The Last Train

The small town of Maplewood wasn’t famous for much. It was a quiet place where everyone knew each other, and the highlight of the year was the summer fair. Yet beneath the surface of this tranquil life lay a dark mystery that lingered in the air like a ghostly whisper.

At the center of this enigma was a young boy named Ethan.

Ethan was sixteen—intelligent, charismatic, and seemingly living a perfect life. He was the kind of boy everyone admired, the one you thought had it all figured out. He was well-liked at school, had a close-knit group of friends, and lived in a lovely home with his caring parents. His future appeared bright, and he had every reason to be content.

But one afternoon, he made a choice that would leave the entire town in disbelief.

Ethan was spotted standing at the edge of the train tracks, gazing at the approaching train as it thundered down the line. He didn’t seem upset. There was no sadness or distress on his face. Instead, he appeared calm, almost peaceful, as if he had already come to terms with what was about to unfold. Then, without any warning, he stepped forward, right into the path of the oncoming train.

The town was left in shock. The news spread rapidly, and soon everyone was asking the same question: Why?

Ethan had embodied the ideal of happiness. He had everything anyone could desire—excellent grades, a loving family, friends who cherished him, and a future brimming with potential. Yet, in that moment, he had thrown it all away.

His family was, of course, devastated. His parents were heartbroken, struggling to understand how their son, who had seemed so full of life, could make such a choice. They rummaged through his belongings, hoping to uncover some clue, a letter, or anything that might shed light on his actions.

But there was nothing. Only a peculiar message Ethan had scrawled on his bedroom wall just hours before his death. Written in black marker, it appeared to be done in a rush. The words read: “I have got everything in my life. So why do I feel nothing?

Was it madness? Was it depression? Was it addiction? The town couldn’t quite put its finger on it. But something was unsettling about Ethan’s death as if there was more to the story than anyone realized.

As the days went by, the people of Maplewood attempted to move forward, to make sense of the tragedy. They tried to forget, to bury their grief beneath the routine of daily life. But the mystery of Ethan’s death hung in the air like smoke from a fire that refused to die.

Then, two weeks after Ethan’s passing, something unusual occurred.

A group of Ethan’s close friends, including his best friend Jacob, gathered at the train tracks where Ethan had lost his life. They were searching for answers, trying to piece together the puzzle. As they stood at the edge, Jacob, who had known Ethan better than anyone, gazed at the tracks, his thoughts racing.

“Why would he do it?” Jacob whispered to himself. “He had everything. He was happy.”

The others remained quiet. They shared the same confusion, the same shock. They recalled Ethan’s smile, his laughter, the way he always seemed so self-assured and in control. He had never shown any signs of sadness or a desire to escape. And yet, he was gone without a word.

Then Jacob spotted something odd. A symbol was carved into one of the wooden posts by the tracks. It was a small, jagged shape—a triangle with a line through it. It was unfamiliar to him. Intrigued, he leaned in closer and traced the symbol with his finger.

At that moment, the atmosphere around them seemed to change. The wind picked up, and the sound of an approaching train echoed in the distance, growing louder with each passing second. But this time felt different. Jacob experienced a strange sensation, a chill creeping down his spine. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, and his heart began to race.

Before he could say anything, the train rushed by, shaking the ground beneath them. The group watched as it thundered past, but then something unusual happened. For just a fleeting moment, they all caught a glimpse of it—a face, pressed against the train's window.

It was Ethan.

The face was pale, almost ghostly, and it seemed to gaze directly at them, eyes wide and unblinking. The train continued, and the vision vanished. The friends stood frozen, their minds racing to comprehend what they had just witnessed.

“Was that… was that Ethan?” one of them whispered, her voice quivering.

“I—I don’t know,” Jacob stuttered. “But it sure looked like him.”

The others nodded, their faces drained of color. They were at a loss for what to think. Had they all imagined it? Was it merely a trick of the mind, some sort of collective hallucination brought on by their grief? Or was it something deeper?

As the days passed, the strange events persisted. Jacob couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. He kept seeing that symbol—the one carved into the post—everywhere he looked. It haunted his dreams, appeared on the walls of his house, and even showed up in his schoolbooks. There was no escaping it.

Then, one night, he had a bizarre dream. In it, he found himself standing at the same train tracks, but this time, the sky was dark and distorted, as if reality itself was coming apart. Ethan stood before him, but he wasn’t smiling. His eyes were hollow, devoid of life. When he spoke, his voice was distant, almost like a whisper from another realm.

“You don’t understand,” Ethan said, his voice resonating in Jacob’s mind. “I had everything, but it was never enough. The more I had, the less I felt. It wasn’t me, Jacob. It was the land—the place we grew up in. It’s cursed. You’re all cursed.”

Jacob jolted awake, drenched in sweat. His heart raced as the words echoed in his mind. The land is cursed. What could that possibly mean? What was Ethan trying to convey to him?

The more Jacob delved into the mystery, the more he uncovered. He discovered that the land where their town was built had a sinister past, one that was rarely discussed. Whispers of ancient rituals and shadowy deals circulated—pacts made out of desperation and greed. It was said that the land demanded a price for its gifts, and that price was always high.

Ethan hadn’t been angry. He hadn’t been addicted to anything. But he had been chosen. The land, with its hidden truths, had found a way to claim him—slowly, quietly, through his void. It had pushed him to the brink, led him to the train tracks, and numbed his feelings. He had everything, yet in the end, it amounted to nothing.

And just like that, Jacob grasped the reality. Ethan hadn’t been looking for death; he had been searching for escape. Escape from the land’s curse. The same curse that Jacob now dreaded would ensnare him as well.

Jacob stood there, alone at the tracks, the wind murmuring in his ears. He glanced down at the symbol etched into the post once more. It remained—waiting.

As the next train approached, he pondered if it would be his turn next.

In Maplewood, the enigma of Ethan’s death was never completely unraveled. Some claimed it was madness, while others attributed it to addiction. But Jacob understood the truth. The land had taken another soul, and it was only a matter of time before it came for him too.