Traveling on a Train
By Penny
6th Grade ? Spring 2019

?Come on, Ancheli. Quick! The trains? are coming!? Mali shrieked at me, loudly.
Mali is my stepsister. I don?t like her. She?s already fifteen and a half but she can be really annoying. To be honest, I never listen to anything she says.

?Ok! I?m coming! Literally, stop being bossy. You?re not my boss anyways!? I shout back, walking through my kitchen floor and outside to the train station. I saw the train starting, about to go. I dashed as fast as I can to stop the driver.

?Oof! You almost lost the train, Ancheli!? Mom said, fake smiling.

She always fake smiles, even when I get good grades on exams. She?s never proud of me. Well, because she?s my stepmother and I never liked her. Right now, I really wanted to hit her right on her scar. While we were on the train, I felt sick, dizzy and got sick on the floor. The fat, American lady saw me and started shouting at me.

?Girl, you gotta stop this at once! That is very rude and disgusting for the people around you! Now clean that up or I?ll drop you off on the sidewalk. Quick. Now!? She roared into my ears.

I was terrified so I took a few pieces of tissue paper and quickly cleaned it up before she gets blames me again for cleaning it up too slowly. I peeked over to see my stepmother and my step sister and spotted them pretending to sleep on the train. I really don?t like being on the train but I had to cause I had no choice or if I didn?t go, I had to stay home alone for a week.

?Mali. Do you like traveling on a train? Because I really don?t, I just hate it. It?s painful and makes me feel sick and so dizzy.? I asked Mali.

?Well? Eh. It?s not that bad, I guess. I mean, I don?t feel sick or anything.? Mali answered, annoyed.

I all of a sudden felt like I had to choke again. But I tried not to and took a mouth full of water. I did not want to disgust that fat lady again. I did not want mom and Mali to laugh about my sickness too. Especially Mali, she always makes fun of me in front of her friends and my friends. Then, mom was staring at me like I was a dead chicken or something.

Wow, I didn?t know people could worse than my stepmom. I really want to go away and live with my father. I cannot stand this torture. I have to be on this train for another two whole hours! I wanna go to heaven to stay with my real mom now. I wish she was still alive. If she was, I would probably be at the beach or go shopping and have a peaceful and happy life right now. But right now, no one loves me. I have no family. I don?t consider Mali and stepmother as a family. What I consider as a family if the people who love me. Anyway, no one loves me apart from my heavenly mom that had past away many years ago. My real father doesn?t even love me or even cares about me. He doesn?t even want to meet me. All he wants to do is stay home and eat chips.

?Um. Mali? Do you like my dad?? I asked her. I wanted to know what she feels about dad.

?No. I don?t like him, I guess. I dunno. He?s okay? I don?t know why mom likes him so much. He?s just a guy with common sense? Like the other guys, I dunno. But dad can be really rude. He hates me for sure. He never says anything to me when I see him at the mall with my friends. He doesn?t actually like anyone. Not even mom. All he wants to do is stay home and eat chips, like what you said. Well, I guess I don?t really care about him.?

?Why would you ask such a thing?? She answered. Her thoughts are like mine.

?Uh? You know? I want to know what you think about dad too. I don?t like him either even when he?s my dad. Like dad ?dad.? I just feel like he?s not very outgoing? And he likes to live alone, peacefully.? I said.

Mali smiled at me. It was a real smile not like moms. It was the first time she had smiled at me like that. I feel cheerful inside and out. Feeling the first time someone gave love to me. Well, maybe Mali wasn?t that bad after all.

In the train, we chatted a lot. Mom didn?t hear us because she was asleep. Mali and I are building some kind of relationship. I am very happy for once out of a thousand times in my life. We talked face-to-face until we arrived at our destination. HAPPY. LOVED. CHEERFUL. TRUSTED. FAMILY. MALI. Finally, I had a mini family that trusted me and always cheered me up when I was fed up.

Since that day until now, twenty years have passed. Mali has been my family. We treated each other like a real sister. And always talk together everyday face-to-face without calling too much. Now my stepmother still lives with us. But she is very old now. She doesn?t have much affect in my life, so I feel like she has never been in my life. It?s like she already past away a long time ago. My father still never cared about us. And we never visited him again since that day. Even though I had a very small family, I still lived happily.

?Ancheli! Ancheli! Remember that day we visited your dad? And when we went on the train and you were so sick? It was actually fun even if you choked and that fat old lady blamed you for everything. You know that fat lady? She was actually mom?s mother, which was my grandmother. But, mom and I never talked to her since I was born. We ignored each other like we didn?t know each other. I don?t know why, but it just happened. And, by the way, am I your family now? Hahaha!? Mali giggled.

?Of course, Mali! You?re my only family. I have and you will always have me.? I said to her.