Jack Kelly was last in line to board the final train to Santa Fe.

He turned to get one last look at the city. It was a bittersweet moment. He'd wanted to escape this city for so long, and it always seemed so far away. Just a wisp of a dream that could never be acquired. Against all odds, here he was, boarding the train. He thought that it would feel good to finally leave. Once and for all. But guilt crept into his subconscious. Maybe, he thought. Maybe I wouldn't feel so bad if I actually said goodbye to everyone. Not just left a note. He knew why he'd done it. They would've made him change his mind. They would've found a way to talk him out of it.

It was his turn now to get on.

"Good evening, sir. May I take your bag for you?" the old attendant asked politely. A pang of sorrow hit Jack. Kloppman. He looks like Kloppman. I'm gonna miss that guy.

Jack was going to miss Kloppman's early morning wake-ups. He may've complained and curse the old man when he did, but there was no better way to wake up than to have someone smiling in your face and kidding around with you.

"Sir?"

"Oh, uh…" Jack looked up at the attendant. "No thanks, mister. I think I'll keep it wit me." Jack turned around to look at the city again. His city. He knew every inch of this place.

"Sure is pretty ain't it?" The old man's words broke Jack's train of thought.

"Yeah. It is," Jack said, nodding.

"Sound like you're gonna miss it. Where ya off to?"

"Santa Fe."

"Santa Fe? What's out there for a young man like yourself?"

Jack thought. He didn't really have an answer. He didn't know what was going to be out there. Was he going to find some place to live? Money to eat? A job?

"I don't know. A new beginning, maybe?" Jack sighed.

"Well, you don't sound so sure."

"I'm not." The attendant stepped aside and Jack boarded the train. Not many people were on, but then again, who was going to be on the 3 a.m. train to Santa Fe? He walked through the rows of seats, picked one with no one in it, and slid to the window seat facing the front of the train. After placing his belongings on the seat beside him he leaned his head against the window.

By now he was almost overwhelmed by sadness and already, homesickness had set in. You haven't even left yet, ya bum, he thought. He looked up to the window and he saw figures running toward the train station.

Oh, no.

As they got closer, he could tell there were more than he originally thought. Five of them reached the platform before the rest of the group.

"JACK!" They all stopped and looked around. He could tell they were scanning the train trying to find him.

Blink found him first.

"There! There he is!" He pointed and began to run closer to the train. David, Racetrack, Mush, and Skittery were right behind him and by then most of the rest had congregated behind them. They all stopped when the first of the group was about ten feet from the train. Jack looked at all of them. They all had expressions of pure misery as they looked up at him.

"Don't you do it, Jack," a voice spoke from the crowd. Jack's eyes darted to find who it was. "Don't you do this to us." David. He stepped forward from the crowd and looked Jack straight in the eye. "We trusted you. I trusted you. We're all here for you. What's out there for you, Jack? Not your parents! You've got nobody out there!" David's words shot right through Jack's heart. Whether it was because the words spoken were true or because tears were on the verge of falling from David as he yelled them, Jack had no idea. But it was too late. The train lurched forward and Jack realized that he would never see them again. He desperately wished he'd genuinely said goodbye to each one and told them how much they all meant to him. Jack took one last look at his friends. David's shoulders sunk forward, Race had his hands jammed in his pocket, and everyone else had looks varying from disappointment to anger to just plain sadness. Jack put a hand to the window and a tear slid down his cheek. Was this a huge mistake? Jack thought. David looked up and gave a heartrending wave as he turned and began to walk back the way the group of newsboys had come.

Jack looked behind him until he could no longer see them. He let his hand fall from the window and into his lap. Holding his head in his hands he thought about what he'd just done. Doubt flooded him. Did I just do the right thing? What is out there for me? Where will I find a job? Where will I live? A soft voice broke through Jack's racing thoughts.

"Um…excuse me? Is this seat taken?" Jack's head snapped up. He met the eyes of a young lady that couldn't have been over 18. Brown ringlets bounced around her shoulders and she was wearing a clean, well made dress. Jack was certain she was a wealthy person.

"No. It's not." And with that she sat down. Jack didn't feel like talking much, but the girl seemed to have different plans.

"Um…Maybe it's not my place to say, but why are you leaving if you have so many people that care about you?" Jack was caught a bit off guard the question.

"I don't know."

"Oh." The girl seemed to be taken a bit off guard by the answer. Jack let out loud sigh to express his frustration.

"I really don't know. I've wanted to leave this city forever. I felt so crowded. I needed somethin. And I thought I'd find it in Santa Fe. But, now…" he paused and shook his head. "I'm leaving and it feels wrong. So many things didn't occur to me. And…now…I don't know what to do." Jack ran his hands through his hair and vaguely wondered why he was telling this to a complete stranger. "I had people that liked me there."

"Seems to me like they loved you," she said softly.

"Excuse me?"

"I said, it seems to me that they love you. I saw what happened back at the station. And, if I'm not mistaken, you love them too." She looked at him expectantly. Jack thought hard about her statement. He did love them. They'd been through so much together and he'd bonded with every single one. He'd never really noticed. It wasn't something he ever thought about it. But, now that it was brought to his attention, he couldn't deny it. And there was something else he couldn't deny. He'd probably just made a huge mistake leaving them.

Jack looked into her eyes. She had deep blue eyes. They reminded him of his mother…

"You know what? I made a huge mistake. I…I should've never left. They need me. And…" he trailed off. He didn't want to say it out loud and make himself look like a fool.

"You need them," she finished his statement for him. He nodded. The train stopped at the final station in New York.

"I believe this is your stop, Jack."

"Yeah, I think it is," Jack got up and shouldered his bag and placed his cowboy hat on his head. "Thanks so much, Miss," he bid her farewell with a tip of his hat.

"No problem, Jack. Sometimes you just need someone to talk to, to figure out what you already know."

Jack began making his way to the front of the train. Once he got there he was greeted by the old attendant from before.

"Change your mind, son?" The old man smiled.

"Yes. I'm going home. To stay. I've got people that need me here. And to be completely honest, I need them, too."

"Alright. Have a good morning."

"Thanks, mister," Jack tipped his hat again. But before he got off the train, he thought of something. "Oh, do you know who that nice young lady I was talkin to was?"

"There was nobody in that seat with you, son."

"What? Yes there was. She had curly, brown hair, a real fancy-type dress, and bright blue eyes. I was sittin right back there." Jack pointed to his old seat.

"I know where you were sittin, and I know every face that has gotten on since this train started its trip and nobody like that has gotten on or off." Jack didn't know how to respond, so he just bid the attendant a goodnight and got off the train. He started to make his way back home, still thinking about that woman he'd talked to.

She had to be real. I remember talkin to her. She…she had eyes just like my mother's… And the last part of their conversation whispered in his head:

"Sometimes you just need someone to talk to, to figure out what you already know."