To Catch a Train

A man was sitting in a taxi in the middle of a very busy street at 8:42 on a Monday morning. He was on his way to Paris, and the train was set to leave at 9. He had left his house in plenty of time, but the traffic this morning was very bad. The man looked out his window to see the crowds walking past on the sidewalk. He glanced down at his watch nervously. He wondered whether it might have been faster to walk to the station. That would be a long way to go with his luggage, but at this rate, he might have been better off!

The traffic light far ahead turned green, and the man watched tensely as the long line of cars in front of him slowly started to pull forward—wasting precious moments before the light turned red again. The taxi had only just started to move when the traffic light changed again and the cars came to a halt. At this rate, it would be several minutes before they passed this light alone, and there were many more to go before they arrived at the station.

There was a dog sitting in the car next to his taxi. The dog happily put its head out of the window and looked around at the other cars at the street. The man smiled. Then he looked at his watch again. It was 8:45.

“Think we’ll make it on time?” he asked the driver in the seat in front of him.

The driver shrugged. “Hard to say,” he said. “Traffic’s not usually this bad.”

“Is there another route we can take?” asked the man.

“Sure, but there’s no guarantee it will be any better than this,” replied the driver.

“Let’s try it anyways. We’re not getting anywhere on this road.”

The man looked out his window again. The cars were all very slowly inching forward at the moment. There was a pizza restaurant on the left side of the street, and a woman was just walking out of its door, her arms stacked high with pizza boxes.

Finally, the taxi reached the intersection, and the driver took a left turn.

“We’ll try this road,” he said. “Might be less traffic.”

The man looked at his watch again. It was 8:47.

This was a side street, and there weren’t as many cars on it. They were able to make it to the next intersection before the red light, and they turned right towards the station.

The crowds on the side of the road were very busy in this area. People were walking both directions with all sorts of packages and parcels. The man noticed someone with a bright red top hat. “Interesting choice of style,” he thought to himself. He looked down at his watch. 8:48.

“Traffic’s not as bad here,” said the driver. “If we’re lucky, we might get there just in time.”

“In ten minutes?” asked the man.

“Never know,” replied the driver. “If everything lines up right, it’s possible.”

They cruised along the avenue much more quickly than before. The only real trouble along the way was when a bus stopped right in front of them to let what seemed like a hundred passengers board. But after that, they were able to make good time almost all the way to the train station.

Finally, just as the station came into view, they reached a red light.

“Just let me get out now,” said the man. “I’ll walk from here.”

He quickly paid the driver, grabbed his suitcase, and climbed out of the taxi. He glanced at his watch as he left. It was 8:56. Four minutes to get to the train platform.

The man ran down the sidewalk as quickly as he could while pulling his luggage and ran into the station. He paid for a ticket and went through the barrier with no trouble. He pressed the elevator button to get to the platform and looked at his watch. 8:58. Perfect.

Then he looked up and saw a sign taped to the elevator door. “Elevator out of service. Please use the stairs.”

He quickly walked around the corner to the stairwell and began to climb down with his suitcase in his hand. He didn’t even take the time to check his watch.

It was a very long stairway, and the man had trouble carrying his suitcase the whole way. By the time he finally came out of the door onto the platform, the train was just pulling away. It was 9:02. He watched as it slowly disappeared into the tunnel at the end of the station and stood still until finally he couldn’t even hear it anymore.

The man was exhausted, so he sat down on a bench on the side of the platform to catch his breath and think of a new plan. This was the only direct train to Paris until tomorrow, and his niece’s wedding was this afternoon.

After he had rested for a few moments, the man took the long walk up the stairs to the station entrance. He walked back out to the ticket office.

“Excuse me, do you know a way to get to Paris by this afternoon? I’ve just missed my train.”

The clerk apologized, “I’m sorry. That was the only direct train today.”

“Is there another route I can take? I’m happy to transfer through another city.”

“Let me check for you,” replied the clerk.

He pulled down the massive timetable book from his shelf and put on a pair of reading glasses. He thumbed through its pages for several minutes before putting it back.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t believe there’s anything that will work for you today.”

The man sighed. “My niece’s wedding is this afternoon,” he explained to the clerk. “I really want to be there for her and for the family. Surely it must be possible to get there by then!”

The clerk thought for a moment. “Well, I suppose you could take the ferry,” he replied. “They’re a bit expensive, but I think one leaves at noon or so if I recall correctly.”

“Thank you very much!” exclaimed the man, and without waiting any longer, he rushed out of the train station. He waved a taxi over from the side of the road and climbed in. “To the docks, please.”

By 9:51, the taxi pulled up to the city ports. The man thanked the driver and climbed out once again.

He looked around. He had never taken a ferry across the sea before, so he wasn’t quite sure where to go. But after a moment, he saw a little green building with a sign saying, “Ferries to Europe.”

The man walked into the little green building. It was a small office with unpainted wooden walls and a single desk. There was a woman sitting behind the desk.

“Can I help you,” she asked.

“Yes, I’m trying to get to Paris by this afternoon,” replied the man.

“We have a service leaving at eleven,” replied the woman. “I can get you a ticket.”

“Perfect,” replied the man.

By 10:50, the man had boarded the ferry and was sitting by a little window watching the waves splash against the land. A few minutes later, the ferry pulled out of the harbor, right on schedule.

The man had completely forgotten about the train he’d missed. He was on his way to Paris.