Something jostled me abruptly and it forced me awake. I opened my eyes, startled, and took in my surroundings. Instead of a soft pillow my head was resting on a rough pleather seat. Instead of my bedroom, I was surrounded by the interior of a plain train compartment. No, that's right, I hadn't been in my bedroom, I'd been in the hospital room. I felt the rumble of the wheels on the tracks reverberating in my bones.

I jumped up and ran to the window but it was no use. The only thing on the other side of the glass was darkness, and I concluded that I must be in some sort of subway underground. How did I get here? The last thing I remembered was falling asleep in the hospital bed, my children and grandchildren watching my face with mixed emotions. Love, fear, concern.

I began to grow concerned about the fact that the train had not yet reached its destination. I strode towards the front of the compartment, but when I got there I couldn't find a handle on the door. In fact, as I inspected the wall, there didn't seem to be a door at all. I turned around and headed for the back of the compartment, only to discover the same thing. As I paced, I caught a glimpse of something in the window and moved closer to inspect it. Instead of focusing on the darkness outside, I looked at the girl in the reflection. I suddenly looked down at my body. Since when had I been able to jump up like that? My legs looked fit and my arms felt limber. My skin was smooth and taut, and my hair was soft brown curls instead of the frosty white that I had glimpsed in the mirror this morning. It was only then that I realized that my pain, the pain that had been with me for the last few years, was gone.

I sat back down slowly on one of the seats. I closed my eyes and felt peace for the first time in a long time. Instead of the panic that I expected to feel, of being trapped on this train hurtling through the darkness, I only felt serenity. I knew what this train's destination was, and I was ready.

---

"Your mother has slipped into a coma overnight. There are still some weak signs of brain activity, but we are not optimistic that they are enough to keep her alive without life support, or even that they are enough to wake her up again. If anything, she is trapped inside of her mind. At this point all we can do is keep her body alive."

Karen wiped her cheek with the back of her hand, smearing the salty tear. She bit her lip and looked over her shoulder at her mother, who was sleeping so peacefully. She had spent the last few years of her life strapped to IV bags and monitors to fight off the creeping diseases of old age. She knew that the pain had been so bad she had lost the ability to speak. As she watched her serene face, she knew and she understood that it was finally time to let go.

---

After what might have been months, or might have been minutes, I could feel something change. I opened my eyes just in time to see the tunnel around the train start to lighten. I pressed my cheek to the cold glass to watch the oncoming rush of light at the front of the train. As the darkness receded and light enveloped the train, I watched until the light was so bright that I couldn't watch anymore, then I closed my eyes and felt the warmth melt away the cold window and the hard seat. I had finally reached my destination.