If I should die without seeing you again,
Know that you've always had all my love,
My last goodbye would be not full of sorrow
but full of the joy my life is full of
If I should die, surround me with flowers
Daffodils, tulips, a daisy, a rose
Give me a bed of the earth that hath fed me
And now shall receive me as I decompose
If I should all alone in a bubble
Know that I'm never alone in my head
My though and my dreams and my memories are with me
And will accompany me till I'm dead
If I should die and cannot say goodbye
I do not think I will see you again
But one day the sun will consume all the planet
And we'll all be united then
The way home wasn’t as trivial as she would have liked. It involved 4 transfer and a short walk, which were pleasant enough in good weather, but dreadful in the rain. Just one hour, give or take 10 minutes, and she’d be home. She put in her earbuds, jazz music playing softly through her phone, and walked out of the office building into the brisk chill and darkness.
It had been raining earlier, so she watched her feet as she walked. Already her sneakers were soaking up the dark water that had pooled amongst the fallen leaves. In all her time working out here, she’d never seen another person on this sidewalk, and today was no different. The solitary office building was close to the train tracks, and would have seemed like a ghost town if it weren't for the cars and trains that passed by. Cars and trains, but no people.
It was already so dark. Fall had arrived suddenly and the rainclouds hid what little light there could have been tonight. Her feet splashed as she approached the small overpass. Over at the train yard, a locomotive was slowly making its way through the iron maze. She always loved seeing the trains come in, coming home for their nightly rest.
Suddenly, she slipped on a mush of wet leaves and lost balance. Her body tilted back violently as she spread out her hands in preparation for the fall. She managed to catch herself, her heart racing form the momentary thrill. Lowered her hands, she looked to see if anyone had caught her balancing act. The streets and sidewalks were empty, but as she glanced down the ravine, she thought saw see a figure amongst the trees. She tried to focus her eyes, but spending 12 hours a day staring at screens had taken a toll on her night vision, and she couldn’t be sure. Why would someone be down here, walking in a ditch, next to what looked like the output of a sewage drain? She looked around, but the whole street was quiet. She decided to continue walking, but kept her eyes fixed on the spot where she had seen the shadow until it was out of sight.
The bus usually passed every 5 minutes; today she waited 13. She smiled when it finally appeared and smiled at the driver as she boarded, but he just stared back blankly. After the short trip, she made her way into the subway stop, up two flights of stairs and waited again.
At this hour, hardly anyone would be here, so it didn’t surprise her to see the platform was empty, as was the train when it arrived. She got on, taking her time to pick the best spot, settling her things on the floor and taking the phone out of her pocket. The speaker on the train rang out, announcing its departure. As the doors closed, a figure of a man appeared walking up the stairs. He wore a bright yellow raincoat, and black trousers, walking onto the platform with his hands in his pockets and his hood up. Rotten luck, she thought, as the train pulled away, leaving him behind.
Few people boarded the next stop, and hardly any got off until the end of the line. This was a very short route intended mostly for the townsfolk living on the outskirts of the city. Not much hustle and bustle until the final stop, as everyone got off to their final destinations. Out and down, down, down three flights of stairs this time - underground.
Her second subway was already waiting on the platform. She made her way to the front of the train and entered the mostly empty first car. She sat in a corner and closed her eyes, 25-30 minutes until her next transfer.
A loud screeching sound pierced through her earphones, making her open her eyes. She was 8 stops into her ride, all alone in the car. "Next stop, Pape".
As the train approached, a man in a bright yellow raincoat stood on the platform. He was wearing black trousers, just like the man she'd seen on the platform at McCowan. Her charriage continued to the front of the platform and she lost sight of the man. So strange, she thought. Maybe he had taken an Uber to try to catch his ride. Maybe that's a very popular look in Toronto. The train moved on.
"Next stop, Chester". She started to breathe quickly as she saw, again, the man in the yellow raincoat standing on the platform. This time he was placed further along, so she was able to get a better look. It was definitely the same raincoat, the same pants, the same build. But surely not the same man. That would be... impossible. That was impossible. She tried to see if he boarded but couldn't see from her seat. As the doors closed, she started to breathe even faster, wishing silently that her train hadn't been so empty after all.
