Chapter Two
Springfield Train Station
“Lord, give me strength, give me patience, and please keep us both safe,” Poppy whispered quietly as she stared down the train tracks for the hundredth time, all the while holding Sophie’s hand in a tight grip.
She’d lost count how often she’d repeated it or how often she’d stared at the letter wherein a Mr. Neil Albright explained precisely when to go where and what train to take.
The train that would change her and Sophie’s lives forever.
It was a gray and windy day, and Poppy had to constantly make sure that Sophie’s bonnet remained securely fixed to her head and that her little coat stayed closed so she wouldn’t get cold.
They’d been standing there for almost an hour.
Poppy had left extra early this morning, and her little sister was getting impatient, but Poppy was scared to move from their spot for fear of missing the train’s departure.
After all, everything hinged on them boarding and leaving on that train.
Because they could never go back.
It had barely been two weeks since Poppy had sent in her first letter, answering that mail-order-bride ad Helena had shown her two days prior.
Things with Madam Marveau had escalated even more into her pressuring Poppy to work for her, so Poppy hadn’t seen any other option.
To her surprise, the advertiser had replied within four days, and once Poppy had filled out the paperwork and sent it back, Neil’s letter had arrived within a week, including all the necessary instructions.
Poppy had left Marveau Marvels without telling anybody other than Helena, so madam would be furious when she came to find out that Poppy was no longer there to clean the brothel’s common rooms for her.
However, that wasn’t the only reason why Poppy was so incredibly anxious.
With all its drapery, plush furnishing, and red velvet curtains hiding darkened rooms, Marveau Marvels may look lavish to the customers, but the cramped living spaces behind that facade had been insufferable at times.
The public was never privy of all the abuse and diseases that were sometimes rampant in that place.
But even though the brothel was a nasty place to live, it was the only home Poppy had ever known.
It was the only place she had memories with her mother.
Leaving all of it behind—on a blind whim—was just as terrifying.
She had never even left the neighborhood where the brothel was located, let alone the city.
Now she embarked on a trip halfway across the state.
Well, not entirely. It was merely three hours by train, but it felt like eternity.
The other thing that made Poppy extra nervous was the fact that she hadn’t told Neil about Sophie, and now she feared that he may reject her if he saw both of them.
He’d only sent her one train ticket, so Poppy had to scrape all her money together to buy a second one for Sophie.
Unfortunately, that had taken almost all of her savings, so if Neil sent them both away, the two of them would be stuck there.
She also didn’t know what to expect from the destination.
She couldn’t picture what everything there would look like, how it would feel to be there, if she’d like it or not.
Would there be mountains, forests, and streams, or would the landscape be barren and vastly sparse?
Would they live in or near a town, or would they live somewhere in the countryside, with no other human contact?
Would she have to work even harder than before? She had no idea.
Poppy’s head was spinning.
What terrified her the most was the fact that she didn’t know the man she was supposed to meet—the man she was supposed to marry!
She didn’t know how he would treat them, whether he was a nice Christian man, treating her respectfully with a good character and personality, or if he was the exact opposite.
She also had no idea what he looked like.
When she thought of all the different kind of men who had frequented the brothel—tall and short, hairy and bald, uptight and sweaty, lecherous and greedy—the possibilities were indeed endless.
Poppy hadn’t seen very many handsome gentlemen, so she didn’t have high hopes for this one either.
“Please, God! Give me strength, give me patience, and keep us both safe,” she whispered again. “And please let him be a good man, so I may like him.”
Sophie tugged at her hand, whining. She was clearly uncomfortable in this strange place, and on top of that, she was probably bored, tired, and hungry.
Unfortunately, Poppy had no money left to buy her anything, but Helena had packed them a little something for their travels, which they would enjoy once they’d boarded the train.
“I’m so sorry, sweetie!” she said to her little sister. “I know this is hard, but we have to wait just a little bit longer. I promise the train will come soon. All right?” Sophie’s little shoulders sank, but she nodded with a heavy sigh.
