A/N: Here's the second part of *Emily's New Coaches*. Finally, a certain red engine will make his triumphal entrance into Emily's field of vision and vice versa. As we know, there was a James' cameo near the end of the episode. That was all I needed to imagine their first meeting. :)
Guest 4: I love your comments. You always emphasize the most important facts of the chapters and I really appreciate that.
CHAPTER IV
MERMAID OF THE RAILWAY
"You hypnotized me with your singing... I even thought you were a mermaid..." -James
A few miles from the intersection, Thomas regained consciousness. He felt that his face was splashed with fresh water, while something soft slid over his skin. He slowly opened his eyes and noticed that he was on a siding. His driver was standing on his running plate with a towel in his hand. "What... happened?" Thomas whispered.
"You fainted, boy," replied the driver as he gently slid the towel over Thomas' cheek. "So I brought you up to here and Duck took your train."
"Oh..." Thomas took a few seconds to remember what had happened before he fainted. Then he opened his eyes widely. "Oh, dear! What about the accident?! How's Emily?! Have I wrecked her tender or something worse?!"
"Calm down... There was no accident. Emily got out of your way just in time."
"Wow!" exclaimed Thomas excitedly. "She's incredible! Let's go! I've to see her!"
"Are you sure you're all right already?"
"Absolutely!"
"Okay. But let me finish drying your face."
As soon as the driver finished drying Thomas' face, he climbed into the cab and pulled him out of the siding to go on search of Emily. On the way, Thomas found Oliver. "Are you okay, Oliver?" he asked.
"Yes, Thomas; thanks to the wonderful Emily. I didn't know there was a female steam engine here."
"She arrived yesterday, and I agree with you that she's wonderful. Where is she now?"
"I really don't know. But I can help you look for her as soon as I leave my trucks at Wellsworth Yards. What do you think?"
"Great!"
Actually, Thomas and Oliver did not need to look for Emily. Sir Topham Hatt had already been notified about the incident at the intersection, and he ordered to call all the stations and signal boxes to stop Emily in case of seeing her.
Emily was near Cronk Station when a signalman stopped her. "Sir Topham Hatt wants you to go to Wellsworth Yards," said the signalman. "Oh, no," thought Emily disappointed. "It appears that I'll never find Thomas."
But as soon as she reached the yard, Emily's heart jumped with joy on seeing that Thomas was there. Thomas smiled at her from buffer to buffer. Oliver and Sir Topham Hatt were also there.
"Emily," said Sir Topham Hatt with a smile, "I've known what you did to save Oliver and Thomas from a serious collision. Well done, you're a very brave engine."
"The bravest!" Oliver clarified.
"It gives me great pleasure," continued Sir Topham Hatt, "to present you two new coaches."
Emily could hardly believe what she heard. She looked at her pretty coaches and thanked excitedly to her controller. "Thank you, sir!"
"You're welcome," replied Sir Topham Hatt. "You know, Emily, last night I was surprised to hear that you were worried about Henry's health, and today you bravely risked yourself to save an engine in trouble. I see you've a great sensitivity and a spirit of service, and those qualities make you a really useful engine. I'm very proud of you."
Emily blushed. "Thank you, sir."
"Hurray for Emily!" acclaimed Oliver and Thomas, and the two blew their whistles making Emily blush even more.
As soon as Sir Topham Hatt left, Emily spoke to Thomas. "I'm sorry I took Annie and Clarabel," she apologised. "I didn't know they were your coaches."
"Forget it, Emily," responded Thomas. "I'm sorry I was so cross."
"So… friends?"
"Friends."
Thomas and Emily smiled at each other. Emily wanted to tell Thomas that she was happy that they were finally friends, but at that moment something on the main line distracted her and she stayed silent.
"Hey, why don't you get coupled up to your coaches?" suggested Thomas. "Let's see how they look with you." Emily did not respond. She was still looking to the main line. "Emily?"
"Uh? Oh… sorry… I got distracted. What are you saying, Thomas?"
"I said that you to couple up to your coaches so we can see how they look with you."
"Good idea!" Emily moved onto the other track and approached her coaches. These were emerald-green like her and glowed under the sun's rays. "Well, what do you say?" asked Emily as she coupled up to them.
"They look pretty with you," said Oliver.
"It looks like they were made especially for you," added Thomas.
