A girl in a brightly coloured chiffon dress trod bare foot down the opposite platform. In one hand she carried her shoes and a bottle of water, in the other a dainty leather handbag. The dark skin under her eyes told tales of a night not slept, and the hesitancy in her footsteps of a few too many glasses of something not so good for her.
This girl's night was ending, as Melbourne Train Girl's day was only just beginning. It should have started almost an hour ago, but Melbourne Train Girl was running late. So was the train.
A spindly legged man got on at the next stop hefting an akwardly large suitcase. The worn, soft paper of the tag told her he was from Darwin. He must be finding Melbourne very, very cold today.
Melbourne Train Girl takes her own suitcase on Saturdays. It is small and light, but still akward. For fifteen train stops and a tram ride she sits in the biting cold and writes.
Last night she had a dream about the Short Boy. He looked diferent, but her mind told her it was him. He gave her flowers before he got on a bus to leave somewhere, and told her they would remind her the two were meant to be together. In the dream Melbourne Train Girl hadn't been able to find a vase the right size. They were all too big. The petals began to soften and wilt, before turning brown and falling one by one to the ground. She ran and ran until she found a sink, and submerged the flowers, desperately hoping and wishing them back to life.
When she woke the dream haze made her smile. She believed for a minute or two that the Short Boy really had given her flowers. She could imagine them sitting in a too big vase on her chest of drawers. Then as her alarm clock chased the fog from her mind she realised it was a dream. That was disappointing.
But then she remembered that he had sent her an SMS just as he was about to get on the plane. That has made her confident he will remember her once he gets back. She knows he will.
Melbourne Train Girl shall wait out the next five weeks until he returns with delicious anticipation. And she has decided she will not write about the Short Boy anymore until then.
