New Arrival

The ship dipped and rose as it sailed across the waves, getting closer and closer to New York City. The ship's tall smokestacks continued to billow smoke as the boilers begged to be used, but were slowly being wound down as they drew closer to the port.

Angela was but one person that was glued to the railings of the boat, the trunk that held the entirety of her life right next to her. She had stayed on the deck for hours, ever since the call for land was first put out. The wind blew her long blonde hair and blue dress about. Fortunately, she was one of the first people to move to the railing, so she had the best view possible. She should be slightly cold, but she was so excited to see America, it just didn't connect for her.

And she was smiling so broadly, her face was starting to cramp. It was hard not to keep a smile from her face; standing on a small island, getting larger by the minute, was a beautiful, tall, copper statue. It was a woman, wrapped in a robe, holding a tablet and a light, welcoming all to her shores. Angela knew much about the statue; she had bought a book on it before leaving, and had read it multiple times during their crossing.

Looking at it, she couldn't help but think of the iconic lines inscribed on the base.

Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.

"First time seeing America?"

She looked over, seeing a sailor standing next to her. No doubt he was shirking his job, but he had a nice and big smile.

"Ja," she said. "This is just so…I'm so excited!"

"Of course you are! I can see it all over your face," the sailor laughed. "But you know English, yes?"

"I do. Mostly. I don't think I'm fully fluent, but I'm sure I'll get there."

"You'll get plenty of practice," the sailor said.

"Have you been to America before?"

"Of course. I'm a sailor, I live on the sea," he smiled.

"Do you have any advice? Recommendations?"

"Plenty," the sailor said. He looked around at the other passengers and sailors walking about. He seemed to be testing to see how much time he had to continue to shirk his duties.

"We're sailing into New York. You've never seen so many people in one spot before, let me tell you! It will be very overwhelming, but everyone is here to help you. Now, Americans are a little loud. It might seem like you're getting yelled at! But they're a friendly people who like their space. And they only know English, so speaking German might not sit too well with them. It will take a little to adjust to, but you'll like them just fine."

She smiled at that.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Oh, I almost forgot. Why are you crossing the big blue sea to come to America?"

"I'm going to go out west to be a doctor," Angela beamed.

"Ah! Doctors are always needed, especially on the American frontier! You'll make a wonderful new life for yourself here, I just know it!" The sailor said. "Now, you'll have to forgive me, I have to help bring this ship into port. You'd better start speaking English, young lady!"

"Thank you," Angela said, waving as the sailor ran along. She gathered up her trunk. It was big, coming up to her hip, and it contained everything she owned. All of her books, her medical tools, a handful of clothes, a few blankets, and all of her money. Everything that was to her name was in that trunk. And she was about to start a new life, one where she could see the wonderful country of the free.

A few months ago, she had just finished her doctorial. Now she was here, going to make her mark on this land. She looked out at the approaching port.

"Look out, America," she said in English. "Dr. Angela Ziegler is here."

The ship took almost half an hour to dock. The port was bustling with activity; the port was so crowded, Angela was sure that the ship would either ram into other ships, or crash into the land.

But the captain was skilled. He guided the ship into its proper berth, and sailors began tossing out dozens of thick ropes to the dockworkers on shore. Soon, with practiced hands, the ship was lashed in place, and a wooden gangway was put in place.

Gathering her trunk, Angela got in line with her fellow travelers. She walked down the long board, pausing at the very end for the briefest of seconds.

If I take another step, she thought, I'd be in America. No more Switzerland, no more Britain, no more Europe. America. I've never been further from home…

The man behind her politely coughed, snapping her back to reality. She stepped off the gangway, onto American soil.

I'm finally here.

The line of passengers were led into a building, where dozens of tables were set up, each manned with a person to question, and hopefully welcome, them to the new country. The line moved fast, and soon Angela found herself standing in front of a bearded man.

"Good morning, young lady," the man smiled. Just as the sailor had told her, the man had a big voice. It almost was like getting yelled at, but jovially. "Do you speak English?"

"I do," Angela smiled back. "I've been practicing for this moment."

"Ah! And you speak it so well! Much better than some of the other folks who passed through here, that's good. Now, what's your name? Do you have any paperwork on you?"

"Yes, I do. My name is Angela Ziegler," she said, handing over her papers.

"A good name," the man said. He scribbled on a form as he both read her papers, and talked to her. "What brings you to the United States of America?"

"I want to be a doctor. I want to help those in need."

"The world could always use more doctors. Oh, and at twenty-two to boot! Amazing!"

Angela smiled, trying not to blush.

