The station

A grey, rattling train sat under the station roof, steam hissing like cold breath. The carriages were full of skeletons with empty eye sockets that caught the pale light as they moved and whispered. On the platform a small, grinning conductor checked tickets with bony fingers and waved the skeletons aboard. The clock ticked slowly, the whistle sighed, and the train pulled away into a silver fog, carrying its quiet, eerie passengers into the night.Coco was a small skeleton child with a bright ribbon tied to her skull, standing on the platform and watching the grey train with wide, empty eye sockets full of wonder; quiet and brave, she clutched a tiny, rattling suitcase and stepped aboard when the grinning conductor waved.Her mum stood by the station bench, a tall skeleton wrapped in a faded shawl, her bony hand resting gently on Coco’s shoulder; she smiled with a soft, patient tilt of her skull and tucked a tiny note into Coco’s suitcase before the train pulled away. "Keep your ribbon tied tight," she said, voice like dry leaves, "and don't forget to write home." Coco nodded, and her mum added, "I'll be on the platform when you come back," then stepped back as the whistle sighed.

Coco hugged her mum, who tucked a tiny note into her suitcase and smiled, then Coco tightened her ribbon, stepped onto the train when the conductor waved, and watched her mum stand on the platform until the whistle blew. Inside the carriage, skeleton passengers sat in rows, their hollow eyes catching the dim light as scarves and coats rustled; Coco saw a pocket watch ticking in an empty pocket, a faded photograph on a seat, and small skulls of children pressed to the glass, while the windows showed only silver fog and the platform shrinking away.

Coco was tying her ribbon when Cody stumbled down the aisle and his tin of marbles spilled across the floor. Lola bent over to help pick them up and tucked a dried flower behind Coco’s ribbon, smiling. Cody grinned and said, "Want one?" and Coco whispered, "Yes, please," as they found a window seat together, opened Lola’s faded map, and watched the silver fog slide past.