Planted Page #3

• Science fiction
• Short story
• Fiction

								

I looked around the room, blurry-eyed, and saw a note next to the alarm clock.
Good morning, Love. I’m in the Observation Car. 
I threw the cover and bed sheet off of me and put on plain white t-shirt and loose pajama trousers as I glanced at the clock: 5:50 am. How on god’s green Earth can this woman drink as much as me and still be up before the sun. I donned my robe and complimentary slippers and headed to the observation car. 
	There I found April. She sat with her back towards me in a comfy looking round chair underneath a ceiling of glass panels. I walked past the two booths at either side of the entrance and made my way toward her. The mountains towered over the right side of the train, so large it almost seemed to move with us as the train wizzed by dark shadowed trees. I could see the river, lined with tricolored boulders slightly below us. The white water of the rapids crashed against and over the rocks in the opposite direction in which we traveled. The light of the early morning started to pool over the tops of the trees, bringing the day nearer. 
It felt like flying, like I was a part of an unstoppable force, moving and maneuvering through nature. Hovering above all the worlds problems, even my own. I planted myself back in reality and looked towards April, all cozied up in her chair. 
“I guess you missed the memo that today was national ‘sleep in’ day,” I said as I sat in the seat across from her.  
“Not everyone likes to waste a sunrise darling,” she replied. She sat her mug on the small table in between us. “Coffee?”
“Maybe something stronger,” I quipped.
She pressed the small blue service button at the end of the table and J.T. seemed to materialize in the room almost uncomfortably soon. I ordered my double shot and some water, and he scurried from the car to retrieve it.
“Did he take my pants off, or was it you?” 
She turned her head towards me slightly and smirked. I rolled my eyes and shook my head at the thought of J.T. taking my pants off.
“Last night was a lot of fun,” she finally said. She looked at me and smiled. The light shinned through the window and showed the richness of her chestnut eyes. I couldn’t help but smile and take her hand into mine. Although I wasn’t completely positive about what happened, I took her word for it. 
J.T. returned with my espresso and glass of water, placed it on the table, and took his leave. We sat there for a moment and admired the scenery as it unwound before us. The sky painted pink and yellow expanded overhead in a glorious symphony of color. 
I felt, in that moment, a sense of wonder for what the next chapter might hold for us. I had missed the person April used to be – happy, carefree, unfazed and planted in the world around her – but I understood that person was never going to come back to me. I knew she would probably struggle with her PTSD the rest of her life but as we sat there, I could see the hope in her eyes again. I looked at her as she put the coffee to her lips. She took a sip and steam rose from the glass and danced gently in the air around her face.  
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