Lost to be Found

by Milena Ristic (Serbia)

I didn't expect to find Denmark

The train was about to leave. My aunt and I were rushing through the station. We were hoping to get to Copenhagen at least before 11 am. But we knew. We knew we couldn't catch this train. I was like a lost puppy following her around, so of course I didn’t realize that the next train would be there shortly. In my panicked tourist mind, we were losing something precious. As we were approaching the departing train, we saw a couple. Husband and wife. They were also trying to get on that train. The husband got in at the last possible second, but the wife... The doors slammed shut, and although the husband tried to open them, they remained closed. The train left without her. To me, this seemed almost romantic. Two lovers separated by circumstances beyond their control at the train station. The woman was panicked slightly. “I don’t have my phone. My husband has the phones and tickets. ” We took her to buy another ticket. As we waited for the next train to arrive, I found out she was from Taiwan. After the initial panic, she looked calm. Even though she didn’t have a phone or any idea as to what her husband will do, she was in a state of peace. We boarded the train and realized that we would likely be sitting across from the woman. How strange it is that neither of us asked for her name. My aunt and I were wondering what will the husband do. Will he get off at the next station and return to Elsinore or will he go to Copenhagen and wait for her hoping that she bought another ticket? Our heads were swimming with ideas but we never voiced them to the woman. We offered her the phone and she sent a text to her husband. Suspiciously, he never responded. The woman just looked out the window drinking in the sights. Well she had a point. It was magnificent. We were passing the vast greenery and the bluest of skies. It was September but everything felt like it had been in bloom and the sun was caressing the outside world. It was a good day to get lost in a new city. I felt close to the woman. I felt lost too. Sure I had my aunt with me, but it was my first solo trip and I was young. Not to mention that I had just meet my aunt a week ago. Well, I exaggerate, but she left her home country when she was 16 and pregnant in 1983. In a way I was just getting to know her and she was getting to know me in return. But still, I was alone too. In fact, all my life I have been. I looked at the woman from the train as some sort of a mirror. The way her hands stayed firmly in her lap, fingers interlocked over her backpack, her eyes trying to take in as much of the sights as possible and the corners of her mouth turning upwards as a sort of an invitation and bewilderment and shyness at the same time. I have seen that look on myself so many times before. It is the uneasiness of being in a new place, in a new situation yet the wonderment of being alone, being free and having some of your wildest dreams come true. In exactly 46 minutes we arrived in Copenhagen. For a second I lost sight of the woman from the train. We were looking at the glorious peaks of the Tivoli Gardens while waiting for the traffic light to turn green when I saw her. She was standing in front of the station, facing away from it. She didn’t try to go anywhere. I figured she wanted to wait for her husband there. But then I saw that look on her face, curiosity with a small smile. The same look I was sporting. I guess in a way she never really wanted to board that train. Maybe she just wanted to be alone for a while, alone in a crowd, a little bit lost, so she can be found again.