A Stranger on a Train

By I.P. Powers

"Barbara does the same thing every day and at the same time. She always rides the train on Wednesday at 4:45pm and she always eats the same meal afterwards.


To Barbara the train seems as if it has magical powers. Every good thing in her life has happened on this train. Maybe the train does have magical powers or maybe it's the magic from Barbara. All she knows is that every Wednesday she will be on this train, come rain or high water.


Hugo never does the same thing twice. He enjoys living on the edge and never knowing what to expect but every Wednesday at 6:45pm he is at Lemposte Station waiting to walk Barbara home. On Wednesday he knows exactly what to expect but he doesn't mind because he gets to walk home with Barbara.


Join Barbara on her train ride and see where her journey will take her. Will hers and Hugo's young love stand the test of time? Will they be together to the end of the line?"

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Oct 25, 2019
• ISBN: 9781543989830

Book preview

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ISBN: 9781543989830

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Author's Note

About the Author

Dedicated to 

Breck Allen Powers Jr. ~

You are my very own Hugo and my whole heart. 

Thank you for always waiting at the station for me. 

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Chapter 1:

Wednesday, November 2, 1983

Barbara took the same train every week, at the same hour, and in the same shoes… her yellow sneakers. She thought they were best for daydreaming. She listened to the same playlist and sat in the same seat, 43B, unless someone had gotten to it before her. She would ride the train to the end of the line and then wait and ride it back to her stop. She found that she was able to come up with her best ideas while daydreaming on the train. 

She had written the school play while daydreaming on this train.  She had written the letter for her dad to give to her mom that made her mom choose to stay while on this train. She wrote the application letter that got her into her dream college while on this train. She met her boyfriend of three years while on this train.  And she found a dog that became her faithful companion for many years while on this train. 

This train, she thought, maybe had magical powers or the steady speed and soothing sounds made her brain work at what seemed to be maximum power.  She didn’t really know what it was about this train but no matter what, she was always on this train on Wednesday at 4:45pm, regardless of the weather. 

Barbara chose Wednesday as her train day a long time ago because it gave her something to look forward to during the week. Monday wasn’t so hard when she was looking forward to Wednesday. 

This Wednesday was like every other Wednesday, Barbara was on time for the train and the train was on time for Barbara. As she boarded Barbara noticed the same well-dressed man she saw every Wednesday who sat across the aisle