Stepping Back in Time

Angus side-stepped some brambles over-hanging the footpath which ran alongside the railway track. It was late spring and his mind was a jumble of divorce petition statements, financial outgoings, and worrying whether his wife would take him to the cleaners and ruin his successful estate agency business.

Laura had told him often that she would ruin him and the more she said it, the more determined Angus was to stop her. Seventeen years of marriage and three children later and it had finally come to this.

One minute they were all loved-up and couldn’t keep their hands off each other and the next, a pedestrian lifestyle had settled around them like an obscure fog, almost suffocating them in its dull routine. He had worked all hours building up the business and Laura had worked tirelessly in the background, running a home, organizing the children, and helping with the accounts most evenings.

As the path opened up ahead of him, Angus enjoyed the view across the marshland and watched as a heron squawked and flew up, its lumbering, grey wings and long, spindly legs silhouetted against the clear blue sky above him. It was good to get out and a long walk would help to clear his head.

His heart was heavy and the thought of going back to the cottage he had rented until the divorce was finalized, filled him with dread — it was cramped and dark, but it was preferable to having another slanging match with Laura in their marital home a short drive away. She had lost her sparkle and was constantly moaning or tired. She sounded like a stuck record: ‘When can you take the kids to school?’ or ‘You’ve missed every Parent-Teacher evening this year.’

He was still trying to figure out when his marriage had started to go so wrong when he noticed a young woman, her long blonde hair billowing in the soft breeze, standing in the center of the small railway bridge that crossed the track just ahead of him. He could hear the train in the distance approaching with its familiar ‘dunkety-dunkety-dunk’ rhythm on the tracks.

Horrified, he watched as she clambered up onto the parapet and stood with her arms outstretched like Christ the Redeemer. He broke into a sprint and as he approached the bridge, he could hear the train getting louder and louder.

Running as fast as his legs would carry him, Angus reached the base of the steps and flew up them two at a time until he reached the top and was standing, breathless, a few feet away from the desperate woman.

“Hey!” he called softly, “Don’t jump! Please, wait.”

As he spoke, he walked calmly towards her with his arms outstretched. His heart was pounding and his mouth was so dry, he had difficulty speaking.

“Please. Come down,” he begged, his voice full of compassion.

She wavered when he spoke and stared ahead of her down the tracks. The train was rounding the bend and hurtling towards them. Angus wanted to make a grab for her but was afraid she would lose her balance and fall.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion and the woman stepped back and dropped like a stone. Angus managed to break her fall and caught her as he landed on top of her, covering her protectively with his body. He held her tight as the train thundered past beneath them, vibrating the whole bridge as it sped through, the noise deafening them both.

The woman was sobbing and a small crowd was rubbernecking to see what was going on.

“It’s alright,” Angus announced calmly. “She’s okay. Just give us some space,” he told them authoritatively.

Slowly, he helped the woman to her feet and their eyes locked.

It was Laura.

“Christ, Laura. What were you thinking?” he asked, visibly shaken.

“I’m sorry, Angus,” she whispered between sobs. “I just couldn’t go on.”

He was shocked. Had he driven her to this? Was it his fault?

He was holding her shoulders firmly in his hands and looking into her face.

“Come on. Let’s get you home. Nothing is ever that bad. Do you hear me? We’ll get through this.”

She nodded, robotic and stunned, her eyes smudged and streaked with mascara.

“I’ll take care of you. I promise,” he said, taking her gently into his arms.

This poem was first published on Medium, where you can find more of my work. You can also follow me on Twitter and I post a weekly newsletter on Substack, called Rosy's Ramblings. Check it out!