Making sure that everything was still there, Poppy looked at the small stack of papers clutched in her hand again. The crinkled mail-order ad, a note Helena had given her before she’d left, and the letter Neil had sent her.
Poppy cast another glance at his handwriting. It was cleanly written and bold, and his signature was comprised of large, sweeping letters. Did this mean that he was confident or arrogant? She had no idea. Poppy sighed heavily. Had she made a mistake?
Deep down, she knew that her mother would have wanted her to do this. She’d always told Poppy from an early age that she wanted a better life for her and then later also for Sophie, that she should trust in God and His plans for her and her sister.
“I wish I could talk to you, mom,” Poppy whispered with a shaky breath. “I miss you so very much right now!”
Sophie tugged at her hand, and when Poppy looked down at her little sister, she saw Sophie pointing at something with wide eyes. Poppy’s eyes followed to where she was pointing, and it was then that she heard the loud whistle of the heavy steam locomotive as it slowly approached the train station.
Poppy stared with wide eyes herself. She had never seen a train before, and that massive iron beast spewing black smoke out of a tall chimney—all the while whistling and making loud chugging noises with its huge steel beams across the wheels—was absolutely breathtaking and utterly terrifying.
Poppy suddenly realized that this thing had to be extremely dangerous with all that smoke and steam coming out everywhere, so she grabbed Sophie, lifted her up onto her hip, and kicked her small travel bag backwards as she stepped several steps back.
Her heart beat all the way into her throat, and she felt almost nauseous.
Once the train came to a complete halt, more steam was released from somewhere, creating an extremely loud hissing sound, which was interrupted by ringing bells and that blasted whistle again.
A man in a pristine dark blue uniform and a matching hat blew yet another shrill whistle before he proceeded to call out to the passengers to board the train, and the entire train platform came to life.
There were people everywhere, some getting off the train, others trying to board it.
Loud talking and yelling mixed in with all the other train noises and whistling, creating a cacophony of sound that threatened to disorient her.
Almost in a panic, Poppy held on to Sophie as she bent down to grab her bag. She ran toward the nearest open cabin door and rushed inside. It was surprising how many people traveled the same route. There were just as many passengers in the cabin than there were travelers outside of it.
Sophie tightly clung to her big sister as Poppy tried to squeeze through everybody else to find a seat for the two of them.
It took her a while, but suddenly a bench was vacated right in front of them, so Poppy sat down and put Sophie next to the window.
As hectic and chaotic as it had been mere minutes ago, everything calmed down.
Then the man in the uniform appeared in the narrow walkway between the benches.
“May I see your tickets, please!” he announced loudly to everyone inside this wagon. When it was her turn, Poppy handed the stern-looking man their two tickets and then watched nervously as he punched a hole in each one with a small handheld contraption before handing them back to her.
“Thank you, ma’am. Safe travels,” he said, tipping his hat and walking on to the next. Then there was more whistling again, and the train jolted violently as it began to move.
Poppy’s heart raced, and she immediately made sure the tickets were put back inside the letter, which she now kept inside her small satchel, dangling from her wrist. There was more jolting, more screeching metal sounds, but then the chugging sound of the pumping steam and smoke took over, and the movements of the train seemed to smooth out a little the more speed it gained.
Staring out of the window and realizing they were actually leaving the train station, Poppy swallowed hard. This was it. There was no turning back now.
As terrified as Poppy was, it surprised her to see Sophie so excited and happy.
The little girl had gotten up onto her seat and bravely stood directly in front of the window, staring outside with wide eyes and a big smile on her face.
Then Sophie tapped Poppy’s shoulder to make her look outside as well, pointing at all the buildings they saw moving past them faster and faster.
Poppy released a deep sigh and closed her eyes to pray, holding on to Sophie to make sure she wouldn’t fall.
“Heavenly Father! I trust in You to guide us on this journey away from everything we know into this brand new world. Please, protect us, help us, and show us the right way so we don’t fall prey to those wanting to harm the innocent. Amen.”