Chapter 3

• Natasha felt a strange sensation. More and more the old lady confused her.
• "And what is your destination?" he heard himself asking.
• “You ask a lot of questions, girl. What's your name again?
• “Natasha,” he repeated.
• — So many questions, Natasha... Why?
• - Curiosity.
• — I have a question for you, Natasha: do you believe in love?
• Natasha was taken aback. Nobody ever asked him about it. She never asked herself about it. I really didn't even know what to answer. He wasn't sure whether or not he believed in love.
• He'd always been so realistic and running from feelings. Her life was based on practicality and any commitment to a man made her uncomfortable. When he saw that he was getting attached to someone, he preferred to walk away, with a huge fear of losing his freedom.
• Yes... His freedom was his great love. Independence. He had fought so hard for his space that he didn't want anyone to take care of it. No... I didn't believe in love between two people. I only believed in one kind of love: self-love. Love between couples only existed in fairy tales. And if there was one thing that never interested her, not even when she was little, it was a fairy tale.
• — I don't know — she preferred to answer, so as not to seem incredulous about love.
• — At your age, I already suffered a lot for love... I died for love — the woman said, looking far away.
• Natasha looked deep into those blue eyes, carefully observing the wrinkled skin, punished by the years. What were those eyes hiding? Sarah stirred something inside Natasha that she was afraid to discover.
• - Who are you? Natasha asked confused. Was it someone sent by Jonas to confuse her in her story?
• “I'm Sarah, as I told you. I'm not with you by chance, dear. Destiny arranged our meeting here.
• - Why are you here? Natasha pulled away from Sarah a little.
• “I'm here to fulfill my destiny.
• The girl looked around. He thought he was talking to a ghost on the blue train. Were there ghosts on the blue train? No... There were no ghosts, except in the minds of crazy people. What was she thinking?
• Sarah seemed to understand his thoughts. He gently took Natasha's hand and said:
• “Don't be afraid of me, dear. I'm just an old woman. I'm not a witch or a blue train spook.
• Natasha lightly squeezed the soft, icy hand. Then he quickly removed it. At least Sarah was real.
• She looked around again. Far away there was a couple in that same car. He saw the empty table across from the two of them. With dozens of empty seats in that particular car and so many others on the train, why did that woman sit there, next to him?
• "Natasha, could you trade places with me?" Can I sit by the window?
• Natasha collected herself in her thoughts. He thought the old lady was daring. She got a little irritated:
• "Why beside me?" Why just my place now, with so many other empty ones?
• — On my first trip, in 1911, I sat in this very spot.
• For Natasha the place was indifferent. He left the space he occupied and let Sarah sit where she wanted. She was just a chatty, harmless old lady, and she was sure to annoy him for the next twenty-four hours of travel. And soon that boring journey would be over and she would laugh about the situation.
• He sat across from Sarah, still attentive to the old lady.
• Sarah could see Tristan in front of her... Yes, she was in 1911, on the first trip of the blue train. Why was she still on this plane? Why was he still alive? So many years have passed and accidentally she couldn't contain it and let a tear fall.
• "Sarah, is everything okay?" asked Natasha.
• "Why don't you know if you believe in love, girl?"
• — I don't know... Maybe because I've never experienced a real love story in my life. I think this feeling is not good for people... I don't know for sure. Natasha heard herself confessing to this stranger.
• 'You know, I was a passenger on the first trip on the blue train and now I'm on the last one too. Maybe I'm privileged ... But you're much more privileged than I am.
• "Why do you think that?"
• “Because I'm going to tell you an unbelievable story that spanned nearly a century. Only my heart and mind know everything I've been through in this life. Not even my grandchildren were aware of the tragic details that happened at that time. It's a long, very long story, with a lot of suffering and pain. But in the end, you'll believe in love, girl.
• Natasha looked closely at the old lady and picked up her pad and pen. There was his story about the train. Sarah's love, suffering and personal life didn't matter much, but the details of the trips did matter a lot.
• Sarah slowly bent down and took the pad from Natasha's hands, throwing it out the window.
• Natasha looked at her confused. She looked in her purse and there was no other one. He looked at the couple who were far away on another bench and they were talking animatedly. They didn't even realize what had happened.
• “I…needed that pad,” she said, angry and incredulous at Sarah's boldness.
• "Try not to interrupt me while I'm telling the story," Sarah said, not caring what she'd done. “It's really hard to go back when I'm there. You won't need to write anything down. I'm sure of it. Everything will be stored here. — She placed her hand on Natasha's heart.
• Natasha, even without wanting to, found herself nodding affirmatively.
• — If you close your eyes, girl, you will travel in my world.
• Natasha closed her eyes, as if that were an order. He never imagined how much that story would really change his life forever. It didn't take much effort to enter Sarah's world. And it really was really, really hard to get out.