"Thanks!"
"Well, my friends," said Oliver afterwards, "I'm sorry to have to leave now, but I must to be at Arlesburgh before dark. So I'll see you tomorrow. And thanks again, Emily!"
"You're welcome, Oliver! See you."
As the Nº 11 engine left, Thomas and Emily stayed alone in the yard.
Thomas noticed that at last he could talk with Emily at ease. "Wait for me there, Emily," he said, "I'm going to turn around." Then he moved onto Emily's track and slowly advanced until he stopped very close to her. He saw that Emily had an innocent look, and he felt terrible for having thougt that she brought him bad luck. "I want to ask you for forgiveness again for my behaviour," he whispered. "I was very silly. You can't imagine how terrible I feel about that."
"That's in the past, Thomas," Emily reassured him with her soft voice. "Don't feel bad. I've already forgotten it. The important thing is that we're now friends and I'm happy about that."
Thomas smiled. "Well, if you already forgot it, I must forget it too," he said. "I'm also happy that we're friends and that there was no accident at the intersection. When I saw you trying to push Oliver, I thought you wouldn't manage to get out of my way... I thought I would crash into you and I panicked... Then I closed my eyes and the next thing I remember is that I woke up on a siding."
"Oh, dear... You mean you fainted?"
"Yes, I fainted because of the fright. If I had hurt you… I wouldn't have been able to endure it."
Emily was touched by the small engine's words. "Thanks for caring about me, Thomas," she said. "Fortunately nothing bad happened. I wouldn't have been able to endure it either if something bad had happened to you."
Thomas saw on Emily's face a tenderness he had not seen in any other engine. It was a tenderness that reminded him the mothers when they look at their children, and he thought maybe Emily, being a female machine, had a mother's heart. He looked into her eyes and whispered her name caringly.
"Emily…"
"Yes?"
"Thanks for... being a lady."
"Aww... you're welcome, Thomas," replied Emily softly. "I'm glad to hear that... You know, when no one greeted me this morning, I thought they didn't accept me precisely for being a lady."
"No! It wasn't for that! It was just because... they saw you with my coaches, nothing else. Actually, my friends and I wanted to see a female steam engine for a long time." Thomas approached Emily until almost closing the distance between them and gave her a pleading look. "Please, Emily... never think again that you're not accepted... You're a gift from Heaven to us... You're our dream come true... the flower of our garden..."
Emily felt a lump in her throat and closed her eyes. She could not believe what Thomas had said. A tear began to roll down her cheek.
"What's the matter, Emily?" asked Thomas worried.
Sweet Emily opened her eyes and swallowed hard to respond. "Thomas," she said with breathy voice, "your words make me very happy... I dreamed of being... a flower in the garden of my friends..."
"Oh…" Thomas smiled. "Then... I oficially inform you that you're the flower of our garden."
Emily chuckled, and this time she could not contain her tears. Then, as if was from impulse, Thomas moved forward up to touch her bronze buffers.
Emily closed her eyes again, shedding silent tears of emotion as Thomas' small buffers pressed hers. Thomas' pressure was soft and warm, like the caress of a child to his mother. Emily thought Thomas was a soft-hearted engine, because no other engine had ever shown her so much affection in that way. Emily forgot all her sadness at that moment.
Thomas watched Emily's tears and was pleased to make her happy. But at the same time, he felt terrible again for having believed that she brought him bad luck. So he promised himself that he would be a good friend to her from now on.
A few minutes later, Emily stopped crying and opened her eyes. "This is the best welcome I had ever wanted," she said, looking affectionately at Thomas. "Thanks for being so sweet and cute."
"Oh... your're welcome." Thomas blushed. It was the first time he had received praise from a lady and he felt a little nervous. "Now... I wonder if the flower wouldn't be already tired of riding all day."
"Hee! Hee! I'm already a little tired, indeed. But I would like to go to the wash-down before returning to Knapford. I'm covered in dust."
"OK. I'll accompany you to the wash-down."
"You're a whole gentleman."
Thomas blushed again. Then he reversed to make way for Emily and they both left the yard. This time, on the way, everyone greeted Emily with whistles and smiles, and they congratulated her on her impressive feat at the intersection. Emily felt happy and Thomas was very proud of her.
