“Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.”326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6O6g6mTSM1
― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRFn0GNy1F3
THE CLERK SLID A ticket, and Josette's credit card, over the counter to Mischa.
"C'est le seul train pendant des heures," the clerk said to her.
It's the only train for hours. Don't miss it, in other words.
She thanked him and took the ticket. The clock behind him read 2:16 a.m.
She turned and ran through the station. It was open and airy, with ornate carvings on the domed ceiling and stained-glass windows that were probably gorgeous in the sunlight. But it wasn't day time and she wasn't sightseeing. She was running for her life across a train terminal.
She made a turn in the largely empty station and picked up her pace. An amorous couple sitting on a bench looked up, startled, and watched as she ran, as if they were wondering where she was headed.
It wasn't much of a mystery. She was running for the staircase. Which meant she could only be heading for one of two things at this time of night.
One, an exit out of the station.
Or two, the overnight train from London to Toulouse, stopping here in Limoges for a connection at 2:24 a.m.
She took the stairs and ran onto the platform, almost slamming into one of the yellow pillars. She hopped onto the first car she saw, which she was pretty sure was as first-class car because there was a large 1 on the side.
She hadn't purchased a first-class ticket!
She found a porter almost instantly and handed him her ticket. "Bonsoir," she said to the man, a chubby fellow with a cherubic face and wiry hair.
It was now 2:18 a.m. Made it with six minutes to spare!
"Bonsoir," the man sang. After looking at her ticket, he said, "Ah, mademoiselle. Vous etes dans la mauvaise voiture. La couchette est deux voitures en bas."
He was telling Mischa she had jumped onto the wrong car on the train. The couchette---the sleeping car----was two cars down.
He gave her the once over. Mischa was quite the picture, a sweaty, frazzled, out-of-breath woman in an ill-fitting prison guard's outfit. 326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡme3PgnmyyS
"Ah, tres bien," said Mischa. She pointed behind her, to make sure she knew the direction. She asked him if she could just walk through the train cars, rather than hop off and hop back on two cars down.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0Mhm6byKT
"Oui, c'est bon," he answered.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC4XeBve5vS
She turned to walk through the first-class cabin toward the next car over.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWMo1yd7jxn
"Bon voyage," the porter said to her.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKsvaWzDVNF
"Merci." She was hoping that her voyage would be bon.326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq1V1Ah6faB
326Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSQeXYEX8C
