hero

"hey," he says gently. his tone is solicitous..."i don't know which station is yours..."
she starts awake.
"where are we then?" she blinks, mildly panicked. the train has stopped. somewhere.
"alkmaar."
this is becoming a regular occurrence. just weeks ago, after a particularly satisfactory evening out, she awoke to the sight of lights and signs and landscapes that looked frighteningly unfamiliar, and ended up shivering on an equally unfamiliar december platform, waiting to backtrack to where she should have ended up in the first place.
"and i even set the alarm on my mobile!" she exclaims.
he smiles: "never works for me either.." thank heavens for people who consider.
she gathers herself up and flings her scarf over her shoulder.
if she runs, she can still catch her bus.