The Life Train — CHAPTER 1: THE ENIGMATIC AWAKENING

The entire novel is available in both hard copy and kdp at https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0DBC9J146/

My head hurts. My head is spinning. WAIT! STOP! Who am I? Where am I? I am a… ugh, I don’t even know how to define myself — chunks of personalities in a mental civil war, each wishing to kill the other and gain, most probably, nothing. But wait, who am I again ?

I am Leith. My name means Lion in Arabic. My parents gave me that name with the hope that I would be strong, but am I? I am the weak one who got on his knees, ready to kiss his girlfriend’s feet, begging her to stay in his life. I am the weak one who ran away from a fight back in secondary school, leaving everyone laughing at him. I am the weak one who is vulnerable to past traumas…. I am also the strong one who learned from all those embarrassing failures and unleashed the beast inside me. I am the strong hero who put at least hundred thieves in Moroccan jails. I am the strong entrepreneur who stood up for his principles and turned down a multi-million dollar deal… But WAIT! STOP! Where am I again?

My head is still hurting and spinning. No, don’t you dare call me drunk! I do not drink, I do not smoke, I do not get high — I am better than that, or so I was raised to believe. I know where I am. I am here. But what is “here”? What is this place? I cannot stop my head from spinning; perhaps a good sleep will solve this… WAIT! STOP! Am I even awake? I cannot touch my toes, I cannot feel the other parts of my body. This seems like a strange dream after a tiring day of labor. I cannot remember what I did before sleeping. It does not matter; I will close my eyes. Tomorrow is a different, beautiful day…

WAIT! STOP! Somebody is walking towards me. He is looking at me with pity, despair, joy, and… Oh WAIT! STOP! He’s got an identical facial expression to mine. No, no, no, no, wait, wait, wait, he’s got my face, only a bit older. Where the hell am I? What state am I in? Have I tried my first drink ever? Oh my God, the guy is approaching more and more. I will attack him. I am scared; I do not know what to do. I will knock him down.

Him: “Stand down, soldier! Relax, you will be just fine!” I pass out….

As consciousness climbs its way to my mind, I wake up and regain my strength and control of my body, feeling every single inch of it. It was just a strange, fuzzy dream. I open my eyes and… WAIT! STOP! Where am I?!

I find myself seated at the far end of — what seems to be — a train. The railcar I am in has big, beautiful windows, just like any known train. The sun shines extremely bright outside, so much that it hurts my eyes when I try to look closer at what is going on outside. The inside of the passenger car is neat, clean, and fragrant. The floor is furnished with a beautiful green carpet decorated with golden roses — the kind of carpet I always wished to have in my place. The roof is adorned with thick, cozy red leather that comes down to the top of the windows and meets the carpet on the side by the middle of the walls. It looks amazing, but I am too confused to enjoy it. I have no clue how, what, when, or why I got here.

The seat I am in has a royal texture — luxurious red leather, with golden arms surrounding it. I glance at the aisle; all the seats are identical. The entire carriage is crowded, full of people. It seems that everyone is talking to everyone. I am the only one alone, with no one sitting next to me. I am still in my seat, not knowing what to do. Everyone is busy talking; no one is paying attention to me as if I do not exist. What nightmare am I living? Everything around here does not make sense. I want to stand up and walk to those people and talk to them, but I am afraid that I won’t be able to.

I gather my courage and stand up. Thankfully, I can. Let’s try to walk; good news, I can as well. Now let’s score a hat trick of good luck in such a miserable dream and try to talk. I utter a few words; I can hear myself, but no one turns around. I try again — louder this time — still no one turns. This makes my blood boils, fills me with unpleasant anger. I think I will insult them all. Yes, this is the right course of action. I am going to shout at the top of my lungs:

“FUCK EVERYONE HERE! FUCK YOU ALL, FUCK THIS DREAM, FUCK THIS…”

Before finishing my curses, everyone — suddenly — gets quiet and turns towards me. Unbelievably, my heart pounds in terror as I stand in utter disbelief. Every single passenger looks exactly the same as me. Everyone has my face — except at different ages. I can see myself in my 20s, in my 30s, as a child… In the middle of the aisle, there is a person with an identical face and facial expressions as mine, but he seems like some sort of pilot. The one next to him is dressed in a surgeon’s uniform. The far corner has a nurse-me; the other side has a big muscled guy who looks exactly the same as me, and right next to him is a person wearing a school uniform. I bet he is more than just a student. Two seats away from them is the guy who talked to me earlier. He is the only one sitting alone. He says: “Leith, relax, you will be just fine!” This is too much for me. My head hurts again, my head is spinning, I feel like I am going to pass out again…

The entire novel is available in both hard copy and kdp at https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0DBC9J146/