literature

JaneDoe

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Published: Sep 25, 2009

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Literature Text

JaneDoe.
_{A short story about finding
someone who could change your life}
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_{Her eyelids sat heavy slowly closing over her soft brown eyes, as they rolled to the side, staring out the window of the train. Orbs of night life city lights shone through the faded glass, little droplets of rain racing past as the train sped up, departing from a stop she didn’t recognize. Then again, she shouldn’t have recognized it, she had always been asleep on this train ride, even though she should’ve been awake. She shouldn’t have drunken coffee before getting on the train. Or maybe she should have gotten another cup at that rest stop instead of aimlessly wandering.

“Hello,” She snapped out of her daze, blinking a few times at the reflection in the glass. There was a man there, tall, rugged, and wet, maybe a year or two older than herself, but she couldn‘t be too sure with the hazy reflection. She turned her head around as he gave her a quick smile. “Is this seat taken?” He had a thick English accent, or was it Australian? She couldn’t tell, but she found herself noticing those blue eyes of his. They were such a deep, bright blue it startled her. He had on a long black coat with a light blue scarf to match his eyes, and his long brown hair laid wet and matted to his face from the rain. She blinked at him a few times.

“Oh, I’m sorry, are you a mute? My deepest apologies,” He said in regret, as the train began to move, he stumbled slightly over his long lanky legs and shifted his bag on his shoulder, beginning to move away from her and the seat that was occupied by her black duffel bag.

“Uh, wait, sorry, I was spacing out, it’s not taken,” The man stopped and turned around again, smiling at her as she moved her bag onto the floor and he replaced the sudden emptiness, making her feel a little stuffy, as if she didn‘t nearly have enough space to breath.

“So, is it normal for Americans to wait half a minute before responding to a question from a foreigner?” He asked teasingly, taking a sip from a styrofoam cup she hadn’t noticed he had been holding. There was an orange logo along the side, his hand covering half of it.

“Er, no…” She could feel her cheeks flushing a slight pink. He laughed. A soft, cute chuckle that made her heart flutter.

“So what’s a girl like you doing alone on Christmas eve?” He asked, ruffling his wet hair with his gloved hands, making it into one messy tangle of brown locks.

“My train was delayed. I was supposed to be in New York two days ago,” She said, watching him take his gloves off and shove them into his coat pocket.

“Ahh, I actually missed my train. Twice, so here I am on a different train,” He said, as he struggled to take off his coat. She laughed. The heat on the train was on on full blast, and she was already stripped down to the last layer of clothing. He stopped and looked at her for a moment, his eyes staring right into hers, and she felt like he went right into her mind, seeing every little thing she was thinking.

“You have such an adorable laugh,” He smirked as her face went a bright red and she frowned slightly from embarrassment. “Why so embarrassed, hasn’t anyone ever told you that?” She turned her head away, facing the window.

“No,” She mumbled, barely audible beneath the rumbling of the heat and sound of the train’s engine.

“Well then…‘Jane doe’, I guess you haven’t been falling in love with the right people,” She glanced over at him irritatingly.

“Look,” She frowned at him, “I don’t even know who you are,”

“Well then, I guess we can get started can’t we?” She frowned even deeper, his accent, which she had found adorable just a few moments ago, was now the source of her irritation. “What is your name really? Miss Jane doe,” He smiled at her, a crooked, wide, ear to ear grin with perfect white teeth.

“I’d rather not socialize,”

“Oh come on! We could end up being best friends,” He stared into her eyes intently, trying to get her hard glare to soften, but to no success.

“Jane,”

“Ah! Is that now? I’m William, you can call me Will,” He said, leaning a little closer to her and extending his hand in her direction, taking his glove of simultaneously. Jane stared at his hand for a minute, as if contemplating whether or not it was worth the struggle of moving her hand. She gave in, taking his hand in hers. His was cold, and hers were warm, the sudden mix of temperature made her shiver but he didn’t seem to notice.

“Nice name,” She said, beginning to soften from his last remark.

“Likewise,” He let go of her hand, and it dropped to his cup, lifting it to his face. He saw her eyes follow the cup to his mouth and stay there as he took a long sip. “Tea. The stereotypical English beverage,” Jane chuckled, as he swirled the drink around in his cup.

“Would you like some?” He smirked, teasing her with the cup. Jane shot back, surprising him by taking the cup out of his hand and downing nearly half of it. She handed it back to him, slipping it back into his hand, which was stuck in the position it was in when she snatched it away from him. He sat there with a unbelieving smile on his face, his jaw hung open. Jane reached over, putting her index finger beneath his chin and closing his mouth for him.

“Is it normal for Brits mouths to hang open when someone takes an offer of their tea?” Jane smirked at him. He broke out of his daze and laughed, watching her with a smirk as he went to take a sip of his nearly empty cup.

