Running Red Tights
It was a bright and sunny afternoon in the town of Hamptonville and twelve-year-old Val was getting ready to visit her grandma. “Mom, where are my red tights? I need to pack them already,” Val called out. The red tights were her favourite article of clothing and she knew how much her grandma loved them too. “But, they are so worn out already, honey,” her mother replied, “Are you sure you want them?” Val, however, was adamant on taking them with her. “No. They’re my lucky pair. They save me from evil.” Her mother, puzzled, complied and told her to clean up the table and that she would pack up the tights for her.
Once they were ready to go, Val and her mother packed her luggage in the trunk of the car and made their way to Main Central Station. “Alright, dear, don’t forget once you’re in the station, head towards the gated monument, make a left then–” Annoyed, Val replied, “Yes, mother, we went over this already.” “I just want to make certain that you know.” They arrived at the station and once they disembarked the car her mother hugged her tight and the two bid farewell. “See you in two days,” Val exclaimed. “Wait! Your red tights,” her mother said.
When Val got inside Main Central Station, clutching her red tights, she was filled with so much adrenaline for her first trip without a chaperone, that she could not remember which direction her mother said to take. As Val began to panic she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to find a burly young man and he said, “Excuse me, you look troubled. Are you in need of some assistance?” Val was relieved that someone was kind enough to help her. “Yes please, I can’t for the life of me remember where I have to go.” “What’s your destination?” “Crystal Lake, I know that it’s the second to the last stop, but I can’t remember. I should have paid more attention to what my mother was saying.” “Not to worry. Follow me, I’m going the same way. Those are cool tights, my daughter wants the same one.”
After a few minutes of walking and weaving through the multitude of people at the station, Val and the young man found their way to the platform with only herself and the young man waiting for the train. He pointed at the sign that read, Benoven Way. Val looked up and read the sign and thought that the platform seemed curiously secluded from the rest of the train station, but thought that perhaps she was overthinking things. “I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to assist me,” she said while turning to face the man. But to her dismay, the man had disappeared. She twirled on the spot a few times and found that she was alone on the platform.
Before Val had the chance to collect her thoughts, the train arrived. Once she took a seat on the train she made herself comfortable knowing that she had a long trip ahead of her. Midway to the trip, Val felt a wave of exhaustion cast over her. Peering out the window, all foggy, she pulled her sleeve down her arm and wiped the window with it. As she looked out, a vast field of flowers took her breath away and all she could do was revel in the beauty of nature, which she had a lack of exposure to, living in a suburban neighbourhood.
“Hey! Hey! Get up,” she heard someone say, disturbing her slumber. Val slowly opened her eyes and found no one on the train with her. Disoriented, she straightened up in her seat and tried to orient herself to her surroundings. She checked her watch and realized that it’s been four hours since she departed. Since she was in such a rush when she boarded the train, she couldn’t recall if there were others who boarded the train along with her. As she walked up and down the aisles of the train she concluded that she was, in fact, alone. “You lost?” she heard a voice whisper in her ear. Val whipped her head around to catch and see where the voice was coming from. And the burly young man was seated on one of the seats. “Stop!” Val cried out in desperation. At that, the train magically came to a halt and its doors slid open.
Breathing heavily, Val grabbed her suitcase and put the red tights in her pocket and stepped onto the platform. As she walked out her red tights flew out of her jacket pocket and started to walk towards the stairs. Val ran after her tights and tried to keep up with it. When they got to the top of the stairs Val was met by the burly young man who left her on the platform at Main Central Station. But her red tights kept running, so she went past the man and found herself back in the station, the only difference was it was empty.
“You want to make it to your grandma’s?” Val turned and came face to face with the young man. “What do you mean,” she said. “Give me those tights and you’ll remember none of this.” Val grabbed her tights and remarked, “No they’re mine.” As she said that, a bright flash appeared in front of her and her grandma appeared, while the young man disappeared.
“My darling, are you alright?” Shaking, Val clasped her grandmother’s hand. “What was that? Where are we?” “Oh my dear, throw those tights away, they’re no good. You should have listened to your mother. Give me those tights. Let’s go home.”
Once they got to her grandmother’s house Val noticed the change in furniture setting. “Grandma,” Val said, “what a black couch you have. What happened to the vibrant yellow?” “Grandma, what grubby curtains you have.” She looked around some more and turned toward her grandma and facing her was the young man.
At that moment, she ran for the door and tried to run as far as she could away from the man. But when she turned to see behind her, he was matching up to her speed. She kept running and running until she heard her name being called. “Val, darling, is that you? Get in, get in!” When she turned to see her grandma yelling after her she picked up the speed and jumped into the car. “Oh, grandmother, is it really you?” “Yes, of course. I was on my way to pick you up.” Val looked up at her grandma and asked, “How did you know it was me?” Her grandma laughed and replied, “Well, your red tights are a dead giveaway, dear.” Val peered down at her legs and noticed that she was indeed wearing her red tights.