Too Small To Be Afraid

Chapter 2

My lungs cry out for more air than I can give them with each step of my quickening pace. I clutch the strap on my overnight bag to keep it from falling off my shoulder.

"3:57," Dad says, glancing at his watch as we run through the undercity railway entrance. "We can make it!"

"What?!" I holler to him, nearly losing my footing as we move up the stairs. "We're not going to make it, are you crazy?!"

We dart across the station, weaving through crowds and passing numerous trains. I lose count of how many times I've had to say 'excuse me' after bumping into so many people along the way.

"Don't tell me you've already given up hope!" Dad's gaze shifts upward. "Now, which platform was it again?"

"It's platform 16B, and I gave up hope when the movers arrived while we were still packing! We're lucky they were willing to wait the extra fifteen minutes for us to finish!"

"There it is, platform 16B! And with one minute to spare! Hah!" Dad laughs triumphantly and glances down at his watch. "Uh-oh."

"No uh-ohs!" I sprint through the crowd to catch up with him and look down at his watch. "4:02?!"

Dad and I turn our gazes to platform 16B and behold its trainless track.

"Well... I guess we can wait for the next one," Dad says, scratching his chin.

"That's three hours away," I say, pressing my fingers to my temple.

"How do you know that?" Dad starts looking around. "Did you see it somewhere?"

"I looked it up earlier in case... well, this happened again."

"Again? What do you mean?"

"Well, for starters," I say, folding my arms. "When we visited Grandma two years ago? We missed the train and made her wait up late for us."

Dad shrugs. "Okay, but that was just one time."

"Alright, then what about the time we went to North Eris to visit Uncle Lewis?"

"That was ages ago! You were only twelve!"

"Okay, what about when we wanted to take a day trip to Ashani last year? Or when we nearly missed the train home from the university this morning?"

Dad raises his hands in defeat. "Okay, okay," he says. "So I'm not that great at catching trains."

A voice overhead interrupts our conversation, "The four o'clock train from Maedri to Chancelor is now approaching platform 16B. We apologize for the delay."

Dad turns to me with a big grin and finger guns ablazing. "Made it just in time!"

I roll my eyes and smile. I guess he wins this round.

Shortly after boarding the train and sitting in the old, worn leather seats, we begin to move away from the only city I've ever called home. I set down the bag I was holding onto so tightly and rub my legs in an attempt to relieve myself of goosebumps.

"Hey," Dad says, pointing upward. "This train has a series of real skylights along the track. Maybe you can get some good nature pictures."

I look up and see a window. Through the window is the dull, lifeless sea of gray that is the ceiling to the undercity. It stares back at me, almost taunting me as it selfishly conceals the beauty of the world hidden above the surface. I pull out my phone, my heart racing at the opportunity to see the nature scenes the skylights have to offer. I've grown tired of the same old videos that play on the artificial skylights in town and have been longing for something real. I sit and wait in restless anticipation for the skylights to appear.

All at once, the melancholy of the undercity is stripped away as I'm nearly blinded by a bright blue sky. Fallen blossoms adorn the glass above, in beautiful shades of pastel pink and white. Big, wide, sturdy trees reach high up into the heavens with no end in sight. The sight leaves me in such awe that I forget to take any pictures.

And then I see two pertheans tower over the glass.

Everything stops. I let out a gasp, my phone slipping through my fingers and onto the train floor. My insides flip completely upside-down, and my entire being trembles as I turn my widened eyes to the ground.

Something touches my left shoulder, causing me to flinch. I turn and see Dad's hand resting there.

"Breathe," Dad whispers. "It's okay."

I take in a shuddery breath and hold it in for a few seconds before letting it go. Shaking, I lean over and pick up my phone from the train floor. That's enough surface world for one day.