Beautiful Ruby Train

The three days passed. Helen and her husband walked Naoko up to the train station. She helped pay for his ticket. The mouse boy felt a little sad inside that he would be parting with Helen and his husband today. Earlier, the couple treated him to one last breakfast in the Emerald. Over the past three days, Helen had perked up. She was more talkative and lovey-dovey with her husband. The man, Johnny, turned out to be quite the gentleman. He covered all of their meals.

“Thank you for everything,” the mouse boy said.

“You are welcome,” Helen said. “Tell Midori-chan I said hi.” Naoko nodded.

“I’ll do that,” he said.

“Good luck on your journey,” the guide’s husband said. Naoko bowed again and got onto the train. The green disappeared into bright red. To his surprise, the color wasn’t so blinding like the Emerald Lounge was. But, that wasn’t all that caught his attention. Naoko blinked.

What’s with these stripper poles?

Disco balls spun overhead. Upbeat French music floated through the speakers. Posters of pin-up girls in swimsuits and underwear covered the walls. The mouse boy blinked with a confused look on his face.

“What the heck is this?” he asked himself. Naoko turned to his right when he heard footprints walking towards him. A woman dressed in a dress suit smiled at him.

“Welcome aboard the Ruby train!” she said. “Do you have your ticket with you today?” Naoko reached into his pocket. He pulled out the light purple ticket. The lady scanned the brightly colored paper with the small black machine in her hand.

“Seat R 29,” she said. “Follow me.” The woman turned and walked further into the train. Naoko did so silently. He looked out the window to see Helen and Johnny waving goodbye. The mouse boy waved one more time before they disappeared from his view.

The bright red felt strangely calming to him. He couldn’t explain it, but Naoko was taken back to memories of when he was in London with Midori-chan. He broke into a little smile. The woman in front of him turned her head.

“What’s on your mind?” she asked. Naoko shook his head.

“This train moves really fast,” the lady told him.

“Is that so?” the mouse boy asked.

“Uh-huh. Oh, I’m Samantha, by the way. What’s your name again?”

“Naoko.”

“Funny name.”

A sweat drop formed on the mouse boy’s head. “I get that a lot.” Samantha giggled as they walked further down the hall. She stopped and turned to him.

“Here you are, Seat R 29,” the train attendant said. “Train will be leaving in five minutes. Take time to relax and get settled.” Samantha turned and left. Naoko saluted after her.

“Okay then,” he said. The mouse boy took his seat by the window. Just like everything else on the train, his seat was red. But the covering was like lying down on a soft and fluffy carpet. Above him was a large mirror. In the seat in front of him was a small radio playing Sade. The mouse boy shrugged to himself as he finished settling in. Already, he counted down to when he would see Midori-chan again. For now, a little nap wouldn’t hurt. Maybe he would be in Sapphire city before he knew it.

Naoko slowly closed his eyes and started to dream.