It works every time. I hop on the train at the last minute. I'm very tired. I spent the day doing something very important. In 2010, it's been a book tour. The day was exhausting and the next day promises to deliver an equally punishing schedules. There are two scenarios. Or I spent the night meeting important people or I spent the day doing some random PR activities.
In the first scenario, it's six or seven in the morning and I can barely keep my eyes opened. It's a sunny and warm June morning and the train starts, for a lengthy trip. I take a quick bite at the restaurant and head up to the wagon-bed. I love this. The train moves forward, no matter what direction I go. Rays of light penetrate the wagon and illuminate the isle with a surreal light. In the wagon bed, the curtain are closed and it's almost pitch black. I find a bed and I lie down on it. It's a huge bed, so sometimes Josie is there. Even Scarlett. Through a crack in the curtain, a ray of sunlight warms up my neck. The train brings me somewhere else and I fall asleep.
The night scenario is similar, but not identical. It's midnight. Maybe even passed that. The rain is pouring outside. Electric storm. You can hear the thunder, the light roar and the subtle clang of the rain against the roof. There also, I decide to take a quick bite. Something quick and satisfying, like a pizza slice. I go to bed in the wagon, but this time I go under the bedsheets because it's cold. I close my eyes and concentrate on the rain. The train brings me somewhere else. It's not important where. Then I fall asleep.
I have never taken the train in my life, but I've been suffering from insomnia for as long as I can remember being alive. Trains help me falling asleep. I can't tell you why, but they do.
