Window Seat Education

It had been a while since she last reeled her mind in. Reached out between the bars of the window, stretching into the sunlight and passing forest to pull it back in.

For the first few miles, she had noticed every bump. Felt every seam in the tracks. Heard every "clack" as the wheels passed between fresh pieces of steel. But as time went on and the outlines of the city began to fade into the distance and trees began littering the countryside, before finally elongating into massive mountains covered in thick forest, she forgot to take notice. There wasn't anything left for her to pay attention to except the world as it passed by, right before her, on the other side of the wall. Everything else way behind her, left on the other side of the world.

It all was so green. More vibrant than she had ever seen in her lifetime. Lush and thick. Large paddle-like leaves just seemed to erupt from everywhere. The sun barely broke through the canopy of trees that stretched out towards the sky - their lower limbs fanning out to absorb anything that managed to sneak by. Flowers of all shapes and sizes hung lazily amongst all the other vegetation, like organic fireworks that had been frozen in time. - their bright blues and hues of pink and white contrasting against all the other undergrowth.

It all seemed so fresh. Alive. Free.

Thats why she was on board. She wanted - needed to feel the same.

Only a few things had been packed, stowed away above her head, rattling around every sharp turn, threatening to spill out onto the floor. The piece of luggage everything was crammed into had seen better days. It was worn. Its thread absent of the color it one bore. Sometimes the latches held, other times they'd spring open unannounced. But in the end, it didn't matter. It had more charm than anything else she owned and for the most part, it did its job and carried her things.

When she walked into the train station, all she asked for was one ticket. The man behind the desk, clearly confused, tried asking for a destination, but she kept repeating her answer. One ticket. Eventually he gave in, punched a piece of paper and handed it to her. All that mattered was she was leaving from platform six in twenty minutes.

She barely spoke the language and surely didn't look like a local. But she wasn't there to fit in. Or, for that matter, be noticed at all. She was there to exsist. Find a spot to call her own and just begin. There were no goals, no checklists, no mental notes she had made. The first few steps on the train were exhilarating, but quickly turned south. Thoughts of who she left back home, the distance she had already traveled, and where she came from all drifted through her mind, churning her stomach. The apprehension didn't leave her system until the whistle blew and the train began pulling out of the station. The wind against her cheeks helped - made her feel like she was getting away from everything, with no direct path to follow.

Her life here on out was as open as the window in front of her. Where it took her, she would go. What it taught her, she would learn.

And lesson number one had already begun.