When I opened my eyes,
I was the only person left on the train.
Outside the window,
there was nothing but darkness.
I checked my phone.
12:17 a.m.
I must have fallen asleep on the last train.
The moment I jumped to my feet,
the train began to slow down.
An announcement came over the speakers.
“This is the final stop.”
Something felt wrong.
The last stop on this line
was supposed to be much farther ahead.
The doors opened.
I stepped onto the platform,
and cold air bit into my skin.
I looked at the station sign.
“Terminal Station.”
I had never heard of a station
with that name.
I turned around.
The train doors closed.
“Wait!”
Before I could reach them,
the train disappeared into the darkness.
I wasn’t the only one
left on the platform.
Five people were standing
near a bench.
A man in a business suit.
A high school girl in uniform.
A woman carrying shopping bags.
A man in work clothes.
And an elderly man with a cane.
No one spoke.
Everyone looked around,
confused.
The station clock
read 12:18 a.m.
Then,
the electronic departure board lit up.
00:42
03:18
07:05
11:31
16:44
22:09
Six times.
No destinations.
“What is this?”
the man in the suit muttered.
Suddenly,
the elderly man pulled out his phone.
“The news…”
The color drained from his face
as he stared at the screen.
We gathered around
and looked at his phone.
A news article
dated tomorrow
was displayed on the screen.
“7:05 a.m.
Elderly man killed after being struck by a truck
at an intersection in the city.”
The article
listed the old man’s name.
No one could speak.
“That’s impossible.”
The old man was trembling.
“It isn’t even tomorrow yet.”
Then,
the woman with the shopping bags
let out a small scream.
A news article
had appeared on her phone too.
“3:18 a.m.
Woman killed in residential fire.”
Her phone slipped from her hand.
We looked at the departure board.
03:18.
The woman.
07:05.
The old man.
Everyone
realized the same thing.
Those six times
weren’t departure times.
Then,
footsteps echoed
from the far end of the platform.
Click.
Click.
Click.
A station attendant
emerged from the darkness.
An old-fashioned uniform.
A cap pulled low over his face.
His features were hidden
in shadow.
He stopped in front of us.
“Thank you for waiting.”
His voice
was strangely calm.
“Where are we?”
asked the man in the suit.
The attendant
looked up at the departure board.
“The times displayed there
are your scheduled times of death.”
No one moved.
“Tomorrow,
each of you is scheduled to die
at the time shown on the board.”
The high school girl
asked in a trembling voice,
“Scheduled…?
Can it be changed?”
The attendant nodded.
“For one person.”
Every eye
turned toward him.
“Only one of you
can leave this station and return.”
Silence.
It took several seconds
for us to understand what that meant.
Only one person
could have their death canceled.
The others
would die tomorrow.
At that moment,
the departure board changed.
“SCHEDULED DEATHS: 5”
I stopped breathing.
There were six of us.
Including me,
there were definitely six people here.
And yet,
only five were scheduled to die.
“Wait.”
I turned to the attendant.
“Which time is mine?”
The attendant
slowly looked at me.
Then,
for the first time,
he tilted his head.
“You have
no scheduled time of death.”
Everyone
turned to stare at me.
“Then why am I here?”
The attendant reached
into his breast pocket
and took out a single ticket.
He held it out to me.
Printed on it were the words:
“NOT A PASSENGER.”
I didn’t understand.
“What does that mean?”
The attendant
stared directly into my eyes.
“You were not
brought to this station.”
The platform lights
went out for a moment.
Darkness.
Then
the lights came back on.
The attendant
was standing directly in front of me.
“You are the one
who called this station here.”