Madeline Adamson

The Star Line

Liela woke up with a start. Starlight filled the long, glass cabin she was sitting in, and she sat up with amazement as it slowly dawned on her where she was: the Star Line. Through the wonder of finding herself hurtling through space on the long discontinued train to their neighbouring planet, it took her a moment to realize she could not remember how she had gotten here. As the fog of sleep cleared and her grogginess lifted, her awareness of her surroundings sharpened. The train, although familiar from the archives, was much more worn than what she had seen in the video footage. The geometric purple lines of the upholstery she was sitting on curved pleasantly to architectural lines of the other empty seats in the carriage, but the fabric was no longer pristine and glowing like it had been when she had watched videos of the Star Line from the projection room. In front of her now, she noted how most seats had stains or rips on them, and the air smelled even mustier than it did in her subaquatic home. Home – a spark fired in her brain. Home was on Mer. But there was something wrong with her memory. She knew where home was, but she couldn’t physically remember being there.