"You got a great head on your shoulders, young lady. What made you choose America? You could've been a big deal in…" he skimmed her papers, "Switzerland."

"It's because of America that Switzerland is changing. We've only recently became a Federal state, just like America. The future of Switzerland is bright, yes, but we're modeling that shining future off of the United States.

"I came because I want to be part of a country that could so readily, so easily, influence the world. I've seen America as a shining city on a hill, and I want to be part of that glorious future."

"Ah, so eloquent," the immigration man smiled. "With those wonderful words and that cute accent, you'll do just fine here."

The man picked up a big stamp and gave it a hearty ring against her papers before giving it back to her.

"Welcome to America," he smiled.

"Thank you so much!"

"Oh, I almost forgot; the bank down the hall can change your money."

Angela gathered up her trunk, and walked to the bank. Like the line to get into the country, the line for the bank moved fast. Soon, it was her turn. The man behind the bars of the bank welcomed her with a smile. It took her a minute to rummage through her trunk to find her purse. Inside was all the money to her name.

"I need to change this from francs to dollars," she said, sliding the stack of bills across the counter.

The banker counted her money, filed it away, and gave her the very first American money she would ever receive.

"Thank you!" She said, putting it in her purse. "I'm trying to go west; could you point me to the train station?"

The man smiled, and pointed outside.

"You'll step on out, and walk two blocks. There's a real big train station dead ahead, can't miss it."

"Thank you, again!" She gathered up her trunk, and walked out the door.

The sound of New York hit her first, then the sights.

The sailor was right; she had never seen so many people in one spot in her entire life, it was truly overwhelming. The sidewalk was filled to the brim with people, men and women and children. The streets were filled with horses, both drawing carriages and being ridden by single riders. She heard women talking, men laughing, children yelling, merchants hawking their wares, it was all too much.

It felt like she had walked into a wall. Angela could only blink and try to process as much of the controlled pandemonium as she could.

This was America. She was finally here.

In the distance, she saw a massive building of glass. It had to be the train station. She began walking, carrying her trunk. All the while, she just found it so hard to take her eyes off of the massive spectacle of the city. The buildings were so tall, and they were filled with people! It was shocking, amazing, but at the same time, so overwhelming. How could they live so close to each other?

She came to the train station, and got in line to purchase a ticket. The line moved fast, and she soon found herself standing in front of the teller.

"How can I help you?" He asked.

"Yes, I'd like to know, how far west can I go?"

"Ah, you got that frontier spirit in you, eh?" He smiled. "We get those people all the time. We can set you up on a train going to the great state of Colorado, a town called Denver. Just to let you know, it'll take a little more than a full day; it's halfway through the States…"

"I'll take it!"

"Can't persuade you, can I?"

Angela felt a pang as she handed the money over. She only had so much money to her name, and most of it was gifts from her colleagues and professors at her old university, and the nuns at the orphanage she grew up at. But that just made the train ticket that was given to her all the more special.

"Welcome to America. You'll take the train on platform four."

"Thank you." Smiling, she bustled off into the station. There were dozens of trains, each filling the air with steam and soot. The noise seemed to compound under the glass ceiling. It was like she was getting smothered.

Angela found the train. A conductor was standing in front of it, examining his watch.

"Excuse me, this is the train going west, yes?" She asked.

"One of 'em," he said. "You going to Denver?"

"I am."

"Then get aboard, we were about to get ready to leave."

He checked her ticket, taking out a metal clip that punched a hole in it, and let her on, giving her a hand with her trunk. Angela climbed the steps to the train, taking care not to trip over her dress, and then she was in. She walked down the hallway of the passenger car, and found an empty compartment. She opened the door, and almost fell in.

There was just so many people, so much noise…she closed the door and let herself relax for a few minutes.

"All aboard!" A conductor called from outside the train. "Last ride to Denver, moving out! All aboard!"

Angela had to stow her trunk. There were brass tubing that ran along the top of the compartment, it was a place for her to put her trunk. She tried picking it up, but having carried it so far already left her exhausted. She adjusted her grip, set her feet, and tried to pick it up to stow above her, but she forgot how many books she had taken.

Why, oh why, couldn't she pack less?

But she couldn't pack less. This was everything in her life, everything to her name. She couldn't stand to part with any of it.

The train began to chug along, and Angela had just gotten the trunk onto the edge of the brass piping. The sudden jostle caused her to nearly toppled backwards. Angela caught herself, but she couldn't catch her trunk. Her life briefly flashed before her eyes; she would be crushed under the weight of her life-filled trunk.

"Whoa!"

