Flying Away

You haven't lived until...

'Christian, do you need a hand?' Satine asked. Christian was laiden down with two suticases and his typewriter.

'No, I'm...I'm fine. Besides I don't want you to get ill.'

'Relax. Give me your typewriter.'

'No.' Satine looked at him.

'Christian.' Sighing, he handed it over. She picked it up and shoved it under her arm. 'See? It's not that heavy.' Christian shook his head and they walked down the dimly lit street together.

It was a cold evening and every few minutes Satine would stop. When she had done this for the fifth time Christian stopped as well.

'Darling, give me that.' He said, indicating the typewriter. Satine protest but was too weak to make it stand. She handed him the box. 'Look, we're almost there.' He told her, nodding towards the station at the end of the road.

It was fairly quiet. The only people there were travellers sitting wearily in the hard, uncomfortable station chairs and homeless people, thankful for the station's warmth. An old man coughed and snuggled deeper into his blanket. Satine stared down at the tea in her hands. She knew she was going to get help but the man...? Slowly, she stood up and checked for Christian. There he was, on the other side, getting the tickets. As she approached the man he cowered away, afraid she was going to hit him. When he saw her hand her the cup of tea, he smiled and took it.

'Merci mademoiselle.'

'You're welcome.' She started to leave when he grabbed her arm. She turned around. He was holding out his hand.

'Here.' He handed her a small bottle. She looked at it and then back to him. 'Helps with the cough. Good luck and God speed.' Satine thanked him and walked back over to where she had left the bags. Christian was now sitting with them.

'Who was that?'

'I don't know. Gave me something for my cough.' She said, holding up the bottle. Christian took it and sniffed.

'Smells like gin.'

'Best medicine!' A shrill whistle sounded and the station was filled with smoke as a train pulled into the station. Satine coughed and Christian looked alarmed until she pointed out that everyone was coughing. As it cleared Christian picked up the bags and led the way over to the first class coaches. The door swung open and the guard offered his hand to Satine. Satine smiled as she walked along the corridor. She turned around, making sure Christian was still following her. He had given their luggage to the guard and was now free to move quicker.

'Here we are.' Satine commented. Christian checked the number on the ticket. Yep, this was it. He pushed open the door and Satine went in, sitting down on the velvet blue seats. She looked around, awed at the sight. She had never been in such an exquisite train compartment. Everyone was perfect. Right down to the little lights in the corner. Christian showed his ticket to the passing ticket man and then went into the compartment, closing the door behind him.

'Do you like it darling?'

'Of course, it's wonderful.' The train jolted as it slowly moved out of the station.

As it sped from Paris to the countryside it suddenly became alot darker. Satine peered out of the window at the infinite stars. She had never seen anything like it. Glancing back, she saw Christian reading his newspaper. Opening the window, a blast of cold air enveloped the room. Satine closed her eyes and took a deep breath. So, this is what freedom smelt like.

Christian glanced up from his newspaper. Satine was leaning out of the window, eyes closed, smile on her face. Christian watched for a few moments. Satine blinked and turned around to face him. Leaving the window open, she sat down next to him.

'Do you believe that you can forget there are any problems?' She asked, staring out the window. Christian shut his newspaper.

'Darling, of course I do.'

She turned to face him, a smile on her lips.

'Want to get rid of our problems?' Christian raised her eyebrows. 'No! I'm going to show you how to forget your problems and it is better than sex.'

'Better than sex? Wow!' Christian commented. Satine stood up and dragged him to his feet. She walked to the window and stretched her arm up, latching it on the roof. With three strong pulls she had disappeared from sight. Her head popped into sight and grinned at him.

'Come on.' She said, reaching her arm down. He took it and soon he was standing next to her. They tried to gain their balance as the train rocked from side to side. Finally they decided to sit down.

'Ok, show me what is better than sex then.' Satine stood up and started howling like a wolf. Christian stared at her and then started laughing. She glared at him.

'Come on then, you do it. Trust me. You forget everything.' Christian rolled his eyes and stood up. Then he let out a little howl. Satine was right. It did make you forget everything. He had a huge grin and continued howling. Satine joined in and they howled together. Laughing they sat down and Christian drew his arm around her. Satine looked up into the sky.

'Wow!' She breathed. All it seemed to be was stars and nothing else. Christian looked up too.

'It's amazing isn't it. You haven't lived until you've seen that.' Satine smiled at him. She agreed.