I look up to see the icicles pointing down at us from the steel girders above. A womans voice announces; 'Der Zughrt in 5 Minute'. We face each other on the platform, our hips and shoulders aligned, but our hands hanging by our sides. The seconds move by like a glacier.
So I guess this is goodbye, or Auf Wiedersehen I say. The limp joke hangs in the air with my breath. I wanted to say something that wasn't a cliche, but the words had frozen in my mouth.
I hug you then, it's like leaping across a river. I want to feel the warmth of your body one last time - to have a memory to savour. But all I feel is the cold clinging to your coat and your hair spiking my face. A little snow, caught in a crevice on your jacket falls down my neck. You pull my arm from around your shoulders, your hand so cold it seems to bruise where it touches my skin whipped raw from the wind that rips through the train station, 'Most relationships don't work out anyway you know' You say like an apology. 'Its not like we loved each other'. My Aussie sunshine dulled by your wintry Nordic sensibility.
I find my seat on the train, and look through the window to find you almost gone, shoulders hunched against the cold Munich crowd.
The train conductor approaches and says to me, 'Guten Tag. Ihr Ticket bitte' I keep my face towards the window so she can't see my tears, and over my ticket. She squeezes my shoulder as she takes it and checks whether I am going all the way to Frankfurt or not. I feel warmth from her hand. After she hands it back she hesitates for a moment, so I turn my head to look at her. But she looks away and moves on to the next person, 'Guten Tag, ihr ticket bitte'
CFW
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