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On a hazy autumn afternoon, shaded by the faint brume of the grey skies that settled over low flats of the airy region, a slender woman in a red coat listened as a man in a leather jacket spoke to her. A tall, slim built man, whose words seemed to trail off as he spoke, as if he was speaking to no one in particular.

The two strolled in tandem with hooked arms through the dry field as their voices travelled through the soft rumble of the open air, broadcasting their isolated thoughts.

“I used to come here to visit my father during summer break,” he said in a low, distant tone. “We would take his old bicycle and ride along the path and picked raspberries until we filled up the basket in front. We used to sit and eat them for hours, while dad told stories about his days in France, and how he met my mom, and the day I was born.”

As he spoke, he took her by the hand, exposing it to the chill of the dry air. She instantly felt the sensational contrast riveting through her skin as he gently traversed her flexion creases, and watched the soft grooves of her prints change from mild pink to a pale yellow. His grip was firm and reassuring; even as it slipped away she could feel the warm shade of a phantom hand dwelling on her like passionate embrace. She slipped back into the breast of her pea coat and tensed her shrugged shoulders before leaning towards him. He peered over to the nearby tracks; her brown eyes observed his somber countenance as the horn of the number four train faintly blared in the distance.

She stood in front of him. Above her he traced with his eyes where the brown grass was crushed underneath the iron tracks and forfeited to the authority of the winds.

“I wanted to tell you something,” she said, pushing her coat firmly against his body.

Her eyes began to water in the cool breeze; he reached in towards her face to wipe a solo tear away from its icy trail, smearing the moisture along her rosy cheek. He then watched the breath that escape from her thin lips as she confessed to him in soft tones.

“I feel like I’ve known you forever, and in some ways it makes sense to me, but in all logical sense it doesn’t. I’ve never met somebody like you who shares so much of a similar past, and all other commonalities we have that I couldn’t even imagine sharing with another person...”

She raised her voice as the train steadily approached the crossing.

“…And you make me feel like I can completely be myself around you. I’m so comfortable…”

His hand still resting on her cheek, he leaned in towards her lips and kissed her gently. His sensual warmth wrapped her like a scarf as he held her face and slowly ran his hands through her hair, down her side to her waist where he reached around to grip her firmly. She melted as he slowly unbuttoned the top of her coat with his left hand, exposing her flush skin to the authority of his hands.

He suddenly slipped his right hand into his pocket, fumbling a bit before he felt the grip of the steel handle. In an instant, he tore away from her in the heat of the moment and swiftly turned his back to her.

Weak at the knees, she stood exposed and baffled by the sudden shift. There was a brief pause.

“What, what’s the matter? What happened,” she said in a breathy tone.

He muttered a response that was muted in the surrounding clatter. From his coat pocket, he slowly pulled out a black pistol, and turned to face her with merciless eyes that glimmered in the icy winds. He slowly extended it towards her, watching as her face grew instantly panicked.

“Wait, wh-what are you d… Oh my God… no, wait, don't, N-NO!”

With the barrel set on her vulnerable frame, he pulled the trigger and fired a loud, grimacing shot; a piercing echo erupted through the clamor of the nearby train.

Her body froze with sheer anxiety; her legs instantly fell limp as she stumbled backwards.

With a cold, glaring expression on his face, he walked slowly until he stood above her clasping the heavy steel in his grip. His menacing stature shadowed her, as she lay helpless and bloodied, moaning as she began slipping out of consciousness.

Snagging her by the wrist, he heaved with a sudden jerk as she kicked and screamed through the vacant field. The sound of the bellowing horn, and the shrill grinding of wheels on the cold, rusty rails nearly drowned her heavy sobs.

He dragged her hostile body step-by-step, until they arrive at the edge of the tracks where he tried to lay her struggling body onto the rails. She grabbed firmly onto the cuff of his jeans, smearing her dark blood on the fabric.

Kicking fiercely, he stumbled forward while trying to shake her off, landing partially on her bloodstained torso. The two tussled wildly on the edge of the tracks, as she squirmed on her back for dear life. She rolled and thrashed about, writhing in pain suppressed by the rush of momentary adrenaline, wailing in agony.

As the train rapidly closed in at short distance, he locked his hand around her neck, squeezing the last ounces of strength from her dwindling spirit before grabbing the pistol, and savagely striking her across her skull with blunt force. Her last breaths expelled, levitating like specters in the chill of the atmosphere.

He immediately scrambled to his knees before staggering backwards as she laid still, bound for death in the path of the oncoming train. He watched in horror as her body was sucked underneath in an instant, mangling her sprawled limbs as her splattered remains whipped along the iron tracks. In a split second, a white light streamed from the head cab, encompassing his entire body; His chest throbbed, his muscles strained, sweat trickled as his lungs constrict and expel a final cry. Immersed in the blinding light, he laid frozen in terror, braced for sudden deadly impact.

In that moment, his eyes burst open as he thrust himself forward, tossing his white bed sheets aside.

For a moment, he sat there in a cold sweat, panting as his heart galloped inside his chest. His eyes quickly adjusted as he peered over to the window where the moonlight streamed into the room. His girlfriend rested beside him, limbs tucked comfortably beneath her head as he sat and listened to the train faintly rumble in the background.

"Everything okay babe," she grumbled in her slumber.

He wiped the sweat off of his brow.

"Yea, I'm fine," he sighed.

"I'm sorry about yesterday, I know you're still mad, but try to get some rest," she muttered.

He stroked her gently, observing on her face a solo tear that trailed down her soft cheek. he gently smeared it out, before leaning in to kiss her goodnight.

"love you, babe," she whispered.

"love you too."