Ludwig waited impatiently for his train while stealing glances at his pocket watch. Another man, the only other person in the station, hummed to himself as he sat on his suitcase. Ludwig looked down at the man, vaguely annoyed. The man sitting on the suitcase wore a brown suit and hat, and no umbrella. The sky was very cloudy and it could rain at any second. The sky was so dark that Ludwig could have mistaken it for night. "What train are you waiting for?" Asked the man in the brown suit unexpectedly; Ludwig was hesitant to answer.
"The five o' clock," The man sitting on his suitcase sighed,
"I'm going on the one after, to Italy." Ludwig had noticed the man's soft Italian accent. The man turned, sparkling brown eyes looked at Ludwig, "And where are you going?" Ludwig thought of something to say,
"Home," he finally decided. The Italian smiled,
"Yes, home is a good place to be. Home is where your loved ones are," the man gazed into the distance. "I have a Grandpa and a twin brother; I haven't seen them in a few months. Do you have family to go home to?" Ludwig wished he could say this conversation was uncomfortable, but it wasn't.
"I have a brother." The Italian smiled,
"Ah, tell me about him," So Ludwig did, and gradually he forgot about the train being late.
"And he really likes beer…" The man laughed and fell silent at all the right times as Ludwig spoke and when the train finally pulled up Ludwig almost forgot he had to get on.
"That would be yours." The Italian man said, pointing to the train, "It was nice talking to you!" Ludwig stumbled onto the train in a trance. The doors were almost closed when Ludwig realized it had started to sprinkle,
"Here," he called to the stranger, "Have my umbrella." He tossed his umbrella through the closing doors and watched as the man caught it. As the train pulled away, Ludwig looked one last time out the window at the man. He was humming a little tune to himself sitting on his suitcase with Ludwig's umbrella propped up over his head. He looked up and saw Ludwig, he smiled and waved, and that was the last time Ludwig ever saw him.