TAKE THEM

A Story (Excerpt)

“One step. Two steps. Skip steps. Jump!”

The subway platform was quiet, thankfully. Empty was always better than packed with the strange, late-night crowd that lurked after midnight. It wasn’t that late yet, but getting close. After 12:30 a.m., the station seemed to attract the kind of people who thought it was a good idea to chase you down and pet your hair or scream at you for no reason. Ruby wasn’t a fan of the subway, but she was already pushing it with how late she was, and the later it got, the angrier her grandparents would be. She could practically hear their disappointed sighs and lectures waiting for her at home. 

“The next L train will arrive in… 19 minutes.” The announcement cracked through the empty tunnel, its distorted voice bouncing off the walls. 

“19 minutes?! Ugh! That’s like an eternity in New York time!” Ruby groaned, her stomach answering with an almost dramatic growl back at her. She’d planned to snack on the train, but now she couldn’t wait. Cookie it is! A perfect little nighttime treat before facing her grandparents, who’d probably force-feed her something grouse, if they’d even bothered to cook at all.

Nights like these, Ruby missed her mom’s cooking. The creamy potato soup, rich with cheesy chunks, or the tamales they’d make during the holidays that somehow lasted forever it seemed. Now, she was lucky if her grandpa managed to make something edible. 

It had been three years since her mom died. A freak accident, they’d called it. A garbage truck had backed into her. The driver insisted he’d set the brake, but somehow the emergency release was triggered, and that was it. Ruby still remembered the look on her Grandma’s face when they told her. It was the same way Ruby had felt inside: numb, frozen, a mix of shock and disbelief. 

Enough of that, Ruby decided, swinging her backpack onto her shoulder as she reached for her cookie treat. Ironically, it was probably the healthiest thing that she’d grabbed.

Ah, a seat with just the right amount of trash scattered on it. Perfect! Hopefully, it doesn’t smell like pee. Sniff, sniff. Eh, close enough. Deep breath in!  Uuuuughhoho! And blow it all out! “Whooooooah. That’s better!”

Clank.

“Ouch.”

“What’s in here?” Ruby muttered, having completely forgotten what she'd stuffed in her bag.

A box? Oh! That’s right. A beautiful wooden box she found tucked away in her grandpa’s closet earlier that day. Ruby had wondered if she could maybe sell it, get some cash for school or something fun. But then, she completely forgot about it until just now.

Ruby wiped away the cookie crumbs that had fallen onto the box, leaving her fingers to trace the intricate design work. They were deep, almost like a memory carved into the wood, each groove a secret story. She followed the lines, feeling the uneven texture under her fingertips as her eyes caught faint letters etched into the side. Names, almost too faded to read. The first one she recognized.

”Josie?” Was Josie someone from her family? Or was this a name from someone else’s past? She couldn’t remember but it made her think of her father. 

Could it be my dad’s? It was a strange thought for Ruby, that this box might’ve once belonged to a man who had left her before she was born. 

“Was this box his?” Had he carved it with memories of people she would never meet, of a past she could never uncover? 

Ruby traced the faint names delicately, like she was handling something fragile. The more she touched them, the more they seemed to blur in a circle.  A strange peace settled around her, enveloping her like a fog. And then, as though from another world, the soft, familiar tune of that old song echoed in her mind once more, the one that had always come with a bittersweet ache she couldn’t explain.

“Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm.” That melody. Why did she remember it? 

The subway lights flickered.  That’s weird. 

“Hmmm, hmmmm, hm, hm.”

Entranced, Ruby felt the swell of a symphony of sounds in her head that crept into her like a daydream or a nightmare, she couldn’t tell which. And a whisper. Barely audible. What was it saying?

Black out. Complete Darkness in the subway. That’s never good. And also super scary! Don’t Panic. It’ll come back on. Just breathe. Breathe. They’ll come back on. 

“Ruby?” The whispers got louder, becoming one voice that  giggled with sinister delight, “Ruby, jump, jump, jump. Ruby jump, Ruby jump! Ruby jump, Ruby jump, Ruby jump, jump!!” 

Flicker, flicker. On. Off. On. Off. Her feet, they’re on the ground! Ruby was now standing. She didn’t get up! Where was she? She was at the edge of the platform. 

“No! No! This can’t be real!” Ruby cried, “I was just sitting down! How am I-” Honk. Honk. A subway car, at lighting speed, raced down the track.  

“No! This is all a dream! Wake up! Wake up!” The subway car flew closer, and closer, and closer. Ruby felt powerless to move, as if someone or something was pushing her closer and closer to the train. “Wake up!” She screamed. 

Black out. Feet floating. Arms grasping the dirty subway station seat. Crumbs everywhere. 

“Ahhhhh! Oh.” Breathe, Ruby. Breathe. It’s all in your head. Breathe, Ruby. Ruby looked around the empty station with a sigh of deep relief.  See? You must have fallen asleep or something. “Ugh!!!!” Ruby caught her breath as she looked around. Not a soul to be seen. It had to be a dream, she thought. There’s no one else here! Everything’s fi-

“Passengers, we apologize for the inconvenience. Trains are delayed. Expect the L Train to arrive in… 27 minutes.” 

No! 27 minutes? The next train is in 27 minutes? Ruby seriously considered leaving. Walking would take 20 minutes, if she ran 15. Either way, she would certainly face the wrath of Grandma’s disappointment and worry now. 

“No, this sucks so much!”

“I know right?”

Ruby was not alone anymore.