The Girl on the Tracks

It is the 19th century, on a cold and dark night. Laura, a young girl is hiding in a closest from her father, who has come home drunk again. He bursts into her room. She screams. He grabs her by her hair and pulls her from the room.

She grabs the nearest object – a heavy candlestick – and brings it down on her father’s head. He staggers, and falls down the stairs.

Laura screams. She runs down the stairs, but her father is dead. She is a murderer!

At that moment, she hears the whistle of the circus train. Without a second thought, she flees the house, wearing only her night gown, and runs across the fields to the tracks. She arrives just as the circus train rounds the bend. She stands in the middle of the tracks, unafraid of death.

The train driver sees her and slams on the train’s brakes. The wheels lock and the train skids towards her, coming to a halt only inches from her body.

“What is the meaning of this?” the circus master says as he jumps from the train. But he sees her, gathers her into his arms and leads her into the train.

She has fled from danger – but the danger she faces will be even greater.