Member-only story
Last Train to Life
A short story
The train to New York is leaving in an hour, so Amira really needs to rush. Her bag is halfway made, but the station is down the street. It shouldn’t take her more than fifteen minutes to get everything done, and she would soon be stepping into the city of her dreams.
“You’re always running late, Amira.” Her mother would say to her before she almost missed the bus to school every day.
“You missed the opportunity of getting that scholarship for free piano classes because you registered too late,” her old brother had told her.
And it was always like this in her life. She didn’t understand why she was a procrastinator, why she always had to leave things for the last minute. Who had she taken after, after all?
Her father was a serious and dedicated businessman, who had inherited Amira’s grandfather’s old shop in a small town in southern Pakistan. He had never been late for anything in his life, and neither was her brother Amin. Amin was always the best student in the class and was taught to never procrastinate and cram before exams.
Amira, not following her family’s genes, was the opposite. She waited until the last minute to review her teacher’s notes. She missed registration deadlines. Her coupons would expire before she had time to use them.
