If you’ve ever been to a small town, you can probably imagine what Carlock, Illinois, is like. The streets are small, and the trees are tall. There is grass on every block (if you can even call them that) and dogs and cats roam the streets.
The only businesses in the town are located on the main strip of town. One of these buildings is the Little Red Diner. This is where we find Kurtis May, a man who in his short time of existence, has not had the best life.
“How are you today, Kurt?” asked the the man behind the counter.
“I guess I’m as good as anyone could be in this situation,” replied Kurt.
“I’m sorry again about your parents. The whole town is praying for you.”
“Thank you, Jim. I have been doing a lot of thinking since the fire. You know, everyone has their dreams. My dad always wanted to have a tobacco shop in some big city. Mom always wanted to go to the ocean. But because of that damn fire they will never have those dreams come true.”
“It’s okay, Kurt. None of that is your fault.” reasoned Jim.
“Yes, I know. But think about it. Now that my folks are in the ground , what have I got here? I’m twenty-two years old, and up until a week ago I was living with my parents,” said Kurt.
“What are you trying to say?” questioned Jim.
“I think it is time for me to leave, Jim. Not just this diner. Not just this town. I want to get away, far away. I’m going to chase some dreams before I lose the chance to make them happen,” said Kurt.
“What are you going to do?” asked Jim.
“Well...,” thought Kurt. “I’m gonna play guitar. I think New York would be fun.”
As Kurt sat on the train, he had done a lot of thinking. He thought about his past. He thought about all the Christmas mornings that he had had with his parents. He thought about their family trips and the weekends they spent fishing together back in Illinois. He lost them only two weeks ago, and he already feltlike it all happened a lifetime ago.
The only businesses in the town are located on the main strip of town. One of these buildings is the Little Red Diner. This is where we find Kurtis May, a man who in his short time of existence, has not had the best life.
“How are you today, Kurt?” asked the the man behind the counter.
“I guess I’m as good as anyone could be in this situation,” replied Kurt.
“I’m sorry again about your parents. The whole town is praying for you.”
“Thank you, Jim. I have been doing a lot of thinking since the fire. You know, everyone has their dreams. My dad always wanted to have a tobacco shop in some big city. Mom always wanted to go to the ocean. But because of that damn fire they will never have those dreams come true.”
“It’s okay, Kurt. None of that is your fault.” reasoned Jim.
“Yes, I know. But think about it. Now that my folks are in the ground , what have I got here? I’m twenty-two years old, and up until a week ago I was living with my parents,” said Kurt.
“What are you trying to say?” questioned Jim.
“I think it is time for me to leave, Jim. Not just this diner. Not just this town. I want to get away, far away. I’m going to chase some dreams before I lose the chance to make them happen,” said Kurt.
“What are you going to do?” asked Jim.
“Well...,” thought Kurt. “I’m gonna play guitar. I think New York would be fun.”
As Kurt sat on the train, he had done a lot of thinking. He thought about his past. He thought about all the Christmas mornings that he had had with his parents. He thought about their family trips and the weekends they spent fishing together back in Illinois. He lost them only two weeks ago, and he already feltlike it all happened a lifetime ago.
Kurt also thought about his future.
What am I going to do when I get there? I guess maybe I should have put a little more thought into this before packing up and leaving. It’ll be alright, though. No one is left to miss me back home. Hmm...home. I don’t even have a home any more. That damn fire. It took everything I had. My house, my dog, my parents...the only thing I have left is my dreams. I had to do this. No matter what --I can’t forget that. This is all I have left.
Kurt looked over at the girl sitting next to him. She was a pretty thing with dark curly hair and big blue eyes. He thought for a minute and spoke to her.
“What is someone like you doing riding this train by yourself?” asked Kurt.
The girl looked at him and said, “Someone like me?”
“Well...I was just thinking you are way too beautiful to be all alone,” replied Kurt.
The girl smiled and looked him in the eyes. “Very smooth, stranger. I’m going to New York. My ex-boyfriend did me wrong back home. I just couldn’t deal with it anymore. So I left. Wow...I guess I didn’t really need to tell you my life story.”
Kurt replied quickly, “It’s okay. Sometimes you need to get things off your chest.”
“So where are you headed?” asked the girl.
Kurt answered, “New York. Since we’re sharing life stories I can fill you in. My parents died in a fire a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t have anything left in Carlock. So I left. Now I’m going to find...well I’m not sure exactly.”
“I’m so sorry,” said the girl with a thoughtful look.
“It’s okay. I’m not looking for pity. But anyways...my name is Kurtis May. Please, call me Kurt. What’s your name?” asked Kurt.
“Adeline Fair,” answered the girl with dark hair. And then with her big smile she added, “But please, call me Addy.”
And so Addy and Kurt were together in their trip to find something new, at least for the rest of the train ride. They enjoyed having some company for a bit of a change. They had both spent so much time in their own heads they almost forgot about the rest of the world.
The two of them laughed and talked and laughed some more. They talked until late that evening until they both fell asleep in their chairs. As the train rolled on, so did Kurt’s dreams. He had been having dreams about his parents every night for the past few weeks. He didn’t mind, though. It was the only place he could visit with them anymore.
The next morning the sun shone through the curtains on Kurt’s window. The rays lit up his eyes and he woke up, reluctantly. This was a good thing because he heard an announcement over the intercom of the train saying that the train would be arriving in New York in about ten minutes.
Kurt glanced over to the seat next to him only to find it empty. He remembered the girl that he had talked to most of the night.
“Where did she go?” he thought to himself. “Maybe it would be better like this anyway.”
Kurt used the rest of his time to prepare himself for the city. He checked his pockets and made sure everything was in place. He took his bags down from the overhead and got ready to get off the train.
As the train finally rolled its last inch, the people in the train all started moving at the same time. It was a little crazy but Kurt took his time. He was new to the city so let everyone else go first. After making his way through the train, Kurt stepped off into the dimly lit station. He followed the group of hurrying people into the station.
Grand Central Station. To Kurt, it felt like something straight out of a movie. All the confusion, all the moving, all the noise. It was exactly how the movies make it seem. Kurt rolled his bag on the floor and carried his guitar in his left hand. His right hand was his strong arm and he wanted to keep it free just in case. Being from a small town, he had heard lots of bad stories about bad people from the big city.
Kurt felt like it took forever for him to navigate the passageways of the station. After an endless amount of faces and stairs, he finally saw the doors that led to the street. Kurt fought his way up the last few steps and opened the door to the street. He finally made it. Kurt May made it to New York.
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