facing the storm

Ravi was warned by another conductor at the station that they would be heading into a nasty storm, so he expected them to cut through it with some turbulence, but he hadn’t been expecting the sky to be nearly pitch black and the train to be shaking on its tracks. High winds rocked the train and the lights in the cars flickered on and off while rain beat down from above. He was in the first passenger car, right behind the engine car, and everyone was uneasy. The tension hung thick among everyone. Ravi and another crew member situated in the car went around reassuring people that they would be through the storm soon, but as they continued on, it seemed more and more unlikely. 

There was a tremor that shook the whole car and many of the passengers gasped and began chattering fearfully amongst one another, glancing out windows only to see darkness. On top of this, the hanging light bulbs overhead flickered out and didn't come back on. Ravi and his crewmate lit some lanterns and dispersed them around the car, but it didn't seem to soothe anyone in the slightest. 

Ravi stood at the front of the car anxiously, not sure there was much else he could do to relax his passengers. He noticed a particularly distressed mother and her young son towards the front of the car. The son was sniffling and crying into her arm, while his mother tried to hush him. Ravi frowned to himself, glancing out a darkened window. 

He remembered during his training, which seemed so long ago, he was told to never go out or switch cars during a storm. He technically wasn't meant to be switching cars anyways, at least not on this type of train, but most conductors did anyway to check on the engine room, himself included. 

Ravi took a deep breath and calmed his mind, steeling his nerves. He urgently went to his crewmate and told him what he was going to be doing, who could barely contain the shock and fear in their expression. Ravi shouldered off his suit jacket and handed it to the crewmate, who was frantically murmuring words of caution and concern. 

“Don't worry, I'll be fine,” Ravi comforted quietly, taking off his hat and handing it to the crewmate. “You're the conductor until I get back. Just keep watching over everyone and comforting them. I'll only be a moment.”

Ravi hoped he would only be a moment. Before his colleague could stammer out anything else, Ravi turned and strided towards the front of the train, taking a deep breath as he rested his hand on the cold door handle. Many passengers craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the conductor before he inevitably stepped outside. The rain was coming down harder and the sound of wind whipping outside almost dissuaded him from what he was about to do. He wasn't even sure it would work, since the storm had already begun and seemed to be at its peak, but he felt he had to try. 

He braced himself as he jerked the door open. He was hit with an icy blast of wind and sharp rain that was coming down slanted, but he hastily stepped out and fought to close the door behind him, balancing on the ledge of the car and the slippery gangway that connected the train to the engine car. Ravi grabbed hold of the bar situated by the door to the engine, pressing himself against it and breathing a heavy sigh of relief. The wind wasn't helping him, and both the speed of the train and the wind threatened to throw him off. 

He kept his grip tight with one hand, while he raised the other to the sky, squinting up at the swirling, darkened clouds. A flash of lightning lit up the sky and rumbling thunder followed shortly after. 

Ravi's heart slammed in his chest as he shouted up at the clouds, words unintelligible through the storm. Ravi knew he'd never been very good with magic, and if this didn't work, he'd throw open the door to the engine room and tell the engineer to stop the train so they could wait out the storm. But he didn't want to give up so easily. 

Fingertips reaching towards the sky, he waved his hand and fought hard against the wind as he did so. He tried to keep courage in his heart, to will his magic to work, to use it in the stronger way that someone he once knew had taught him. 

Up above, the clouds slowly began to split, almost like the train was cutting through them, and bright daylight shone through the large patch of darkness. Ravi kept warding the clouds off until the harsh, whipping winds had dispersed and the black clouds faded into the blue sky that was revealed beneath them. 

Ravi's grip on the bar never loosened and he leaned against the door to the engine car in relief, closing his eyes for a brief moment. Leftover adrenaline began to flood from his body, leaving him feeling drained and exhausted, so he maneuvered his way back to the passenger car, where he was met with relieved guests that greeted and thanked him, as well as an overjoyed crewmate who excitedly shoved Ravi's jacket and hat into his hands, expressing their admiration of his bravery. 

Ravi smiled at the show of gratitude and appreciation, though he couldn't take his mind off the dark clouds and piercing cold of the rain beating against him. He spoke, and moved through the car, but he was stuck in a far off memory, one in which he had borne witness to a similar storm, one in which a train left the station without him on it.