Marriage 3: like colors making light, we merge?
Thursday July 2nd 2009: There sometimes are moments of pure joy, what makes them? That magic formula compressed to a pill would be something to sell. However, the best moments usually are unexpected, and when we are expected to enjoy ourselves we most times need such a pill. As a pair our joy together is expected to last forever by the vows we exchange, but we need to seek the unexpected to prove our vows valid and make our love last.
…
So finally, there was someone else onboard our train. A nice young man in a shiny uniform and all, obviously the train conductor, and with a gentle smile he made his way down the aisle.
“Welcome onboard,” was his first word when he stopped up in front of Marianne and me.
Marianne handed him our tickets and he looked at them smiling.
“We are all very pleased to have you here, we have been expecting you.” He said.
“Who? I mean, the train seems rather empty. Are there more people onboard?” I asked, as I didn’t understand what he meant by that us being expected.
The train conductor smiled even more while looking down at the tickets Marianne just had given him and with a pen he marked the tickets checked and approved.
“Those other seats seem all reserved, are they? Are there people coming onboard further on?” I carried on asking.
“Yes of course, all seats are taken by your invitations.” He kindly answered me back as he returned our tickets back to Marianne.
Now even Marianne began to smile, while I didn’t understand a thing. We hadn’t invited anyone, at least I hadn’t and if Marianne had she would have told me.
“The other cars in the train are available for you too and you can move around as you like. Please enjoy your journey.” The train conductor continued, looking me straight in my eyes, smiling.
“But, what’s in those other cars?” I curiously asked.
“Oh, those cars are like colors making light and what’s in there are the thoughts you’re inviting.”
Marianne almost burst into laughter while I understood less and less. What was this, what is he telling me? I just couldn’t understand a thing and it obviously showed all over my face.
The train conductor left us, continuing his way through the car. I threw long looks after him as he left and when he disappeared into the next car I turned to Marianne who obviously very much had enjoyed my puzzling face develop with the answers I got.
“There, now you have got your answers. Don’t ask me?” Marianne told me without me having said a word.
Marianne returned to reading her book, obviously very pleased with the dialog leaving me flat as a tire. Okay, I had to admit this was another case of me being run over like I sometimes am with Marianne leaving her with some silly answers too just for the fun of it.
“Hm… Yeah I like this” it was something new to discover here, something I wasn’t prepared for, “I wonder if there’s any key planted somewhere and if there’s an explanation to all this happening and the riddle talk?” I thought.
I looked out my window for a while like I now had something to figure out and after about fifteen minutes or so, I noticed that the train was in a process of slowing down. Marianne didn’t react, she had dug down into her book, but we were definitely slowing down and so far no town, village or station in sight. We slowed in to a stop and now Marianne looked up from her book.
“Where are we?” She asked.
“No idea” I said. “But I can see two people standing outside at something looking like a bus stop pole stuck into the ground in the middle of nowhere? Wow! They are getting on the train; they are getting on our car.”
And yes they did. It was a middle aged couple like forty to forty-five years old and they had their seats four rows in front opposite side of us and they seemed both enthusiastic coming onboard and like us they hadn’t brought any luggage. The train started to move and I thought “Strange, why could I see these two people through my window when not having seen a soul before?”
The newly arrived couple took their seats and we were on our way again. I felt a light push in my side. It was Marianne having put down her book and was now calling for my attention pushing me with her elbow.
“Come on!” Marianne urged me.
“What? I asked like whispering.
Marianne stood up from her seat signaling me to follow, but I just didn’t get it, where? And without me asking Marianne said.
“Now my dear, we are going to welcome our invited couple. Didn’t you get that?”
“But we don’t know these people; we have never seen them before.” I replied.
“They are our invitees, as the man said. Okay?”
There was something, there was definitely something happening here. I had never seen Marianne so confident before, almost like she knew these people, but again, I was dead sure she didn’t. Both Marianne and I had grown in confidence a lot about our situation and out in public I blended in well, no questions asked so we had no problems there. When traveling, as now, we traveled as two girl friends and had never been questioned being something else. It was best so we thought and anyway, why tell about me?
“Okay,” I rose too as I was too curious about what was going to happen now with Marianne taking the lead like this.
We approached the newly arrived couple with Marianne being the first presenting us.
“Hello, and welcome. I’m Marianne and this is Li my husband and wife.”
Woops! My God, what is Marianne saying? She has never before presented us like that. What is going on, what is she doing? I didn’t know if I was supposed to be embarrassed or what and I had no idea what to do.
“Hello, and thank you.” The woman in the aisle seat stood up and said, looking very happy to see us. “I’m Helen and this is my husband Roy.” She continued telling us as she turned her head around to present her husband to us, that now stood up too behind her. “We are so exited about this trip; we have longed for this to happen for years, so thank you very much for your invitation.”
“You’re so welcome and we are as exited as you and I’m sure this will be a journey to remember. Please we can go over there to those four seats with a table in-between so we can have a talk.” Marianne said and our newly arrived couple willingly agreed to that.
We greeted each other in the aisle shaking hands followed by a gentle hug, like we had known them for years even though they were completely strangers to us. The fact that Marianne had revealed me as her husband and wife didn’t seem to surprise or disturb them at all. “How on earth why?” If puzzled before, I was more so now.
We sat down together talking without any strains at all. Helen and Roy told us about them being farmers living in the countryside with farming, animals and all, and never really having any time on their own because of their work. They had children; James a boy at twelve and Ingrid a girl soon becoming fifteen. Strange I thought they were talking so freely and about themselves, their feelings, their marriage, their being together and all and they didn’t reacted strangely at all learning to know about us with me and my background having changed sex. It was as if all those moral thoughts placed upon us in daily life didn’t exist. It felt like we all had crossed a barrier somehow, where adapting and controlling our behavior to fit in wasn’t there anymore. It felt like having left all that baggage behind…?
“We had no baggage” none of us had brought anything with us, which now suddenly became very apparent and clear to me. We had all entered this journey in a clean spirit way. That flash of light I saw outside my window did leave our image behind, our looks and other worldly things were not there dividing the truth anymore. It was a wonderful inviting feeling that entered my body and I just floated along. These people, Helen and Roy, had a quite different story than ours, but still we could talk and the sight seeing Marianne and hearing her letting it all out felt like music in my ears. One thing led to another and I guess we must have talked for an hour when our train conductor showed up again. Helene and Roy showed him their tickets and he welcomed them onboard too, informing us that dinner soon would be served.
Again I must have looked the picture of bewilderment, but our train conductor just smiled at me like no further explanation was needed. Marianne invited our new found friends to join us for dinner in about an hour so we could freshen up and get ready. Helen and Roy accepted our invitation and without any further talk we returned to our seats I thought but not. Helen and Roy took the lead down the aisle, obviously heading for the next car, while I held Marianne back for a second.
“What? Freshen up? Where, how, we haven’t got anything to freshen up with, we haven’t brought anything with us and neither have they?” I reminded Marianne.
“Now you’re being silly again,” Marianne said dismissing my questions as if nothing to it “Like colors making the light you know, we’ll see. Won’t we?”
Marianne was referring to what the train conductor earlier had explained to me and with that said Marianne left following the others. After a couple of seconds with me happily shaking my head, I gave up my questioning and followed.
…