"By the way, Thomas," said Emily at one point, "about what distracted me when we were at Wellsworth Yards; it was an engine that was leaving the station with a passenger train. He was red and had the number 5 on his tender. Who was it?"
"It was James. He was taking a local train."
"James?" Emily's face brightened. "Is that his name?"
"Yes. Why?"
"I like that name. That was the name of the first person I met when I was born."
"Oh... I get it. But, why did that engine get your attention?"
"Because of his colour. Red is my favourite colour along with green. It's the colour of love and the most beautiful roses... I would like to meet James."
"Well, I suppose you won't lose anything if you don't meet him. In fact, you'll most likely regret meeting him. He's not precisely love on wheels, nor anything that resembles a rose. He's Sodor's most troublesome engine, to say the least. He's vain, selfish, bossy and grumpy. He believes he's the last drop of water on the desert just because of his red paintwork. Can you believe it? Oh... and he's fearful too. He invents ghost stories to frighten others, but then he himself gets afraid more than anyone and starts crying like a baby. What do you think?"
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Emily burst into laughter. "Oh, Thomas! You're so funny! Ha! Ha! Ha!"
"But I'm just telling the truth…"
"Ha! Ha! Ha! He can't be that bad!"
"Of course he can. In fact, he is."
"HA! HA! HA!" Emily laughed even more. And her laughter was so contagious that Thomas could not help but laugh too.
After a few minutes of pure laughter, they met Percy at a junction. Percy had already learned that the new engine was a lady and he was ashamed that he had not greeted her in the morning.
"Emily," said Thomas, "meet Percy, my best friend." Then Thomas looked at Percy. "Percy, she's Emily; the flower of our garden."
"H-hello, Emily," said the small engine.
"Hello, Percy," replied Emily sweetly.
"Erm… forgive me for having got cross with you this morning."
"Forget it, Percy. With that cute baby face you don't need to ask for forgiveness."
"Oh…" Percy blushed and smiled shyly. "You… you also have a… cute face, Emily."
"Aww… You're a little angel."
Percy blushed even more and looked down. Thomas chuckled. "It looks like we'll have to get used to her compliments, Percy," he said. "We've no other way out."
The three engines laughed, and then they went on the way to the wash-down. Once there, Percy said goodbye to his friends and left.
"Let me take your coaches to Knapford, Emily," said Thomas. "I'll leave them in your shed."
"Thank you, Thomas." Emily got umcoupled from her coaches and moved onto the other track. As soon as Thomas was ready to leave, he said goodbye to her.
"Well, see you tomorrow, Emily. Have a good rest tonight."
"Same to you, Thomas. See you."
Thomas pumped his pistons. But before leaving, he remembered something. "Oh... Emily," he said, "this is James' favourite place."
"Wow! If you see him, could you tell him that I'm eager to meet him?"
"Sure. But remember what I told you. You'll regret."
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Okay!"
Thomas left Emily at the wash-down and took her coaches to Knapford. Then he went to Tidmouth Sheds. There he found Henry, Gordon, and Percy talking to James about Emily.
"She's more elegant and splendid than you," said Gordon.
"If she's not red; she's not elegant nor splendid," James defended himself.
"Maybe she's not red," clarified Henry, "but she's a million times more pleasant than you."
"Henry is right," added Percy. "Besides, she's very, very beautiful."
"Accept it, James," said Thomas as he backed into his shed. "She's elegant, splendid, pleasant and beautiful."
James rolled his eyes. "As long as I don't see her, I'll not believe it."
"Then go and see her now. She's eager to meet you."
A wave of pride swept over James' boiler. "Is she eager... to meet me?"
"That's what she said. But I warned her that she'll regret."
"HEY!"
Everyone laughed.
"Easy, James. I just told her that you're vain, selfish, bossy, grumpy and fearful."
"THOMAS!"
Everyone laughed again. James was very angry. "If she wants to meet me," said James, "it's because she already learned that I'm the best engine on Sodor. So I understand the envy from you all. You can continue laughing." Everyone obeyed with pleasure. James was even angrier. "Stop it! Where is she, Thomas? I can't keep a lady waiting."
"She's at the wash-down."
"Wow… The best place in the world! Here I go, Emily!" James pumped his pistons and climbed quickly to the turntable, ignoring the laughter of his friends. Then he went away fast as a lightning.
