Adam's Adventure

Adam awoke to some unusual surroundings, to say the least. He lay still with his eyes closed while he tried to figure out what exactly might be going on. Adam loved to give a story to otherwise mundane settings. He possessed a remarkably active imagination and was often the hero in his own impossibly dramatic daydreams. If he was asked to polish the silver before dinner, it was not mere knives and forks he prepared but the swords and shields of some ancient army, the night before a historic battle. Were he ordered to fetch a bag of potatoes from the Steinberg’s farm, it was a fallen comrade who’d been critically wounded in battle that he hauled back through the streets. This morning however, he wondered, had he at last found himself in an adventure that existed not only in his mind? There were a few clues to suggest this might be the case. For one thing, it seemed as though his bedroom was no longer occupied by him alone, but rather, judging by the chattering he could hear all around, a great number of men, women and children. For another, it felt as though it were moving. He also had a pain in the back of his head, the origins of which he was unsure. Accepting he would need to employ the use of another sense to continue the investigation, he sat bolt upright and opened his eyes.

He looked around and beamed with positive delight. He was not in his bedroom at all but appeared to be in a large train carriage filled with people. It looked to be a particularly old carriage. The wood was rotting almost everywhere he looked and a stale damp smell reached his nostrils as he looked around. He didn’t recognise any of the people around him but he wasn’t worried. Despite his mother’s constant warnings never to talk to strangers, Adam enjoyed meeting new people and had never yet encountered a bad soul, as his father would say. Besides, he realised as he took a quick scan of the carriage, they were all his people. This train did seem unlike others he had been on though, not least because it was extremely crowded in the carriage, more than half had no seats. Luckily Adam was not among them, as he was tucked into a corner right beside a window and had a perfect view of the world outside. He also didn’t seem to have a ticket on him, though he got the impression he either wasn’t the only one without a ticket, or simply didn’t need one. But whoever heard of a train you didn’t need a ticket for? The last, and perhaps most significant detail, was that he had no recollection of how he had gotten onto the train. All of these mini mysteries would have to be solved, Adam concluded, in order to get to the bottom of things. He turned and looked out the window as he pondered the strange circumstances he found himself in. The train whizzed past pristine unspoiled countryside. The lush fields in the foreground whirled past in a rush of vibrant green. Trying to focus your eyes on any one of these fields only made you dizzy, Adam discovered, and had to quickly look away. A little further away there was a large lake that was a focal point for much of the wildlife in the area. Herds of wild cattle were dotted around the banks while many small and large birds flew above, some swooping down low and fast to the water level, hoping to ascend with a full beak. You could watch such proceedings for a few minutes, but had to give up before long, for they too were being hastily dragged in the opposite direction of the train by the outside world. Looking further off into the distance, casting a most magnificent backdrop to the landscape were the mountains, of course. Their mammoth size took Adam’s breath away each time he saw them. The jagged snow capped edges jutted out into the bright blue veil above, like daggers wielded by the earth in a vicious attack upon the sky. You would have to travel a long way before those mountains disappeared from sight.

He averted his gaze from the window and returned to his investigation. It was unusual to have woken up on a train, he had to admit that, and it was also unusual for him not to be accompanied by his mum and dad. For this particular irregularity, however, he had his suspicions. He had recently taken more and more to eavesdropping on his parents. He found it to be one of the more realistic, and therefore more rewarding, aspects of his imaginary sleuthing around the house because if he were caught, he really would have some explaining to do. The mischief and the risk gave him something of a rush, as though the government were depending on him to bring back vital intel from an undercover mission overseas. On one of his recent undetected forays behind enemy lines (downstairs after bedtime), he heard his parents whispering quickly and quietly to one another. He could detect the urgency in their hushed tones and sensed this was a conversation the boys in the top office would want to know about.

“I know how it sounds Benjamin” his mother hissed “but it might be our only hope, we cannot keep living like this”

“But if we go out on our own, just the three of us, I mean the chances of us making it without being caught… I just don’t know Anna”

“I know, but what choice do we have, and if the rumours about those places are true..”

