The toy train

Prompt: Every morning it was the same thing for Martin Hedger. He had put on a pot of coffee and get dressed as he waited for the coffee to brew. But today, things would be different.

The toy train

Every morning it was the same thing for Martin Hedger. He had put on a pot of coffee and get dressed as he waited for the coffee to brew. But today, things would be different. His son, Kevin was visiting him after twenty years.

Kevin had left home after he lost his mother in a car crash. Martin, had been unable to hold him back. "There is nothing left for me in this house," he had told his father the night before he left for Australia to do college.

Martin had not protested as he knew he had little in common with his son. Kevin had been their only child and while Martin, a marine engineer, was always at sea, his wife Julia took care of him. The brief vacations that he took with his family were nothing to write home about. Martin seemed to be restless and bored, the sea being his first and only love.

The old man, had been skeptical when he received a cable from his son that he and his family were visiting him in a week. The house in which Kevin grew up stood neglected. Julia had been a perfect housewife but Martin after her death had been least interested in the upkeep of the house. The curtains were faded, furniture unpolished and rugs were in tatters.

Suddenly Martin felt helpless. He had no energy to do anything. The doctor had repeatedly told him to keep a check on his alcohol intake, eat at regular hours and go for walks. Martin had done nothing about it. His unshaven look made him look like a hermit.

Kevin arrived early morning with his pretty wife Jennifer, and five-year-old son, John, as he had indicated in the cable. Both father and son looked at each other confused not knowing what to say.

The disheveled state of the house had brought a frown on Kevin's face. "You knew we were coming and bringing along our son. Couldn't you get the house swept and dusted," he remarked angrily. Martin did not react immediately. "I am an old man, I just about manage my life. You have come after twenty years. It is a long time," he said softly.

Kevin saw his father's eyes brimming with tears and for a moment felt guilty. "Don't cry dad. You never wanted me here. I wrote to you several times but you were always sailing. I did not know you had retired until a month back when I met uncle Patrick, your old colleague," consoled Kevin.

Jennifer, had withdrawn quietly from the father-son duo and decided to make herself busy in the kitchen. As for John, it was an interesting house. Perfect place for a game of treasure hunt. He was sure none of his friends would find what he hid in a mess like this. He was excited as he climbed upstairs and checked-out every room.

The small room with the bunk-bed and un-painted walls was quite fascinating . The wall paper had peeled off but there were still remains of cartoon characters on the walls. Sitting in dust under the bed was a toy train. John excitedly pulled it out, pressed a few buttons, and to his surprise the train jerked into motion and made a sound like a whistle.

Martin, Kevin and Jennifer ran up on hearing the sound, fearing something had broken. Martin rubbed his eyes at the picture before his eyes. The boy kneeling beside the train was his little son Kevin.

He remembered he had got the toy train for Kevin and before they could assemble the track, he had got orders to leave with the ship. For a second his son's disappointed and sad face flashed before his eyes. Kevin never played with the toy train again and it lay abandoned in one corner of the room.

In the emotional encounter with his son, he had not noticed his grand-son, John. Martin smiled at the boy, knelt beside him, unmindful of the dust on the floor, and started building the track he had left unfinished. He knew this was his last chance to ensure that the track was restored, for the train to run smoothly, despite lying neglected for so many years.