As soon as the 'lightning' disappeared, Edward arrived at Tidmouth Sheds. He steamed onto the turntable, but instead of going up to his shed, he stood on the turntable and looked at Thomas. "Could you come here a moment?" he asked. Thomas came out of his shed and approached him. "Yes, Edward?"
"Do you know why James was going so fast?"
"He went to meet up with Emily. She wanted to meet him."
"Wow... I don't blame him then. And speaking of Emily," Edward smiled, "what do you think about her?"
"Oh... She's the loveliest engine I've ever seen. I'm very happy that Heaven has sent her to us. She's the answer to our prayer."
"Exactly. The answer to our prayer. But, do you think that having got angry with her for no reason was the best way to thank Heaven?"
Thomas sighed. "Of course not... But I already apologized to Emily. We are now friends."
"Thomas... I think you should control your obsession with Annie and Clarabel's safety. They're lovely coaches; no one will want to hurt them. Besides, Sir Topham Hatt knows what he does. If he decided that Emily had to take them for her first ride, it's because he already knew they would be fine with her. I understand that you love your coaches, but you shouldn't allow that love to make you make mistakes like today. Poor Emily was looking for you to apologize for taking them without your permission. She shouldn't have bothered about that."
"I know, Edward... I was a fool... I worried too much about Annie and Clarabel and I thought Sir Topham Hatt had taken them away from me... You're right; I shouldn't allow my love for them to make me make more mistakes. I ruined Emily's first ride because of that. I must learn to think before acting."
"Well said. I hope you remember that."
"I'll remember. I promise."
"Okay. Let's go to our sheds."
"Wait…"
"Yes?"
Thomas smiled. "What do you think about Emily?"
"Well, she left me literally mute," whispered Edward. "In addition to being beautiful, she's a very sweet girl."
"But it's a pity that she has bad taste, isn't it?"
"Bad taste?"
"She likes James."
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Edward gave Thomas a friendly little push and they both laughed heartily. Then they went into their sheds and began to talk with the others engines about their impressions with regard to Emily. Everyone, except for Gordon, admitted that Emily made them "stagger a little."
Meanwhile, James was puffing towards the wash-down full steam ahead. He was also eager to meet Emily. When he learned what she did at the intersection, he thought she was a very strong engine in addition to being brave. But as for what his friends had said about her attributes, he wanted to see them for himself.
"An engine that isn't red can't be so elegant," he said as he was caressed by the evening breeze, "and there can be nothing more splendid on Sodor than my newly polished paintwork. Besides, I make a pretty contrast with the green of the vegetation. It's as if we form a rose! And as for being..." James stopped talking and looked from side to side. "What's that?" he thought.
It was only a mile to get to the wash-down when James heard a sound like the one of a feminine voice humming a song. The sound was pleasant and filled the atmosphere so much that it seemed to come out of the breeze itself. James wanted to know where the sound came from, so he slowed down a little and tried to concentrate on it. He soon noticed that it was indeed a feminine voice. "Who has that beautiful voice? It doesn't seem to be Alicia Botti..." As he advanced, the voice grew clearer and James recognized the melody. It was the one of a famous Christmas song. "I wonder why she's humming 'Silent Night' at this time of the year..." Then, in the distance, James saw the source of the sound. It was definitely not Alicia Botti. It was an emerald-green engine that seemed to be camouflaged among the vegetation. "Oh, dear... it's... it's Emily!"
As he arrived at the wash-down, James slowed even more and advanced at a snail's pace until he stopped a few feet away from Emily. Then he could appreciate her in all her glory.
Emily had her eyes closed and a slight smile on her lips, and hummed the song as the workers dried her machine. Undoubtedly, she was enjoying her own music. And she was so focused on it that she did not notice that an engine had arrived.
James was speechless. He was seeing the most beatiful engine in the world precisely at 'the best place in the world'... Everything his friends had said about Emily's attributes was nothing at this moment. "How can she be so beautiful? That face... looks like the one of a doll... yes... she's a perfect doll... And her smoke-box... looks like a woman's long hair... And those... curves... My goodness..."
Suddenly, as James admired her beauty, Emily stopped humming and began to sing.
Silent night, holy night!
All is calm, all is bright
James held his breath. Emily's voice was as soft as cotton and as sweet as a lullaby. He thought there could not be a lovelier engine.