The door to her compartment was pulled open, and a pair of hands shot out; one grabbed her trunk, holding it in place, the other grabbed her shoulder, keeping her from falling.

"Are you okay?"

Angela looked up at her savior. It was a woman with flawless skin the color of the most perfect Swiss chocolate. Her hair was short, and raven black. It was so short, she almost looked like a boy. She was even dressed like a boy, with a long-sleeved dress shirt rolled up to her impressive biceps, a vest, and trousers.

But she was a woman. The shape of her hips and breasts made that obvious. Especially her breasts…

Her face had an undeniable beauty to it, with perfect cheekbones and full lips, and gorgeous, chocolate brown eyes. And she was so effortlessly holding up her heavy trunk, proving her strength.

Angela had had crushes before, both on men and women, but never had one that hit her so hard, so fast. She had been in America for less than an hour, but seeing this woman made her realize that she wasn't going through a phase, she really was into women!

"Are you okay?" Her rescuer asked again, concern in her voice. It was only then that Angela realized she was struck dumb by her.

"I—I am now," Angela stammered.

The woman chuckled.

"That's good," she smiled, sending butterflies straight into Angela's stomach. "It looks like you need help. Would you mind if I lend you a hand?"

Angela's brain decided now was as good as any time to forget how to talk. She could only dumbly nod.

Her savior stepped in, setting her own bags on the ground. Then she easily gathered up her trunk, and lifted it.

"Oof! What do you have in here, bricks?"

Somehow, her brain was able to properly engage, and make sense of language.

"Uh…it's…it's everything I have."

"It feels like it," the woman chuckled, sliding it onto the overhead railing. Fortunately, the trunk fit just perfectly behind a bar to keep it place. "At least we know it's not going anywhere."

"T—thank you," Angela stammered.

"My pleasure," the woman smiled. "I hate to ask this so soon after helping, but the rest of the train is pretty full; would you mind if—"

She share the cabin with her?!

"Yes!"

"—my mother and I share this with you?"

Angela realized what she had blindly accepted. That was followed by the sudden realization that there would be another woman with them, and that she had to truly keep control over herself. With such a beauty here, how would she do that?!

"I mean, not at all," she said, trying to force herself to talk.

"Thank you," the woman smiled. She bent down to pick up her own bags. "Mom, down here."

"Oh, thank goodness," a voice said. An older woman with the same mouth-watering chocolate skin entered the cabin. Her hair was black as well, but was starting to silver. Her face was beginning to line with age, but she wore it with a grace rarely seen. Unlike her daughter, she wore a dark green dress. But very much like her daughter, she carried her own bags, which seemed just as heavy as Angela's, belying her strength.

Both the young woman and her mother easily hefted their bags up to the overhead railing. Their bags were mostly cloth, soft-backed, not rigid trunks but rather duffle bags, but they both carried very similar long cloth bags that they treated with reverence. They set them by the door.

"Oh, thank you so much," the older woman said, turning to Angela. She blinked; the woman's left eye was a deep chocolate brown like her daughter's, but her right eye was glassy, covered in a cataract. It was dead, blinded. "The train is so full, there's barely any space left."

"Uh, not a problem," Angela said.

"Oh, where are my manners?" The older woman said. "My name is Ana, Ana Amari."

"I'm Fareeha, her daughter," her rescuer smiled, offering her a hand. "What's yours?"

"M-my…? Oh, my name," Angela said, trying to force her brain to work. She reached out to shake the extended hand. "Angela. Angela Ziegler."

"It's a pleasure, Angela Ziegler," Fareeha Amari said. Then she gently, demurely, kissed her hand. Angela almost melted on the spot.

Oh Scheiße, she thought. You can't go making a mess out of yourself. Think, Angela, think!

"It is certainly a pleasure," she was able to stammer out. "I mean, the pleasure is mine. But thank you so much for your help."

"I couldn't let such a beautiful woman hurt herself."

Scheiße…

The train jolted again as it picked up speed. That was a sign for everyone to sit down. Angela took a seat opposite from Ana and Fareeha.

Keep it together, Angela. Just…make small talk. You're on this train until Colorado. The man said it's in the middle of the nation, you're in this for the long haul. Fareeha will soon be gone, and you won't have to worry about making a fool of yourself.

"So…where are you going?" She asked, smoothing her dress out to calm herself.

"We're going out west," Ana said.

"Denver, specifically," Fareeha smiled. "Frontier or bust!"

Angela almost died on the spot. She had to share a train with this mysterious, drop-dead gorgeous woman until they got to Colorado, and somehow not make an ass of herself?!

Scheiße!