“So, tell me about yourself,” Will said, not taking into consideration the fact that maybes she didn’t want to talk.

“Maybe I don’t want to tell,” She said, just to spite him. He coughed on his drink, hunching over as to not spit it all over the place.

“Come now-”

“Maybe I’m a really bad person, maybe I’m a terrible person who killed someone else,” She continued, just rambling and waiting to see his reaction.

“And maybe, I’ll become the next king of England and enslave America,” Will winked at her, and she couldn’t help but smile, something she tried to fight, but she had long lost the battle before it even started.

“My little brother has Leukemia,” The words just spilled out of her mouth, flowing from her lips to his ears with ease and without interruption.

“My fiancée had lung cancer…”

“She never smoked though, she hated cigarettes, but I didn’t,” Jane flinched slightly, and her eyes traveled up to his face. He looked down, fiddling with his glove in has hand, smiling, but looking sad. “I’ve quit since,”

“I’m sorry,” Jane said abruptly, her hand falling on top of his, cold to the touch.

“You can make it up to me,” He looked at her, she tilted her head slightly, “Tell me about your brother,” Jane flinched, stiffening in her seat, trying to relax. She took a deep breath, and she spoke. And they talked for hours on end. People moved, and left the train, annoyed with their constant chattering, and on and off bickering. They spilled their hearts, exchanging deeply buried stories between each other. Two strangers with completely different lives and motives, it couldn’t hurt could it?

Before long, Jane was fast asleep, her head tilting slightly to her right every time the train shook from turns and stops. Will watched in amusement, and by the time she had banged her head on the window twice he reached over her shoulder, and pulled her against him, resting her head on his shoulder. She mumbled something under her breath, her hand reaching over to grabbed the scarf he hung around his neck, her fist tightened, and she didn’t let go, clinging onto it as if for her life. Will watched her for a second as the train halted to a stop, the door sliding open and letting in a gust of snowflakes and chilling air.

Jane opened her eyes slightly. Still clutching onto his scarf, her head resting on his shoulder. She let go of it, her hand dropping into her lap.

“Do you miss her?” She closed her eyes again, drifting quickly into slumber before he could respond.

From the rhythm of her soft snoring, and the pitter patter of rain, which slowly turned into layers of fluffy snow flakes, piling themselves atop the train, he began to write. He erased, and he crumpled sheets of paper and he started over, until everything was right. He reached over gently, trying not to wake her, and pulled an envelope out of his bag. In a quick, scripty scribble, he addressed the paper to her, and slipped the letter in. William stood, resting Jane’s head gently on the seat, and collected his belongings, getting up from his seat. He got off at the next stop. It wasn’t even his.

Jane awoke to the conductor shaking her by her shoulders.

“Good morning sweetheart, we’ve arrived in Grand Central. Merry early Christmas by the way,” He took of his cap for her, and continued to make his check on the rest of the train. Jane stretched her arms, yawning slightly and gathering her bag from the floor. ‘Why was it on the floor? Oh, that’s right. Where is that fellow?’ Jane looked around. No one. She stood up quizzically, thinking he was hiding from her, and would jump out to scare her any moment. But there was no one. And then it caught her eye. Jane doe.

Jane picked up the letter and stuffed it in her pocket as another conductor came around, ushering her off the train. She followed the path set out for passengers through the dimly lit tunnel, up a small ramp and to the crowded ticketing area. The whole hall was strewn in Christmas decorations, the season was alive and well in New York. Jane sat on a bench, watching people pass her by, savoring the familiar rush of the city.

She contemplated buying another coffee with the spare change she had, something to keep her occupied. But at the same time not wanting to take her wallet out of the bag, and having to empty out the rest of her belongings just to find it. And then she remembered the letter. She pulled it out of her pocket, carefully unfolding it, and opening the letter.

Look at the clock, Jane Doe.

Does it say 11:59? Yes, it should, if I timed it right, you know?

In about one minute, it would have been my one year anniversary with my fiancée, Madeline. I think it’s romantic, don’t you? I asked her to marry me three times before she said yes. I like to think that because I didn’t give up on her, that she’ll never give up on me, you know?

I know we don’t know who each other are. We’re just two strangers who happened to meet on a train on the night before Christmas. But… You Jane Doe, in these past 5 hours, you have learned more about me than I even know about myself. And I hope you feel the same way too. I hope someday someone will come along, who will love you as much as I loved Madeline.

I hope someone will come along who will change your life, like the way you did mine. And I hope that the next person you kiss, you will truly love, and truly want to be with. And I hope that someday you can find someone who you won’t have to chase anymore. And I hope someday, that person will change your life.

Oh and Jane Doe; Merry Christmas.}</blockquote>