Walter is a professor at MIT. For more than a year, he has been taking the 5:22 pm train to Lincoln Station every day to go home. Every day, Walter would meet a woman on the platform. They waited for the train at the same station and got off at the same station. They would nod to each other every time, but never said a word. Walter noticed that the woman always had a colorful scarf wrapped around her head. He thought that the woman wrapped the scarf in a very unique way, just like people wrapping a bouquet of flowers.
One afternoon, a gust of wind blew on the train platform, and the woman’s scarf was suddenly blown up. In an instant, Walter saw that the woman had no left ear. The woman hurriedly threw down her handbag and shopping bag, and clumsily arranged the colorful scarf that was blown off. She raised her head suddenly, but met Walter’s rude gaze. Walter was very embarrassed and quickly moved his eyes away.
The following Monday, the woman did not show up on the platform, and Walter did not care much, because she also did not show up last year – two days, Walter remembered clearly. Suddenly, he suddenly thought that maybe the truth about her losing an ear was known to Walter, so she did not show up today. Walter thought that this woman was so shy, and he could not help but feel a little moved. He himself was also a thin-skinned man. Although he was forty-seven years old and wanted to get married, he had not married yet because he lacked the courage to move forward.
Then, a week, two weeks… the woman did not show up again, and Walter felt unprecedented melancholy. To be honest, Walter did not think that the woman was particularly attractive, because Walter had never spoken to her. If he was really interested in the woman, he would definitely try to say “hello” or “I hope you have a good day” and other chat-up words. However, after not seeing the woman for these days, Walter began to miss her strongly.
As time passed, the woman still did not show up, and Walter began to worry. He decided to ask the conductor Mel about the woman, because Mel knew a little about every passenger.
The conductor came and the passengers began to buy tickets. When Walter looked up from his seat and was about to ask Mel about the woman who had not appeared for a long time, he was surprised to see that it was another unfamiliar conductor.
Walter looked at the badge on the new conductor and knew that his name was Edward. Walter gave him three dollars and simply said “to Lincoln”, and then asked: “Why is Mel gone?”
Edward said: “Mel? I don’t know her.” Walter glanced at him and said: “Mel has been running this train for many years.” Edward handed Walter the ticket and said: “Well, no wonder, I have only been running this train for one day.” Walter asked: “Are you saying that you replaced Mel?” Edward shook his head and said: “I can’t say, I haven’t heard of Mel.” Walter stopped talking. Except for Mel, there was no one else who could inquire about the woman with only one ear, and Walter had no chance to continue asking.
Another Monday came, and Walter sat on the train as usual, waiting for the arrival of the conductor. This time, Walter decided to get to the bottom of Mel’s matter, because only by finding Mel could he ask him about the woman.
At this time, the conductor Edward came to Walter, humming a little tune and asked, “Where are you going?” There was no recognition in his eyes.
“Lincoln.” Walter said dissatisfiedly, he thought: If it was Mel, he would remember it the next day and there would be no need to ask again. Edward said indifferently: “It doesn’t stop at Lincoln Station.” Walter said in surprise: “This train has always stopped at Lincoln Station.”
“I don’t know what always,” Edward said, “I just know today. This train doesn’t stop at Lincoln Station today-this is what the driver told me himself.”
Walter got off the train helplessly, and he had to walk home. He walked alone, and the sky gradually darkened. He thought: The woman is gone, Mel is gone, and Lincoln Station is gone-what else in the world will not go away?
One day after get off work. Walter habitually came to the platform to wait for the train. He held the mood of giving it a try, hoping that the train would arrive at Lincoln Station at 5:22. Sure enough, the train arrived on time, and this time it was indeed Lincoln Station. Walter happily got on the train and sat in his familiar seat. Suddenly he heard a familiar voice: “Where are you going today, old friend?” Walter almost jumped up. He turned his head and saw Mel. Walter excitedly grabbed Mel and asked: “Mel, where have you been?” The old conductor replied: “Oh, I went to participate in retraining. They let us learn once every few years. You know, a train crashed in the west, and they quickly asked everyone to attend the emergency training class. What happened, what do you think happened?” Walter shook his head and said: “I can’t tell, you suddenly disappeared.” Mel smiled and said: “This is what happens on the railway. They never notify in advance. You should go to Lincoln Station, I think.” Walter nodded excitedly. After the train left for one station, several passengers got off. Walter watched them walk across the platform and slowly leave. The train started moving again. At this time, he noticed that someone was about to sit on the edge of his seat. Walter turned around and was surprised to see that it was the woman with only one ear. The woman smiled apologetically and said, “Sorry to bother you! The train is too crowded today.”
“No, it’s okay. There’s space.” Walter said as he moved his body inside to make some room for the woman. The woman leaned in, and Walter smelled the elegant and intoxicating fragrance of some kind of perfume on the woman. He said, “It’s nice to see you again!”
The woman nodded kindly, then she reached under her chin and began to untie the knot of the colorful headscarf. What was she going to do? Walter quickly moved his eyes away to avoid seeing the secret of her only one ear again. However, Walter’s peripheral vision swept over and saw that the woman took the scarf off her head and folded it neatly on her legs.
Walter couldn’t help but look at the woman: on the left side of her face was a complete pink ear, with a smooth and round curve on the top and a well-branched earlobe at the bottom. Walter thought the ear was really magical, as if it was sewn by a pair of miniature hands. Only the woman herself knew best that she had this ear repaired by plastic surgery so that she could confidently start dating Walter. In fact, she had fallen in love with Walter a long time ago…
At this time, the woman deliberately put a few strands of scattered hair behind her ears, intending to let Walter notice her repaired ear. Walter smiled at her action. The woman also smiled at Walter. Asked: “Are you getting off at Lincoln Station?” Walter said happily: “Yes, or…why don’t we go together today?”
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