Subway Snafu – Copy

“Wake up, Emmy! It’s time to get ready!” Rose exclaimed as she climbed down the bunk bed ladder two steps at a time. She started to wildly shake her sister’s leg which was sticking out over the side of the bed.

“Hey! Stop that!” muttered Emmy. Rose continued to shake so Emmy started shaking her leg right back trying to get away.

“Okay, I’m awake, Rose. You can knock it off now.”

Rose barely heard her. She was already out of the room and racing down the stairs.

“Momma! Grandmar! We’re up! You can start braiding our hair now!”

Rose and Emmy had long chestnut brown hair that reached all the way down to their waists. Momma would never let them leave the house before she had brushed their hair and had weaved two long braids tied at the ends with colorful satin ribbons.

“Sit still Rose. I can’t do anything with all that fidgeting.” Momma stroked her long hair softly with the brush. Rose settled down and began to ponder the future of the day.

It had finally arrived. Her special day. Every year, usually at Easter time, Grandmar would take Rose into New York City to see the show at Radio City Music Hall. Usually it was just the two of them, but sometimes her little sister, Emmaline, would come along. She loved these trips. She loved everything about them. Momma would buy her a special dress and sometimes she’d even buy her a new coat, hat and shoes. Grandmar always got her fancy crinoline slips with horsehair in them. The slips were white with layers of lace and satin. The horsehair made them stand out at the bottom to keep the skirt nice and full.

They’d come in a big box filled with tissue paper. The box was from a city store with an elegant foreign sounding name. Rose always felt like she was unwrapping an evening gown or a fancy negligee right out of the old movies she loved to watch on television. This year Grandmar had decided to take both Rose and her little sister.

“That doesn’t bother me,” thought Rose. “I don’t mind sharing the day with Emmy. I’m ten and she’s eight and a half. Kinda like my built-in playmate. We fight a lot, but she’s okay, I guess. I’m the big sister and Emmy always listens to me, which is more than I can say about me!”

“There. You’re done,” said Mommma as she turned Rose around to inspect her work. Last night, after Rose had taken her bath, her mother had curled the ends of her braids with rags. This morning they were bouquets of curls.

“Emmy, you’re up. Roselyn, you go upstairs and get dressed.” Rose flew out the door almost crashing into Grandmar on the way.

“Slow down, little flower, the city will wait for us,” Grandmar said with a chuckle.

Rose put on her new slip, making sure she didn’t muss her hair. She slipped on her matching socks and shoes. Finally she stuffed a hanky into her little patent leather pocketbook and placed a velvet beret on her head, tilting it slightly to the side. With a nod of satisfaction she grabbed her spring coat and rushed toward the stairs. Once more she almost ran someone down. This time it was her father.

“Whoa!” said Pop. “Let’s have a look at my Puffy Rose.” This was Rose’s nickname her father had given her when she was just a toddler. “Wow, you look grand. Kinda’ reminds me of how your mother looked when I was courtin her.”  Everything reminds Pop of the ‘courtin’ days thought Rose thought to herself.

Emmy came out to join them by the stairs. Rose noticed that Emmy was wearing Rose’s pearl necklace. Normally this would not do, but today was different. This was such a special day and it was easy to be nice to her sister. Rose loved this bright sunny day filled with expectation and adventure. It was as shiny and new as her patent leather shoes.

“Take good care of your sister, Rose, and for heaven’s sake, listen to Grandmar.” Momma waved goodbye.

“I promise, Momma.” Rose grabbed her sister’s hand and made a vow to herself. “No matter what, I will listen to everything Grandmar says and I will pay attention.”

Rose had a tendency to race through things. Her parents were always telling her that she needed to slow down and listen. Her teachers were always telling her the same thing. Only yesterday her teacher, Mrs. Beiswanger, had told her to clear the cobwebs out of her ears and follow directions the next time. Every time she turned around it seemed she was making a mistake because she was either too fast or she didn’t listen.

“Not today, no siree,” she said aloud to herself with determination. “Today I am the picture of perfect behavior and attention.”

The bus slowly made its way toward the big city, stopping from time to time to let people get on or off. Rose’s favorite part of the ride was just before they got to the Lincoln Tunnel. The bus zoomed down a steep road and suddenly the Hudson River appeared. The river was wide and almost looked like a sheet of blue grey slate, except that the tugboats and ships were moving along like little snails leaving white foam trails. Across the river was the city. The New York City skyline with its many many buildings all climbing toward the sky was as breathtaking and majestic as anything Rose had ever seen and she never tired of its grandeur. The bus curved around the hill until they entered the darkness of the tunnel and they crossed the river underground.

When they arrived at the Port Authority Bus terminal Grandmar gathered them up by the hand and headed through the station toward the subway.

“Look Emmy!” cried Rose pointing down to the lower level of the giant terminal. The people below looked like little wind-up dolls scurrying ever which way in an endless dance. The busy place was gigantic in size, one city block in length and width.

“Where are they all going? How do they keep from getting lost?” she asked herself aloud.

“Don’t you worry about that,” said Grandmar. “Just grab hold of Emmy’s hand and don’t let go of mine. And whatever you do, don’t forget to listen to me and for goodness sake don’t rush off somewhere.”

