There was an indicator light flashing on her cell phone when Ana woke up. Groggily, she reached over for it. She waited for her blurry eyes to clear enough to see what she was looking at. When she did she sat up and peeked over her bed to see if Sam was still there. He was sleeping with his mouth slightly open and his feet sticking out from under the blankets.
Ana checked the time. 6:30 AM would be a little early for Sam but she really wanted to see the message and didn't want to watch without him. She reached down and patted her older brother on his stomach. "Sammy."
Sam didn't respond. Ana rolled her eyes and shook him gently. "Sam. Wake up, Sammy." She was feeling impatient. She set her phone down and did a sort of leaping step so she could get out of bed without stepping on her brother. Then she squatted down next to him and shook him again. "Sam! Wake up. We got a message!"
Sam's mouth popped shut and he opened one eye. He was startled to see a face so close to his and started. "Holy crap, Ana! You gave me a heart attack."
Ana leaned back a bit. She chuckled. "Sorry, Sam. I didn't mean to scare you." He looked at her through half-closed eyes. She thought he may try to go back to sleep. "Sam! Don't sleep! We got a message!" Ana grabbed her phone off of her bed and held it in front of his face. It took a second to register but then Sam sat up. He moved close to his pillow and leaned against her bed. Then he patted the space beside him and Ana sat next to him. She held the phone sideways and opened the message.
The video took a while to load but then Ana and Sam could see the faces of their parents. There were trees in the background and Ana and Sam's mom was holding the camera. Her face looked tan and her dark hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail. Their dad was next to her and his green eyes twinkled. She was in scrubs and he had a button-down shirt worn open over a t-shirt. Their mom, Dr. Elizabeth Hiller, spoke first. "Hey Kids! We're on our way to a new village. We'll be there at least a few weeks. I am going to email you a map so you can see where we'll be. Right now we're staying the night in a little town called Le Bon Reve and look, they have relay set up. Kind of. We're gonna be pretty off the grid for a while when we leave here, so send us a message today if you can. We'll try and respond." Dr. Hiller looked at her husband.
John Hiller spoke to the camera. "We miss you kids. So much. We love you. Sam, we're so proud you made JV! You've worked so hard for it. Ana, We can't wait to see the video from your swim meet. You did so well, sweetheart!"
Dr. Hiller spoke again, "We love you," her voice sounded choked, "You two are the greatest kids we could have asked for."
John nodded vigorously. "We're so lucky to be your parents. We love you."
Their mom's eyes filled with tears. "We look forward to hearing from you. I promise we'll send another video as soon as we can. We sent some mail in the last shipment out so if you haven't gotten it, yet, you should soon. I love you, my babies! Give hugs to each other and Gran for me, K?"
Though she knew her parents couldn't see her, Ana nodded in response to her mom's request. She fought to keep swallowing back sobs. Her mom, a doctor, and her dad, a sanitation specialist, were far away in sub-Saharan Africa fighting the AIDS epidemic that was still so prominent there. They were on a year-long tour. There were still nearly five months left. She wanted to be proud that her parents were doing something so brave and selfless, and of course, she was, but mostly she just missed them. They were away from any centers of telecommunication for weeks at a time. Even now, while they were somewhere they could send messages out, the video had to go through a relay and there was no way to call. Even mail was seriously delayed since there was no mail service where they were. Letters and packages were taken in batches every week or so by an employee of the organization her parents worked with. They were taken from the small villages to a major urban center from where they could be mailed out of the country. It took weeks or months to send or receive mail.
It was faster to send email. Often they were without internet and when they did have it it was outdated and slow, think dial-up, but at least they could send messages. Pictures and videos were a treat, however.
In this morning's video, her parents told them they loved them several more times before they ended the recording. If Ana and Sam responded soon, her parents might still be near the relay station by the time the message got back to them. They didn't even bother to get dressed. Ana and Sam had a quick discussion about who would tell them what and what they would say. They had figured out months ago that the video got way too long if they didn't plan it out ahead of time.
Ana hit the record button on her phone and she and Sam took turns telling about their lives and telling their parents how much they loved and missed them. When they were done, Ana ended the recording and sent it. Sam collapsed against her. She put her arm over his shoulders and kissed his hair. It was emotionally draining to try to squeeze everything you wanted to tell your parents into a few minutes of video. They sat in silence for a long time.
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Vote if you've ever been too far away from someone you loved.
YOU ARE READING
The Dream Train
FantasyFourteen-year-old Ana and her sixteen-year-old brother, Sam, are lost in the woods, cold, tired, and hungry. Their only hope is an old train station in the woods. When a train stops at the station, they are sure they are saved. The train seems fa...
