The first time Nathan saw her, she was standing at the edge of the train platform, staring at the tracks as if listening for something beyond the rails. The second time, she was in the same spot, at the same hour, as if she had never left. The third time, he spoke to her.
"Waiting for someone?" he asked.
She turned, and for a moment, Nathan felt a strange familiarity in her deep brown eyes, though he was sure they had never met.
"Not someone. Something," she said.
He smirked. "The train?"
She shook her head. "A moment."
Nathan glanced at his watch. 6:37 PM. The train always arrived at 6:38. "A moment for what?"
She studied him for a long time before answering. "To choose."
"Choose what?"
Before she could respond, the train roared into the station. But as it did, a coin slipped from her fingers, rolling toward the edge of the platform. Without thinking, Nathan lunged to stop it before it fell onto the tracks. The moment he grabbed it, everything, every sound, every movement, froze.
The train hung in the air, motionless. The people around them were frozen mid-step. Even the wind had stilled.
Only she remained unchanged.
Nathan staggered back, heart pounding. "What is this?"
She knelt and picked up the coin from his trembling hand. "A pause. A choice."
He looked around wildly. "What's happening?"
She studied him, then pressed the coin into his palm. "This moment was always coming, Nathan. You just didn't know it yet."
"How do you know my name?"
She only smiled. "Because I've been here before."
"Before? What are you talking about?"
"You've made this choice before. And you will again."
Nathan's mind raced. "What choice?"
She pointed to the train, still hanging in midair. "Get on, and everything continues as it should. Stay, and everything changes."
Nathan felt the weight of the coin in his palm. It was worn, smooth, too smooth, as if touched by time itself.
"What happens if I stay?" he asked.
"You'll find out. Or maybe you already have."
He felt dizzy. "Is this fate? Or am I choosing?"
Her expression softened. "Does it matter?"
Nathan looked at the frozen world around him, at the coin in his hand, at the waiting train. He could swear he had lived this moment before, though he had no memory of it.
His fingers curled around the coin.
The train horn blared.
And time moved forward.