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
The heat inside James's boiler was increasing. Then James realized he was not breathing... So he quickly took a huge breath of air.
Salty used to say that the mermaids' singing can hypnotize navigators. Perhaps Emily was a sort of mermaid of the railway, for James was literally hypnotized…
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace
The workers were also enjoying the singing of this mermaid. They looked at each other from time to time with a smile and a gesture of approval, and they slowly slipped the cloths over Emily to prevent her from being desconcentrated.
Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
To embellishing even more the spectacle that Emily was offering, the sky began to dye with the warm colours of the sunset. Immediately, James recalled that he had already lived something similar several years before. The sunset; the song of the breeze; the red and the green together... and an exquisite flowers' fragrance... "What does this mean?" thought James. "Am I dreaming?"
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
At this point, James felt the desire to join his voice to Emily's. He was attracted by her singing, and he wanted to sing along with her. So, his lips separated to let his voice pass through...
Christ, the Saviour is born
Christ, the Saviour is born
Emily was surprised to hear the 'second voice'. She thought it was one of the workers, so she just smiled and kept singing with her eyes closed.
Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Now Emily felt that the voice could not be one of the workers. It was too powerful to be a human voice. It had to be the one of an engine. But it was not the voice of any of the engines she had met that day. Even so, she preferred to finish the song before finding out who was singing with her.
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
James and Emily's voices made a perfect duet. The workers were so delighted that they looked at James with their thumbs up.
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
The workers applauded. Emily finally opened her eyes and thanked the applause with her pretty smile. Then she looked up at James...
Emily's smile faded into an expression of astonishment as she recognized the engine who was watching her from the other way. This was the Nº 5 red engine that had distracted her a few hours earlier. This was James. Emily noticed that he was taller than her, although not longer than her, and he had prominent cheekbones and big eyes like Thomas. But unlike the eyes of Thomas that showed the playful child that there was inside him, James' eyes seemed to keep secrets.
The seconds passed and the two engines did not speak. They just looked at each other's eyes. Then Emily smiled and took the initiative to speak. "Hello, James," she greeted. "I'm Emily."
James came out of his trance and smiled as well. "H-hello, Emily," he replied. "Erm... I'm glad you came to our island... I... I want to be your friend."
Emily saw that James' smile was the most charming she had ever known. Although she acknowledged that he was not as handsome as Edward, she could tell with certainty that his smile made him quite attractive. "Thank you, James," responded Emily. "I want to be your friend too. I liked how you sang with me. We make a good duet."
James blushed. "Actually... you hypnotized me with your singing... I even thought you were a mermaid... B-but a kindly mermaid! N-not one that... betrays those who she hypnotizes... Worth clarifying... You're kindly."
Emily chuckled. "I'm glad you've made it clear," she said, "because in fact I would never betray you... You're lovely, James."
James swallowed and blushed even more.
At that moment, the workers finished drying Emily and she was ready to leave. "Would you accompany me to Knapford, James?" she asked. "That way we can talk."
"Of course, Emily. I just have to turn around."
James went to a turntable and then came back to accompany Emily. Then they went side by side to Knapford, followed by the cool breeze and the fragrance of the flowers.
"Why did you sing a Christmas song, Emily?" asked James.
"Oh... I love 'Silent Night'," replied Emily. "I discovered that it gives me inner peace, so I usually sing it to relax in the evenings. It also helps me calm down when... I'm angry."
"What makes you angry?"
"Well, when I suffer delays and can't do a task right, I get very angry."
"Wow..." James smiled. "I would like to see you angry. I bet you look equally beautiful."
"Hee! Hee!" Emily blushed. Although she was accustomed to being called 'beautiful', for some reason her heartbeats accelerated on hearing that word from James' lips.
"And speaking of beauty," continued James, "would you like to see the sunset from Knapford Harbour?"
"Oh! I would love to!" exclaimed Emily. "For me, the sunsets over the sea are the most wonderful. It gives the impression that the sun submerges into the water to spend the night."
"Wow... I never thought the sun submerges into the water..."
They went on their way talking and laughing. Emily noticed that James was friendly and funny, and she thought that Thomas was only joking about his 'attributes' and about 'regretting having met him'.
As soon as they reached Knapford Harbour, they were both delighted by the reddish sunset.
"This is... incredible..." whispered Emily.
