THE SETTLEMENT

It was Sunday at 5:58 AM here in the railway station. Even though I put on all the clothes in my closet yet, I could feel the wind penetrates all the layers hitting my chest like pullets. I didn’t think I could even feel my nose or ears. But come on. It’s normal here in Chicago during the winter. The only thing that warmed me was the hot cup of coffee I got from this kiosk next to my place. I told the barista not to put this piece of carton layer around my cup as I wanted to feel every breath of heat of this cup until I jumped inside the train.

As I was about to take the first sip from my hot coffee, I felt more wind coming from far. Now, I feel my lips frozen, it’s the train coming. As much as I loved that the train was so punctual to arrive on time on Sunday morning, as much as I hated the cold wind coming with it.

I jumped on the tarin, as I expected, no one was there except me. I walked inside the first car looking for my seat. It was not even close. As I walked from one cart to another looking for my seat, I was able to feel only ghosts inside the train. Are there humans in this train? and who else does? If not for my only daughter graduation, I would rather be sipping this cup of coffee at my room window watching the snow falling on the streets until sunrise, before I go to church later.

Finally, I was able to find my seat 30 D. I should stay here for the next four hours until I reach Michigan to attend my daughter’s graduation. What am I going to do? There is almost no one in this section of the train except me. Luckily, I have this? I took out the bible from my bag. It’s my best friend. It had always been my best friend for the last 15 years. My only friend. This was the friend and my family member who never abandoned me.

I was finally able to take a sip from this hot cup of coffee; it warmed my dry cold lips as I felt the strong taste of caffeine going through my through. I always love my black, dark roasted coffee with no cream or sugar. I turned the first page of the bible to read while waiting for the train departure; I found the door of the train opened. It was the door that separated each cart of the train section. It was loud but I was able to see a man was walking towards me. From the way he was talking loud over the phone, his suite and the smell of his cologne, I can tell he was one of those successful men. As he got closer, I noticed he looked familiar to me. I knew this walk; I knew this voice. He was now almost next to my section; he hung his bag next to him while speaking over the phone.

“No, it’s just four hours does not worth to take a flight. I don’t want to drive either that’s why I decided to take the train today.”

I overheard him responding to someone on this phone before he hung up and took a seat right in front of me. He never looked at me or even noticed me. As if I was a ghost.

***

This cannot be him. No way. Am I dreaming? No, that must be his ghost who was sitting in front of me. As I thought first when I jumped on this train would be no normal human traveling with me on this train, probably ghosts.

“Are you Ben Sinkler?!” I quietly asked him. He turned his head up instead of looking at his phone and looked at me in surprise and fear. He froze for a moment. “Excuse me?” he responded in fear and hesitation.

“Ben Sinkler! You are Ben Sinkler. I know you.”

“No, you are mistaken, you must confuse me with someone else.”

“I know you. I arrested you 15 years ago after you murdered your wife.”

He looked behind him in fear and anxiety, making sure no one else heard us. He looked back at me “Sir, I am Stu Goldstien.” He picked up his driving license and put it on my face.

I looked at his driving license and looked at him again” So you now have a new identity. How could you do that after your escape?”

“Why don’t you believe me? You are wrong. I am not the person you think.”

“I remember everything Ben. Even after 15 years.” As I noticed his face changed from fear to anger, I heard the noise of the train running very loud on the rails. As if the train was expressing fear and anger inside his chest.

“The good part is we have a stop in an hour; all I need to do is to report you to the police. I still remember everything, even the case number,” As I was talking to him, I noticed him crumbling in his seat.

“Why this happened to me? Out of all modes of transport, trains and seats I ended up sitting in front of the officer who arrested me 15 years ago. I thought the past had ended but its ghost had been always chasing me, “Ben finally admitted. He looked at the window in sigh.

“For me my life started 15 years ago,” he continued his confession.

“For me my life stopped 15 years ago,” I replied to him.

“I saw this moment coming. Every night I have the belief that Jesus will be with me. No matter how long I waited. And when? The day of my little girl graduation. Thank you, lord.”

“So, what’s now Tom?” Ben asked me in sigh.

“This train will stop at Grand Haven, MI in an hour. Ironically, the head of the police department there was my colleague when I used to be in service before you escaped from me and I lost my job. It’s destiny Ben to reconnect with my old friends there while handing over a first-degree criminal for a case that had been open for 15 years. What a grace!”

I could see the drops of sweat dripping down from his head to his face down to his lips. His expensive suit was soaking wet. Even the cold winter of Chicago cannot stop his sweat mixed with tears.

“So, are you going to put me in jail?” he asked me in a voice full of surrender and weakness.

“With no doubt,” I replied firmly.

“What are you going to gain out of this Tom?”

“Are you kidding me? I will get my life back. My self-respect and most importantly make my daughter proud again of her father in her most important day”

“Will that give you back 15 years?”. He asked me

“What do you mean?”

“Do you think your daughter will really care? She must be thinking now about your gift to her after graduation”

“What are you trying to say?”

“You won’t gain anything by putting me back into the jail. The past had died. Let’s forget it and focus on the future Tom,”

“Your future will be in jail for the rest of your life. Mine will be reuniting with my dear daughter with her proud father”.

“Really Tom?”.

“What do you mean? “

Ben smiled a bit, “listen Tom, how about if you make a deal? I am going to give you one million dollars in cash, and you can start a new future and forget about the past.

“There is no future without fixing the past,” I tried to stop him.

He interrupted me. “Your daughter is waiting for you. Think about her. She is your future. That’s what you said, not me. Will ten million dollars make her proud of her dad?”

Ben continued.” Even if you kept your job as an officer for 15 years, you won’t make that money. Your daughter will be happier when you take her world trip after graduation. Connect with her dad after those years. Her new version of a rich dad who can fly with her business class across Europe for her graduation.

As the fog approached the window of the train while it was slowing down, getting ready to stop by Grand Haven station, I felt the penetrated my brain too. I didn’t know what to think or say. I felt that Ben transferred the sweat in his seat to mine, without standing up, like a magician or maybe like a ghost as I always thought. I was the one who is sweating hard while he was the one sitting straight dry.

After a long pause picturing my daughter on her graduation day flying high with pride with her classmates, I looked out the window and looked down into my cup of coffee that is now cold. Then I looked at him in the eyes and said one word “OK”.

With a big smile on his face.” Great! We have a deal now. Where are we?”

“This is Grand Haven,” I replied in a quite tone

“We are almost halfway. Let’s go out. I want to stretch a bit and get a coffee. How do you like yours?” Ben asked me.

“I want mine with cream. cream and sugar. A lot of cream to my coffee.”

“You got it. It’s on me. you get next one my old friend and new business partner.”

Ahmed Amir (His/Him) Lives between San Francisco Bay Area and Colombia. Fiction, script writer and a blogger. Passionate about human evolution and psychology, business, tech, health and fitness. He can be reached at his social media accounts. IG: https://www.instagram.com/akady2012/