Miley was awoken by the sudden jolt of train. Sunlight spilled in waves through the open window and instantly broke any sign of sleep in her face. She stretched out and took a quick look down the aisle wondering where she was. She took in her surroundings from the middle aged businessman endlessly talking on his phone, from the young woman rocking a tiny baby in her arms, from the man who stood cradling his guitar as if it were his own tiny baby, and from an elderly woman slowly yet determinedly make her way to a seat; specifically, the seat next to Miley. The elderly woman took a great deal and care of tucking in her skirt and fixing her seat before finally seating herself in a comfortable enough position.
She aging woman took a good long look at Kate who pretended to take a great interest of the farmland and endless mountains outside her window.
"Aren't you a little young to be traveling on your own?" the woman exclaimed. Miley seemed baffled of the sudden questioning and turned around to face the woman.
"No ma'am. I'm already eighteen." Miley took a good long look at the woman; taking in the wrinkles that outlined her face, the fading mossy green eyes that seemed worn out of life and filled with wisdom, the conservative clothing that seemed to cover her neck to ankles, the intense judging stare she seemed to throw at everyone, and the fearlessness in her tone of voice reminded Miley of someone she couldn't handle remembering right now. She tore her gaze away and left it at her knotted hands.
Instead of deciding to argue, Miley pushed herself into a state of unconsciousness, letting her dreams take her away from the reality she knew she'd be facing the moment her eyes opened. It didn't take less than ten minutes before she woke up to her own screaming.
Miley woke up drenched in her own sweat, her body trembling uncontrollably, and her breathing coming and leaving in a strange pattern. Her heart almost seemed unreal as its rhythmic beats pounded in her ears in a faster pace than normal. She felt like she was about to burst.
People began to come forward, confused of whether to help her from the sudden outburst. The old woman next to her sent them back with assuring glances. She took out a pack of tissues and pushed it in Miley's hands. Miley sat there not knowing what to do, but tremble. The woman impatiently took one and began to gently wipe at Miley's face.
Miley reached up and brought a trembling finger up to her cheek and found it moist with tears. She had been crying. Miley hadn't truly cried since finding out the news, afraid of what other fears and trouble it would get her. Mley sat there in a silence as she tried her best to wipe away any sign of her sudden weakness. She had never witnessed or lived through such a horrid nightmare before. She felt ashamed. She felt confused. She felt alone. She turned around to thank the woman, but the woman interrupted her first.
"It's okay to cry. It makes a person stronger to let go than to hold on. We become better people," the woman explained. Her moss green eyes leveled up to Miley's own gray ones. The woman turned around and started her own nap. The man with the guitar began to play a bittersweet lullaby as Miley sat confused and drowned in her own thoughts.
Miley eventually found out from the young woman with the baby that the train was still passing by New York. Not knowing what to do the whole train ride, Miley managed to find out the name of the woman sitting next to her.
"Its, Nadine," the woman finally confessed earlier.
"I'm Miley." She stretched out a hand in greeting, but the Nadine ignored it. "How can such a cold hearted woman have just given me advice to cry?"she asked herself. For the next hour, Miley sat quietly waiting for the seemingly endless train ride to finally end.
The woman with the baby suddenly shifted in her seat causing a bottle of milk to roll down the aisle and next to Kate's foot. The woman seemed to have trouble carrying her baby and attempting to stand up with the constantly jerking train. Kate picked up the bottle and began to walk over.
The woman smiled kindly and took the bottle.
"Thanks. I have no idea how to do this all. Like the mother stuff. I guess you can say I'm still in training." The lady's laugh seemed to almost sound like a song. It felt soothing to Miley.
Miley politely laughed. "Yeah. We'll you'll probably get used to it eventually. My name's Miley by the way."
"I'm Denise and this is little Hope." The proud mother watched as Hope slowly began to wake up from her slumber. "Luckily, she hasn't been much trouble. The songs the guy plays on the guitar seem to comfort her. She's been sleeping the whole ride."
Miley turned her head around to notice the man. He was sitting exhaustedly in his seat, his fingers slowly strumming the guitar. Soft brown curls escaped the Yankees cap he seemed to always be wearing. Something about him intrigued Miley. Maybe it was the mysterious tone to him or the faraway look in his eyes that made it look like he wanted to face anything but reality or the way his songs seemed to make Miley forget everything, the one time where she didn't really feel alone.
The sudden tugging at her hair broke the almost trance. Hope had begun to tug on her playfully; giggling as Miley's hazel waves of hair bounced up and down from her pull. Miley began to laugh at the sensation of the gentle tugging. As Miley let out another sweet burst of laughter, the man with the guitar stopped playing for a moment to listen...
But no one had time to notice before the train suddenly pulled back to a complete and painful stop.
A/N: Last part of the preview. What you think?!
