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LOS 24
“Anna. Anna!”
Someone grabbed my shoulders and shook me. It took a few seconds for me to recognize the voice. Barely escaping from the dream, I looked up at Albert. This happened to me often. Albert likely knew as well—that I had dreamed the same dream as before.
He wiped my face with a damp towel. His eyes, looking down at me, were filled with worry.
“Anna, are you okay?”
“I’m okay... it was just a dream.”
“I thought something had happened. You suddenly started screaming.”
I looked out the window. It was already dawn. Albert had stayed by my side all day without even going home. I felt sorry for him, but it couldn't be helped.
I simply couldn't be alone. If I heard even the slightest sound outside the front gate, I would lock my bedroom door and hide for hours.
“Bertie, I’m sorry. I just...”
He simply smiled, taking my rambling hand in his.
“It’s okay. Just as you said.”
“I want to leave this place quickly. I’m tired of living in hiding. I didn't do anything wrong.”
“We’re leaving as soon as the sun rises today. Just sleep and wake up. Then we’ll leave this place. It’s okay, Anna. I’ll be right beside you. You have nothing to worry about.”
Hearing his words, I closed my eyes. Yes, I wasn't alone. There was someone trustworthy by my side. That fact alone gave me the courage to fall asleep again.
Albert turned off the lamp. In the darkness, his voice whispered tenderly.
“Once we get on the train, everything will be fine. Both you and I...”
He didn't leave my side until I fell asleep. Sitting by the bed in silence... I wondered what he was thinking.
The end of an exhausting week.
It was the day the Orient Express departed.
We cleared out the house completely. It wasn't a task that took much time. I didn't have many belongings anyway. I wasn't going on a trip; I was leaving this place for good. I didn't want to leave even a trace of myself behind.
One thing that bothered me was that Giles knew about the train. I thought that perhaps he might chase us all the way to the station. I made sure Albert didn't leave my side.
He drove the car himself. I sat in the backseat, silently watching the scenery pass by.
It was the season when spring flowers were blooming. A kind of peace had settled over Ipswin, which had been shaken by the revolution. Children dressed in spring clothes laughed and ran alongside the car before eventually falling behind.
The train station was located a bit far from where I had lived.
“Anna, what do you want to do once we get to Vittelsden?”
Albert, who was driving, suddenly asked. Since it was a question I had never considered, I had to think for a moment before answering.
“First, I suppose we'll have to find a place to stay.”
“Not things like that. I mean things you want to do. Like going to a restaurant, or visiting somewhere... things like that.”
“I don't really know.”
Most people seemed to think of such things when moving to a new place. But not me. Longing or anticipation for a foreign land was a secondary concern. The only reason I was leaving Ipswin was because of Giles Hessen.
I had created a new identity. Now, Eloise Bismarck was completely dead. No one would think she was still alive.
Except for one person... the sole individual who knew my real name was the root of all my problems. He was a soldier, he was cruel, and he wanted me. And I had abandoned him and fled.
One would think he might have forgotten me after two seasons had passed, yet he had been relentlessly tracking my whereabouts.
In the end, I had no choice but to run away again.
There was only one thing I desired in Vittelsden: the right to live with dignity. The freedom to walk the streets with my shoulders squared, meeting people's eyes. That was everything I wanted.
“Come to think of it, I’m not very good at foreign languages,” I murmured. In my desperation to escape, I hadn't considered the language barrier.
“What if I can't even shop properly there? I might get scammed if I can't speak the language well.”
“You won't have to worry about things like that.”
“Why?”
“Because Anna Keating will never have to go to a market by herself again.”
I didn't immediately understand what he meant. Then again, was a market really that important? I desperately hoped to live a life where such trivial problems were my only concerns.
Leaning my head against the window, I suddenly spoke.
“Should I get a cat?”
“Why that all of a sudden?”
“Just... a sudden thought. I hate it when the house is too quiet.”
“Anna, let me tell you, they are not easy to deal with. Those beasts only look gentle and cute, but they're complete predators. You might end up having to live your life catering to their whims.”
“I like that for some reason.”
I let out a small laugh.
“I think we'd be good friends.”
After driving for some time, Albert pointed out the window. I sat up straight. An old train station was coming into view.
He parked in a suitable spot and unloaded the luggage. I walked toward the station, sticking close to him. I constantly scanned the crowd, checking if Giles's face appeared.
The area was already bustling with the crowd arriving to board the train. Albert led the way, pushing through the people so that I could move forward easily.
Finally, we stood right in front of the platform.
“Anna, this is it. The train we need to board.”
Hearing Albert's words, I looked up. A massive steam locomotive was boasting its majesty, belching acrid smoke.
I couldn't easily take my eyes off that black hunk of iron. It didn't even feel real that such a thing would race along the rails and take me to Vittelsden. How much power would be needed to move something like that?
We followed the crowd and stepped inside the train. It was completely different from what I had imagined—that it might be filled with coal to fuel the engine. There was a sense of detachment from the appearance I had seen from the outside.
I was surrounded by high-end wood and interiors engraved with delicate patterns. Lamps hanging at regular intervals emitted a warm glow.
For a moment, I was reminded of the Bismar estate.
“We boarded the right one, right?”
At my question, Albert nodded.
“This is the right train. It's certainly different from a typical train. Just think of it as enjoying yourself comfortably until we arrive. You don't get to ride a luxury express like this very often.”
Albert led me in one direction. I had no choice but to follow him blindly. I was a first-timer on a train and knew nothing.
I vaguely thought we were going to a cabin to drop off the luggage. However, where Albert took me was not a cabin.
It was the dining car.
-
Giles Hessen looked around the train station. As far as he knew, this station had been closed for a long time. Yet, at this moment, it was crowded with travelers.
He felt as if he had traveled back in time, like something out of a science fiction novel. The Montreal station must have had times like this once.
What was happening? A closed station. Numerous travelers. A suddenly appearing express train. Non-existent tickets... One thing was certain: this was not the work of a single individual. There was a larger power behind this.
He had hoped Anna would not board the train, but it was already too late. Anna had not believed his words, and by now, she would have already boarded. There were too many questions to resolve. To find the answers, he too had to board the train.
Giles simply could not leave Anna alone. Months had passed, but his interior remained empty. Just as before, he needed a driving force to move himself... and there was only one person who served as the light guiding him through the dark tunnel.
A person left alone in the darkness inevitably goes mad. Giles needed Anna even if it was just to keep himself together. He didn't want her to give him anything. As long as Anna existed in her whole form within his sight, that was enough.
If only that could make both of them okay.
Giles blended in with the crowd and boarded the train. Having shed his military uniform, he looked like an ordinary traveler.
After a brief exploration of the luxurious interior, he sought traces of Anna. The best-case scenario in his mind was to find Anna, persuade her, and take her away before the train departed.
He had to find her somehow.
It was just as Giles was about to head toward the dining car. An attendant appeared, blocking his path, and spoke politely.
“I’m sorry, but Dining Car 2 is full. Dining Car 1 is straight ahead in the opposite direction. We ask for your understanding.”
“I’m looking for someone, so is there no way? I have someone I agreed to meet here, and I thought they might be inside.”
The attendant didn't budge.
“For the convenience of our passengers, we would appreciate your cooperation.”
Giles was no longer a soldier here. The order he had to follow was different. It meant he couldn't just beat the attendant and push through as he would while performing his military duties.
It couldn't be helped. Giles decided to step back. It was the moment he turned to walk in another direction.
Boooooo— The train let out a roar and emitted steam. Soon, the scenery outside the window began to slowly slide past.
The journey of the Orient Express had just begun.
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