"It's just spectacular..." added James.
Unlike when they were at the wash-down, now it was James who was camouflaged among the colors of the surroundings while Emily made a nice contrast with them.
James remembered again that incredible sunset he had lived the day he returned from the Steamworks after his nasty accident. He wondered if the song of the breeze he heard that time was not really the voice of Emily who had traveled several miles along with the wind up to reach him. Who could deny that possibility? Who could deny that Emily was that glimmer of hope that Heaven was sending him?
James watched Emily in silence. Emily had her eyes fixed on the sky, as if she was praying, and you could see the sun reflected in her 'long hair'. James had never seen anything so beautiful. He kept looking at his friend, and did not realize that she was looking at him as well...
"James?" whispered Emily.
"Huh?"
"What are you thinking about?"
"Oh… nothing… I… I was just wondering... where that flowers' fragrance might come from... It has been following us from the wash-down."
Emily smiled. "It's me."
"You?"
"Yes. The workers used a floral scented soap. They said they wanted to give me special treatment for being a lady."
"Oh..." James blushed. "What a fool I am... I should've known it."
Emily looked at him with affection. "It's all right."
They both smiled at each other. Then they continued to watch the sunset until the sun disappeared under the sea.
"Well," said James, "you were right, Emily. The sun submerged into the water to spend the night."
"Exactly," replied Emily. "The red sun wants to sleep. Maybe some kindly mermaid will sing it a lullaby, don't you think?"
James' jaw dropped. Only then Emily realized what she had said. "Erm...," said Emily nervously, "I-I think we should go... It's already night." Now James slowly curved his lips into a smile and winked at her, and Emily felt her cheeks burn. She had never felt like this in front of another engine.
They pumped their pistons and set off for Knapford Station. As they reached the junction, they stopped and looked at each other.
"Well, I must go to my shed," said Emily. "Thank you for your company, James. I had a pleasant time with you."
"You're welcome, Emily," replied James. "I also had a pleasant time with you. See you tomorrow. Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
James was about to leave, but Emily's voice stopped him.
"James…"
"Yes?"
Emily looked tenderly into James' eyes for a few seconds, and then she delivered four words that had already come out of her lips several times during the day, but now they tasted sweeter. "Pleased to meet you."
James smiled at her. "Pleased to meet you too, Emily... Sweet dreams."
James left, and Emily stared at him with a smile until she lost sight of him. Then Emily went to the yard and backed into her shed. She let off a little of steam and closed her eyes. "Oh... I feel so happy," she thought as she relaxed. "I already have many friends... wonderful friends... I love them all..."
And Emily fell asleep, remembering with affection every one of the engines she met that day.
For his part, James arrived at Tidmouth Sheds and greeted his friends. They smiled on seeing him so happy.
"It seems like you had a nice meeting with Emily," said Henry.
"You're right," replied James as he backed into his shed, "it was a perfect meeting. We talked a lot and watched the sunset at Knapford Harbour. Oh! And we also sang! Emily is just wonderful," James looked at Thomas, "and she did not regret having met me."
"I'm glad to hear that," said Thomas. "But I hope she'll continue without regret."
James smiled and rolled his eyes. "Don't you worry, Thomas. By the way... shouldn't we thank Lady for Emily's arrival?"
"OF COURSE!" everyone responded.
"Since you had the privilege of having spend a perfect time with her," Edward said to James, "what do you think if you make the pray?"
"Good idea, Edward," replied James, "I will." Then he looked up at the sky and began his prayer with the heart full of joy.
"Oh, Angel of the Engines… I want to thank you on behalf of my friends for having heard our prayer… We wanted to see a female steam engine for a long time, and what you sent us is better than we had imagined… Emily is sweet, polite, brave and extremely beautiful… Thanks for this heavenly gift… We're very honoured by her presence, and we promise we'll all be good friends to her. Amen."
"AMEN!"
The engines were happy. They kept talking about Emily for a while until the sleepiness won them. Then they said goodnight to each other and closed their eyes.
James had a smile on his lips. And he fell asleep remembering the fragrance and the singing of the kindly mermaid of the railway.
From her cloud of golden dust, Lady stared affectionately at the Steam Team. "I'm glad that you're all happy with the gift, my beloved ones," she said with a smile, "you all deserved it." And she returned to Heaven.