
He was pouring mint tea into two small glasses when he smiled at Haru.
"Drink," he said. "The sea keeps its own time."
Haru took the warm glass to be , but the tea calmed him.
Mustafa had sailed the sea in his youth to find work in other lands.
He said that the long way is often the true way home.
Haru showed him the map, and Mustafa studied the little drawings carefully.
While Haru was speaking about his grandfather, the old man nodded slowly.
"Your grandfather knew where the land ends and the sea begins," he said.
Then Mustafa stood up to help the young traveler reach the .
He left to find a he had known for many years.
Haru was still drinking his tea when the old man came back, smiling.
The had agreed to take Haru across on his small .
"He leaves tonight to cross before the weather turns," Mustafa said quietly.
Haru looked up and saw dark clouds gathering over the distant water.
A storm was forming, but the would leave that same night.
He remembered his grandfather's line: "The long way is the only way."
So Haru shouldered the old sea-bag and walked toward the and the coming storm.