Peaces of Me

There’s nothing more annoying than missing your train stop.That moment when fear of the unknown washes over you and profanities of all languages come bubbling out of your mouth. I was a 16 year old exchange student, fresh faced, hungry for excitement and experience and blissfully purring in my cat like slumber on the train, navigating the towns of Germany. The screeching sound of the train nearing the station is what awoke me from my blissful slumber. Slightly disorientated, I did a quick drool check, grabbed my backpack and exited the train swiftly.
Not for one minute did I think that I had gotten off at the wrong but when I did it felt like my heart had skydived to my feet and the empty atrium where my heart was, was swelling with fear. Excitement soon kicked in and with the next train due in a few hours I was faced with a choice – sit and mope in the safety of the station, or be adventurous and go exploring.
Train stations, for me, are like the wardrobe that leads to Narnia. They hold a quiet power but at the same time, they’re really mundane and basic. When I exited the train station, I was Harry Potter exploring Diagon Alley for the first time. That hunger for experiences took over and soon I was striding confidently toward a towering dilapidated medieval castle in the distance. With each step, up a hill mind you, in pointy boots with no grip at all, I told myself that this will all be worth it and once I reached the top, there was a warmth in my heart.
The cold air made everything in sight crisp and the smell of fresh air made me think that I was still in dreaming. I had never before witnessed nature’s fertility at this scale - the lush green and brown tones born from the ground, the city landscape jutting overhead and the mist enveloping the city with an icy embrace - all translated into one commanding view. In a trance I sat squarely down on the solid ground, slumping against my backpack and inhaling deeply while keeping my gaze transfixed on the view of the city. Time passed on while I listened to the melodies of life below, taking in the different hues and feeling at peace reflecting on my journeys of past and future and when the time came to leave, I took in one last breath of air, inhaling it with a ravenous hunger and did a last 360 of the view.
Looking back I wonder if it was all real, or if my heightened emotions made it more magical than what it was. Either way, I always look back at it with a smile because i got my peace of a castle.