Arriving at the Centre of the Universe
I was merely one hour away from the centre of the universe. After an understandably long and at times tiresome voyage, my only objective at that moment was to make a beeline for the finish. I’d sit back comfortably, coffee in hand, and enjoy the otherworldly vistas unfolding all around me. But it wasn’t meant to be this easy, right? Alas, out of all possible routes leading to the very essence of time, space, and reality itself, I had picked the one passing through the southern French town of Narbonne.
Crikey. But it gets worse, as I had less than two minutes to change trains there, or else I’d be stuck for what must feel like light years on those empty overgrown platforms constituting the town’s railway station. As one would expect, just as my train was slowing down for its approach, its wheels came to an abrupt halt. Nervous passengers began to assemble at the doorways, and I tacitly accepted my fate for the next few hours, still not entirely convinced that hanging near the doors and half-quietly mumbling what I suppose were French cuss words could make the train move again. A few nail-biting moments later, however, I was proven very wrong. Quel miracle! The buzzing hum of the engine was back, and so were my chances of reaching the centre of the universe in time for dinner.
Spoken too soon. Once I had disembarked on the main platform, I instantly sprang towards the train waiting on its opposite side, only to stop in my tracks (!) as soon as I saw the word Toulouse displayed on it. Toulouse is very much not the centre of the universe, that I knew. Rather ignorantly, I had assumed there would be no other trains leaving the station bar my next one, but there was no time to dwell on this slight miscalculation. A quick glance at the departure board showed the train I was after would leave from platform E, and I began following the signs.
Naturally, it turned out to be the furthest and most isolated platform in the entire station, and reaching it involved a few dozen meters of sprinting followed by a dive in an underpass. Despite being severely slowed by my backpack, I nevertheless persevered, almost gasping for breath by the time I had climbed out from the creepy underworld onto platform E, with a comically short and ominously red train awaiting to take me to the centre of the universe. Just as I was getting on, I heard the alarm and I felt the closing doors gently push me into the other passengers.
Not long after, finally underway, the driver announced: ‘Mesdames et Messieurs, welcome aboard this service to Perpignan’.
To be continued…
