Day 252 - I met a man riding on a train

 I met a man riding on a train

Matthew Ryan Fischer

 

The repetitive vibrations and low hum of mechanism had nearly put me to sleep when I heard the window abruptly open. A grizzled voice apologized for disturbing me, saying he needed air and that the fumes from the engine were giving him a headache. I hadn’t realized anyone had sat across from me in the open seats, so perhaps the rumble of the train had done more than nearly put me to sleep.

I was in no mood for chatter, but I was curious about the man sitting near me. As soon as I cracked open one eye, I knew I had made a mistake. The man must have been watching for any motion at all and instantly he was eager to speak.

The man appeared a mess. His trouser cuffs were frayed and scuffed with dirt. He wore a vest that was too tight and didn’t match his long hanging jacket coat. His homburg sat on his lap and seemed to carry a great deal of dust on the rim and gutter crown. His mustache was waxed and finely twirled, and I was impressed by the precision and time it must have taken to groom himself in such a way. Still, it made the clothes stand out all the more. If he had time enough for one, why not the other?

The man asked where I was going and then proceeded to tell me where he had been. Over the hills and across the plains and all the way out west in search of fortune. He met a man who had been to California and had a claim on a piece of land that promised gold and oil and any number of other riches. The man talking at me, not the man he had met, said he was no fool and didn’t believe for an instant that the man he met would waive around such an important piece of paper if it was indeed a deed to a piece of land that did contain such wealth. No fool would do such a thing. The only thing he could figure was that the man was looking for a sucker to sell such a piece of paper to. Well, the man telling the story, not the man with the piece of paper mind you, was no fool at all. The man telling the story knew a thing or two about a thing or two. He wasn’t going to waste his money on a fool’s errand such as that. No sir. No sir. The man could dance, but he couldn’t sell. No sir, not to the man telling the story anyway.

I wanted to ask if he was about to sell be a piece of paper, but held my tongue.

The man took a breath and pulled out his tobacco and began to roll a smoke. I asked if he had much to spare and he certainly did and so I received a gift I could appreciate.

I asked the man if wanted to hear where I had been. The man nodded a polite nod. This man, looking to pass the time, without an ounce of caution, impolitely disturbed my slumber and proceeded to waste my time. This man, who supposedly knew a thing or two about a thing or two, should have thought more carefully before he tread. Look before you leap, I always say. Let sleeping dogs lay and all that important stuff. This man, too clever to be bamboozled by a flim-flam man, was hardly wise at all.

The man nodded in agreement, so I was allowed to tell my tale. I stopped to adjust the yellow rose I wore on my lapel. I took a deep breath and relaxed.

“I come from Carcosa.”

“Never heard of it. Part of your route?” he asked innocently, as if I were some traveling salesman.

“No sir. No sir,” I answered mocking his earlier vocal pattern. “No indeed. I come from a place called Carcosa that you have never heard of. The nights grow dark and the winds grow strong, and I am a man of art and wisdom and not to be trifled with. I was happy to rest, but peaceful delight was not allowed. So now I grow weary and must feed.”

“Well don’t let me stop you.”

“I wouldn’t and I won’t. But what I desire is something a little different. Lean close and I will share a secret with you.”

The man leaned in and I leaned in and began to whisper in his ear. His eyes grew wide and his mouth opened but no sound emerged. I could feel his need to weep. I could sense his sadness and misery and every failed decision he had ever made. I licked my lips and began to sip his pain down, filling the dark hole in my belly. The ride was long and I would make him last, but I would feast. Yes sir. Yes sir. I would feast.