Caboose Run

Caboose Run

A punishing cold grips the very core of ten year-old Mary’s small frail body. She struggles against the wind. Whatever possessed her to go down to the sleeping frozen lake? The evening is dark, more than she likes. Without light from the moon or stars, the landscape seems eerie. As she trudges through the freshly fallen snow, she thinks of the coming night and shivers. It is not only the bitter temperature which chills her body. Thoughts of what happens every time her foster parents return from their regular shopping trips torment her mind. Such occurrences never fail to fill her heart with despair. This time, however, Mary vows she will not allow herself to go through any more grief. She determines to do something about it as she continues to trek up the hill towards home.

When she enters their modest bungalow, everyone is anxiously waiting for the arrival of tonight’s train, the only means of transportation to the outside world. She cannot understand why the others are excited. After all these years, don’t they know what ultimately happens on nights like this? She does. That is why she has a plan. Only one little obstacle needs to be overcome. She must speak with her eight year-old brother Hans and convince him to go along with her.

Hans is busy playing with Keith, one of their foster brothers, when Mary walks into their room. She beckons him to follow her. He refuses, but she insists that he come.

“Hans, we have to talk, in private!”

“What for?” With a great game of 'Go Fish' going, he is not too keen on talking to his sister at the moment. “Can’t you wait til we finish this game?”

“No, I can’t. The train'll be here soon. We must talk now!” She cannot give up, not when the train is so close to arriving.

“Oh, all right!” Hans drags his feet towards his sister.

Mary looks tenderly at her brother. He is much too delicate for his age. Taking him by the arm, she walks him to one corner of the room, away from the boys.

“I'm going on that train when it comes. Come with me, okay? I'm too scared to go by myself.” Mary desperately hopes he will not let her down. Other than his companionship, she also wants to take him away from this place.

“Where'll we go?” Hans is surprised, even scared, by his sister's plan.

“I overheard Aunty Karen tell Uncle Philip that our mom is in Midnight Lake,” whispers Mary.

“Where's that?” Hans has never heard of such a place.

“It’s a village twelve miles from here. You know, Mile 157."

"Oh, now I know." Because no one mentions the place by its proper name, he did not know at first. "Why'd you wanna go there?"

"I wanna go find our mom, so she can take us away from the beatings."

“Do you have any money for our trip?” Hans feels a slight hope rising within him.

“No, but we can hop in the back of the caboose when everyone is busy. No one'll notice us. We'll be careful.”

“But it’s too cold to ride outside. We’ll freeze!” Hans feels the rising hope in his heart crash down. “I don’t wanna to go.”

“Hans, don’t you know what’s gonna happen when everyone gets drunk. They'll fight each other, and then they'll beat us up. I don’t wanna get beaten up anymore. Do you?”

“No, but what if we don’t find her? What’s gonna happen to us?”

“Midnight Lake's a small place. We’ll find her, okay? And the trip's not too long.” Hopeful that she has convinced her brother, Mary anxiously waits for his reply.

“Well, okay. I’ll go get my parka and boots.”

“Don’t forget your hat and mitts.”

Soon they are all dressed and ready to go. Leaving the bungalow is not a problem because everyone else is going out to meet the train. As they run toward the stop, they can hear the approaching train’s whistle. Mary feels a mounting sense of excitement as she rushes her brother forward. The stinging wind, however, causes her to momentarily doubt herself. Though she had tried to reassure her brother, she is not all that hopeful. Nevertheless, she has to take her chance.

As the train comes to its usual screeching halt, Mary stops and grabs her brother’s arm. “Wait! Let the others go first. We’ll pretend to play on the snowbank,” she whispers in Hans’ ear.

Shortly, the passenger cars move past them, followed by the baggage car. When the train completely stops, they look to make sure no one is aware of their whereabouts. Quickly, they make their way toward the caboose. Mary helps Hans climb the steps before pulling herself up.

“Make sure you hang on tight to the railing. You might fall off when the train starts to move, okay?”

“Okay.” Hans is scared.

“Are you that cold already?” Mary notices her brother's shaking legs.

“I wanna get off! I told you, we’re gonna freeze.” He starts to cry.

Before Mary can answer, the train begins to move and steadily pick up speed. She grabs him and yells, “Get down! Someone's gonna see us!”

Too busy to notice anything out of the ordinary, everyone simply picks up the many boxes of food and cases of beer and lug them towards home. In next to no time, the train is completely out of sight.

The fierce wind and the loud clanging of the train’s wheels against the rails have made talking impossible. Mary and Hans must shout whenever they need to communicate. Moreover, the wind’s increased velocity, created by the train’s speed, has plummeted the temperature. It also causes the swirling mass of snow to cover their bodies. They must constantly brush it off. Though the ride has only begun, they feel the freezing effects of the cold. Mary grabs her brother and holds him tightly to her. Inundated by feelings of guilt and despair, she begins to cry with him.