Rose sighed and did what she was told. Down they went beneath the ground. Grandmar bought the tokens and they pushed through the turnstiles onto the platform. Waiting for the train, Emmy and Rose stood a comfortable distance from the edge. The tracks were frightening and dangerous to them and they certainly didn’t want to fall in. There were indentations in the opposite wall that could fit a person if he stood perfectly still and kept back. This was in case someone was on the tracks below and a train arrived unexpectedly.

“I don’t ever want to have to use one of those,” said Emmy with terror in her voice.

Rose and Emmy drifted away from Grandmar and were peering into the dark abyss of the tunnel with quiet awe. “Girls, don’t get separated from me. It gets busy and crowded when the train comes in. Are you listening to me, Rose?”

Rose was gazing into the darkness and had a trance-like stare on her face. Emmy began to tug at her hand and tried to pull her big sister back toward Grandmar.  Suddenly a train came screaming out of the black hole with a deafening roar. In a matter of seconds it screeched to a halt in front of them. The doors opened and a wave of people came spilling out.

“Come on, Emmy. Let’s hurry. We want to get a good seat.” exclaimed Rose as she pulled her little sister onto the train. People were still pushing their way out and lots of people were trying to get in. Rose and Emmy found two empty seats and jumped at them. They knelt backwards so they could look out the window.

“Clear the doors,” shouted a crackling voice over the loudspeaker.

“Rosie, look!” cried Emmy. She pointed out the window. Rose could not control the feeling of fear on her face and felt a terrible pain in her stomach like someone had just kicked her. She could see out the window that Grandmar was not on board. She was almost there, pushing and trying to get past the mass of exiting passengers. All at once the doors slid shut leaving Grandmar looking in and the girls looking out. It was crowded, but they could see one another.

Grandmar shouted, “Oh, dear!”

The girls yelled out , “Grandmar!”  The people all around Rose and Emmy started to realize what was happening and they started to shout too.

“Stop the train!  Stop the train!”

“These children are separated from their Grandmother!”

“Oh, you poor little girls!”

They said all sorts of other things but Rose was no longer listening. She and Emmy watched Grandmar get smaller and smaller until the train entered the darkness of the underground tunnel and Grandmar could be seen no more.

We’re in a fine mess now, thought Rose. It’s all my fault. I didn’t listen to Grandmar and I rushed off on my own and dragged Emmy with me!. Poor Grandmar, what will she do without us? How on earth do we get back to her?

“Grandmar is all alone. She must be so sad,” whispered Emmy. She didn’t cry. She didn’t suck her thumb. She just kept her big brown eyes wide open and looked just like the little brown bunny that she was nicknamed for.

While the two girls stared miserably out into the darkness a plan was devised by the scores of people around them. It was decided they were to take the next train back to Grandmar.

The train stopped and a nice man and lady gently urged and pushed the girls though the doors. Rose and Emmy held each other’s hands tightly as they followed the adults. They climbed up stairs that wound around and around and then climbed down a lot more. Finally they came to stand on yet another platform where they waited quietly for the next train back to the station where they’d begun — just one stop before this one.

As their train was barreling into the station, the kind-hearted strangers repeated to  Rose and Emmy:

“Get on this train and get off at the next stop.”

“The next stop and don’t talk to anyone.”

“Don’t worry, just get off at the next stop.”

The girls stood by the door as it shut and then pressed their noses to the glass window. They never took their heads away. They looked and looked as they were swept along in the darkness. At last the station appeared and the train began to slow. Rose turned and stretched her neck and held her hands together above her eyes as she strained to catch sight of Grandmar. As the train came to a stop, Rose spotted her.

“There she is! I see her! It’s Grandmar!”

“I see her too!” said Emmy.

Grandmar hadn’t seen her little babies yet. She was trying to look into every car window as it passed so she could catch sight of her precious missing cargo. Her face was lined with worry and fear. Then she saw them. Her face lit up into a wide smile and she put her gloved hand softly up to her heart. Her head went down for a moment and then came quickly up to smile again into the window. Rose and Emmy waved and cried out hello. When the door opened they leaped into her arms. Grandmar was unusually quiet and her eyes were especially bright but she listened to everything and just told the girls that she knew they were smart enough to handle the situation.

“How did you know to wait for us, Grandmar?” asked Emmy as they headed to the stairs and the beckoning daylight above.

“Oh, some nice people on the train yelled out to me as the train was leaving the station.  They told me to stay put and that they’d put you on the next train back here.  That’s just what I did. I listened and stayed right where I was. I did just as I was told.” She then looked straight at Rose.

“I’m sorry, Grandmar,” Rose said with a lump in her throat. “If I had listened to you and hadn’t rushed off this would never have happened.”

“That’s true, precious one, but if it weren’t for you listening so well to the folks on the train and following their directions, who knows what could have happened? You’ve learned a valuable lesson today and I’m proud of you for remaining calm and taking care of your sister. Imagine, my two little girls . . . lost in the subways of New York City!I   don’t know about you girls, but all of a sudden I’m in the mood for walking How ’bout it?”

With that they all laughed and hugged one another. They climbed the stairs to emerge into the sun and merrily headed toward Radio City Music Hall where, with a little luck, another adventure was waiting

Strange Birds in a Strange Land