Through the flicker of the carriage window I see the pale somnolent face, hollow darkened eyes and jet-black hair of my reflection. The sweeping coat, worn leather boots and thick woolen scarf that encircles my neck rests haggard about my slouching frame. I reach up and try to rub away a smudge of dirt from my cheek. It doesn’t budge; instead the pitiful image stares back at me unchanged through the train’s darkened glass.

Alone in the compartment I sit and stare through the limp reflection. Counting down the minuets, the tunnels, the passing lampposts that fly past. Each one brings the moment closer when I will have to leave the sanctuary of the train and step out into the frozen world.

Soon the train has stopped and the carriage door …show more content…
The threadbare carpets and rickety floorboards invite me in. Stepping across the threshold I turn to close out the dark world, when I hear the hissing again. So close now that it slices through the chilled night air like a blade. Whatever blasted animal is making the noise is quickly slammed from view, along with the desolate street stained with my footprints. Drenched boots thud into their impromptu resting place in the hall and I try to convince myself that it is just a cat. How I hate them.

As the pilot lamp greets me like an old friend the oil heaters gurgle into life, and I take relief in the thought that the biting chill will soon pass. Blue shafts stream through the faded curtains; I drift into an uneasy sleep. But all the while a ghastly fear percolates, as if it were a soundtrack to my confused dreams.

Then it arrives at full volume. I sit bolt upright. Wide-eyed I stare into the gloom and strain to find nothing in the dark void. I scramble for the light switch; all four corners of my cluttered bedroom are illuminated by a warm yellow glow. Again it would seem that I am alone. The hairs on the back of my neck prickle; I sit motionless and stiff. My eyes water, the edges blur, but I mustn’t close them. With nothing but uncertainty and wrenching fear as companions, I must make it through this