His mother began to sob uncontrollably

“You have to keep your voice down!” whispered his father sharply. “We cannot let Adam hear us, he’s very smart you know, we can’t let him figure out what’s really happening”

Adam grinned to himself as he recalled the conversation. His father was right, he was very smart, too smart in fact, he had been a step ahead the whole time. For weeks his parents had been having hushed conversations like these, always around the idea to leave with him, to get away before it’s too late, and always closely followed up with how important it was that they could not let him figure out what was really going on. The time had finally come it seemed. His parents had taken him away on a real life adventure, and while of course he had figured it out weeks ahead of time, he was happy to pretend he hadn’t. It seemed quite important to his parents that it be a surprise.

Adam sat next to the window bursting with excitement, he couldn’t wait to see them. He had so many questions too, how had they snuck him onto the train in his sleep without waking him up? Genius move he had to admit, however they did it. He might also ask them if they knew anything about the dull pain in the back of his head, that one seemed less of a genius move, Adam thought, as he ran his hand over the noticeable bump at the base of his skull. He wondered if they were in another carriage, waiting for him to find them. Was that the first part of the mystery? He jumped up from his seat and headed toward the carriage door. There were so many people everywhere it took him a while to get through them all. As he approached the carriage door he raised a hand to open it but was immediately grabbed by the man sitting nearest the door.

“You don’t want to do that son” he said, shaking his head without looking at him. “Just sit down and be a good boy”

The man seemed to find it difficult to speak, thought Adam, as though he were fighting through some emotion. In fact, now that he looked around, a lot of people in the carriage looked either sad or scared. This man by the door was not the only one who looked as though he might cry. He found it strange that these people were upset. But then again, he reminded himself ‘Not everyone’s on the adventure of a lifetime, like you are Adam’.

Still though, something did feel a little strange about the whole thing. ‘Oh well’ Adam thought, ‘maybe grown ups just cry a lot’, he knew his mom certainly did these days.

He sat back down in his seat by the window and waited, and waited. He wasn’t sure quite how long he’d been sitting there but he hoped his parents would come and get him soon. The adventure was exciting but he was starting to feel hungry, and he wondered how long it would be before he got to see them. He sat and gazed longingly out the window once again. The sun was getting lower now, a bright blaze of orange lit up almost the entire carriage. The mountains in the distance pierced the ember evening sky in a dozen different places, but Adam noticed they looked further away than he had ever seen. He sat there with his head resting against the window thinking about his mom. He was really starting to miss her now, he couldn’t recall ever spending so long without seeing at least one of his parents before. What he wouldn’t give for a hug from her right about now. His eyes became slowly heavier as he sat with his head leaning against the train window and thinking of his parents. At some point he dozed off with the hum of the train sending him to sleep.

He awoke some hours later as the train began to slow. It was clear they were approaching their destination. The carriage was in near total darkness, the sun had set fully and the only light came from a pale half moon barely visible through the cloudy skies. The energy in the carriage felt different now, there was complete silence and a nervousness hung in the air as they waited. Adam looked around at the people he’d shared the journey with. Although there was little light he could make out the features of those closest to him. A tall stone faced man on his right looked out the window through eyes wide with fear, Adam could make out the whites of his knuckles as he gripped his walking stick tightly. A little girl on his left, perhaps slightly younger than him and who also seemed to be without her parents, looked at him blankly while fidgeting with the sleeves of her dress. Adam thought he recognised her from the village. There seemed to be activity outside the window and further down the train in other carriages. He could hear shouting coming from somewhere, shouting in a language he was unfamiliar with. He looked out the window once again and noticed the train was now inching along, about to stop at any second. There were a lot of people outside the train waiting for it to arrive, a lot of big, not very friendly looking men. Just before the train screeched to a halt Adam saw a large stone building behind the men standing outside. There was only one light on the exterior but the building must have been quite wide, as the facade extended both left and right of the light’s hue and into the darkness, so that he could not see where the walls came to an end. Underneath the light on the wall some letters had been crudely erected to make a phrase, which provided the only clue as to where they might be.

‘ARBEIT MACHT FREI’’

Adam did not understand these words, they were also in a language he did not speak, but a shiver ran through him as he read. Perhaps adventures were more fun when you’re making them up, he thought to himself as the shouting in this new language grew closer, he wasn’t sure he liked this one all that much.