“Hans, I’m so sorry I made you come with me!”

“WHAT? I CAN’T HEAR YOU!”

“I’M SO SORRY I MADE YOU COME WITH ME!!”

“YOU SHOULD BE!!” He wants to push her away, but he knows that her arms and body are helping him from freezing.

Time seems to drag on endlessly. Mary regrets her decision to come on this nightmarish trip. Many thoughts race across her mind: ‘Why did I do this? Why didn’t I go to someone for help? Why didn’t I tell the worker that we were being abused? Now we are both going to freeze to death...’

Too cold to shout anymore, they desperately huddle together as they continue to shake violently against one another. Mary sees her brother falling asleep. Charged with a sudden burst of energy, she shakes him and screams, “NO! HANS! YOU CAN’T GO TO SLEEP! YOU’LL DIE IF YOU DO! DO YOU HEAR ME? YOU’RE GONNA DIE!!!”

Brushing off the constant buildup of snow from her face and her brother’s, Mary holds Hans even tighter to herself. In desperation, she begins to do something that is completely out of the ordinary, something she has seen others do on television.

“Oh my God, please don’t let my little brother die. Please don't let us freeze to death. Please save us until we find our mom. I promise I’ll try my hardest to be good. Forever.”

Suddenly, a thought flashes before her mind's eye. She lets go of her brother and begins to pound hard against the back door and window of the caboose. “WE’RE FREEZING TO DEATH! LET US IN!" No matter how hard she struggles to be heard, though, no one comes to the door. "OH GOD!! PLEASE!!" She grabs her brother again and rubs his body as hard as she can, until all her strength fades away. Like Hans, she starts to feel sleepy. She is so very tired....

“This isn’t so bad,” Mary has come upon a dream-like state. Like a miracle of some sort, she can feel the hands of warmth enveloping her weary body. She decides to get into a comfortable position and rest for a while. Her brother, fast asleep, is resting against her.

“MY GOD! WAKE UP! WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING HERE?” A frantic man’s deep voice awakens Mary, who has just fallen asleep. "HOW DID YOU GET HERE?" In near hysteria, he and a shorter man quickly rush them into the warmth of the caboose. They place both children onto a bunk-bed, cover them with several blankets and check for frostbite and injuries. The kind man expresses relief when he finds only frostbites on Mary's and Hans' exposed skins. Soon, both are warm enough to drink the hot chocolate that was just made for them.

“I’m asking you again, what were you doing out there? Do you realize how lucky you are? If I hadn’t pulled the blinds up and looked out of that window, you both would have died. Now start talking,” demands the short man.

“We’re going to Midnight Lake to find our mom. We’re running away from our foster parents. They always beat us up." Mary's heart beats hard and fast. "We don’t wanna live with them anymore. We came on the caboose because we had no money.” She worries that they may be returned home. She does not want that to happen. “Please, don’t take us back. PLEASE!”

“Don’t worry. We’ll be in Midnight Lake shortly. When we get there, we’ll ask around for your mom, okay? What’s her name?” The tall man’s voice is warm and kind.

“Margaret Ballard,” she replies enthusiastically.

Soon, the train begins to slow down until it comes to a complete stop. The shorter man tells Mary and Hans to wait while he goes to inquire about their mother. He returns several minutes later and tells them to follow him to the passenger car. They see a crying woman running towards them.

“Oh, my babies! I’m so happy to see you! God has finally answered my prayers!” cries the woman, whom they do not recognize. She grabs both her children and kisses them repeatedly as they leave the train.

“Are you our mom?” Hans looks up at the woman. When she peers into his eyes, he darts his gaze toward the floor.

“Of course, baby!” Margaret is overwhelmed by the miraculous way her children have been returned to her. One day, much too long ago, her ex-husband had taken them away and completely vanished. Now they are back in her life; a life which had seemed too empty without them.

“How did you ever find me?” Though she has many questions, Margaret refrains from asking them. She does not want to overwhelm her children.

“I overheard Aunty Karen talking about you.” Mary looks at her mother searchingly.

“Where's your dad?”

“He left us a long time ago. After he married that woman who didn’t want us." Trying to be strong, Mary buries her tears. “Dad gave us away to the Children's Aid Society.”

Margaret is devastated by the turn of events since she last saw her precious babies.

“Mom? Can we live with you now? We don’t want to live with our foster parents anymore." Mary's heart is heavy, both with eager anticipation and with apprehension. Will her mother take them in, or will she reject them? "They've been very mean to us. That’s why we wanted to find you.”

“Of course, baby, of course,” cries their mother. She gathers them into her arms, where they belong.