As the train approached the next station, she stood. She felt a bit silly but, she wanted to see. To make sure she was seeing right. "Now arriving"...
And there he was again, in the middle of the platform. Him and no one else. She walked toward the doors as they opened and peered out. He was definitely there, standing on the platform but... he didn't get on. She looked until the subway threatened to chop her head off through the speakers and continued on its way.
She suddenly felt dizzy, and blindly grabbed onto a pole to steady herself. Was this some sort of Halloween prank? If it was, it was incredibly well done. Had the TTC placed mannequins on every platform just to freak people out? Was this some sort of art installation, meant to challenge commuters and take them out of their everyday routine?
Or was it something else?
She was a scientist, an atheist, a non believer. And yet, she thought, could this be something else?
"Next station, Castle Frank". The man was considerably closer to the front of the platform. Again she peered outside as the doors opened to get a look at the man. In one swift motion, he turned his head towards her. She jumped at the sudden movement, her hand unsticking from the pole - which she had been grasping harder than she realized. Her hand hurt, white and bloodless, as she shook it out, but the sound of footsteps made her look up. He was moving, briskly, in her direction. Sudden panic overtook her body. But before he could get to the doors on her car, the subway beeped, and the doors started to close as she ducked back into safety.
Next stop, he'd probably be in front of her car. He'd probably get on the train. And then what? Something told her that he did not have friendly intentions, she could feel it. Her boyfriend was always saying she was too paranoid for her own good, of people and of their intentions. But her gut feeling had never steered her wrong. She was still one more stop away from her transfer, but one stop wasn't so far, she could walk. Next stop, she'd escape.
The train arrived swiftly to Sherborne station. She was ready, placing herself between to doors, choosing the best exit in the precious seconds it takes the subway to halt to stop and open it's doors. Her heart was pounding and she had closed her hands into fists, almost preparing for a fight. She doubted she would do any damage, but she'd go down fighting. She'd always told herself that.
The next couple of seconds when down in a blur. As soon as the train stopped, she could see the man lined up perfectly with the door to her left. She immediately moved right, and out of the corner of her eyes saw him moving towards her. As soon as the doors opened, she ran in the opposite direction, frantically looking for the exit. She was panting from the run and from the panic, tears starting to blur her vision. She didn't want to lose a second turning to look, but she could hear his footsteps, she could feel his presence. She saw the exit, turned and ran up the stairs, tripping once or twice, using her hands to crawl up and dash towards the turnstiles. A final flight of stairs and she was outside, the cool air hitting her face, in the city filled with cars and people and life. Fully crying now, she walked to the next subway station.
She hesitated for a second before going back underground, but was comforted by all the people going in and out of the station. They stared at her as she wept and tried to clean off the blood and dirt on her scratched hands, but she didn't care. She kept trying to reason what had just happened, she would glance up suddenly looking for signs of yellow raincoats until she finally reached her stop.
Walking in the streets of downtown Toronto, she could barely squeeze through the masses of people. For once, she was glad of the people. She started to feel at ease when she entered the lobby to her high rise apartments. Nodding at the concierge, she made her way to the elevator; 41 floors and she'd be home. What would her boyfriend say when he saw her? How could she even begin to explain what she'd seen? So high above to underground, she started to feel silly. Maybe she had just imagined things, and he would laugh at her when she told him.
But that didn't explain the fear she had felt - the danger. If there's anything she'd learned in her life, it was to trust herself above all else. If something didn't feel right, then stay away. Turn back, close the door, run, even if it makes you look silly. It's better to look silly but be safe. It's better to look silly but be alive.
She sighed as the doors opened on the 41st floor, preparing to exit, but she stopped, paralized in sudden fear. A man in a yellow raincoat and black trousers stood waiting for the elevator.
There was once a haunted house
Inside it was an ugly black mouse
He scared everyone there
Costumes did they all wear
They ran our the door
They stomped on the floor
The all said "Oh galore!"
There was a mummy
It was a dummy
The kids almost lost their breath
They were all scared to death