The train was really flying along now. The buildings, fields and trees all seemed to race by. A bridge shot past the window. Hiro was lost in his thoughts about the life he had left behind.
Too much had happened for that to be possible. Suddenly he was taken out of his thoughts by the noise of the train passing through a station. Not being sure of where they were, he put his face nearer the glass to see the name. He tried to stop himself from thinking about the past. He knew it would do no good as some of his memories were just too painful. He looked around the carriage and tried to take his mind off things. The new life he was about to start confused him a bit. He saw his reflection in the window.
He had recently broken up with his girlfriend, although that was the very last thing he had wanted to do. Things seemed to happen without allowing him any control. He forced his thoughts back to the carriage. Where were they? He knew they’d left Belgium and were in Germany now because he’d seen a sign just before the last station. Hiro felt the bulge in his jacket pocket and hoped the book would change his mood.
It was an American thriller which he’d brought with him to practise his English. It forced him to concentrate, and with two violent murders already, it was quite exciting. He was glad, now, that he had decided to bring it, because it helped pass the time. His mind kept moving onto other things, and he was powerless to stop it. He put the book back into his pocket, and his hand brushed his phone. Without thinking, he took it out and opened it. The screen came to life. For a moment or two he looked at his screensaver. That familiar smiling face that he was so fond of was now just unbearable.
He would have to make many adjustments, he thought, with a tinge of sadness. How could he have lost control of his well-organized life? He realized should have been paying more attention.
Then a man with silvery-grey hair, wearing a grey raincoat got on. He was pulling a small suitcase on wheels. He stopped some way down the train and spoke to one of the people there. He looked up and gave Hiro a wide toothy smile.
He reminded him of a shark. That smile didn’t look right on that face, and the face didn’t look right on that body.
He continued on down the train towards him. Hiro hoped the man would walk past, but he didn’t. He put his suitcase in the rack above and took his seat. He nodded his head politely and turned his head to look out of the window, while Hiro continued to study him closely. Something about the man frightened Hiro and he wondered if he should change seats.
He almost got up, but for some reason decided to stay in his seat. Nothing could happen on a public train, could it?