Frequently Asked Questions
The Elsewhere Express
Passenger Handbook
Raya
Both of Raya’s parents suffered from hypertension, and she had always known that it was just a matter of time before genetics caught up with her artery walls. She did not, however, expect it to happen this soon. Still, it seemed that death was here, and she was grateful that her passing had been painless and quick. It was far more than she deserved.
Lily motioned to a velvet couch. “Perhaps you should sit down.”
Raya gripped the seat’s carved arm and lowered herself into the plush, green cushion, barely able to hear the woman over the blood pounding in her ears.
“Can I get you some water?” Lily offered.
Raya fixed her eyes on the looping marquetry design on the floor, a crisscrossing knot without a beginning or an end. It was, she thought, a fitting symbol for an afterlife she did not believe in until now. “How did it happen?”
“How did what happen?” Lily took a seat across from her.
“How did I die? Was it a stroke?”
“Oh. No, no. You misunderstand.” A bemused smile teased the corners of Lily’s mouth. “You aren’t dead.”
“I’m not?” Raya winced, hating that she sounded disappointed. “But you said that I floated away from my life.”
“You did, but not because you died. You drifted away because you were too light.”
Raya squeezed her eyes shut, rubbing her temples. “None of this makes any sense.”
“And yet here you are.” Lily laced her gloved hands over her lap.
“Where is ‘here’?” Raya threw a glance at the train car’s windows. Thick black curtains, embroidered with the same pattern of golden knots as the design on the floor, hid the view.
“As I said,” Lily stated with a practiced patience, “you’re on the Elsewhere Express.”
Raya pushed herself off the couch. “There’s been a mistake. I’m not supposed to be here.”
Lily nodded. “I understand.”
“You do?”
“Completely. I’ve been doing this job for a very long time. I’ve met many passengers who insisted that they didn’t belong here. Like you, they were convinced that they had a purpose too.What do you do? What do you want to be? What are your plans for the future?The Elsewhere Express is full of people who whipped out answers to these questions like some form of identification, believing this was proof that the train had mixed them up with someone else. But purpose has little to do with ‘what’ and everything to do with ‘why,’ don’t you think?”
“I’ll tell you what I think.” Raya gripped her tote’s straps, digging her fingernails into her palm. “I think that if you don’t let me off right now, I’m going to—”
“You missed something.” Lily reached beneath the emerald couch. She stood up, a purple notebook in her hand. Raya snatched it from her.
Raya had not opened the notebook since Jace died, but she could not bear to discard her old songs. A piece of rectangular black paper stuck out from between its pages and brushed the side of her thumb. She tugged it free. Shimmering gold ink swirled over it like oil in water and twisted into intersecting loops. “It…it’s moving.”
“It’s called the eternal knot.” Lily pointed to the identical design embroidered onto her blazer’s breast pocket. “It’s the train’s symbol. You’ll find it all around the Elsewhere Express. Floors. Curtains. Tableware. Linens.” Her gaze fell on the piece of paper in Raya’s hand. “Train tickets.”
Raya’s fingers trembled over the twisting knot. Beneath it, elegant letters twinkled like stars and spelled out her name in gold. A simpler font printed along the bottom of the ticket stated the name of the subway station she had caught her train from and the date and time she had boarded it.
“May I?” Lily said.
Raya dropped the ticket into Lily’s palm as though it were on fire.
Lily ran her eyes over it. “Everything appears to be in order. I’m very happy to officially welcome you aboard, Ms. Sia. As you can see, there hasn’t been any mistake. You’re supposed to be here. This proves it.” She held the ticket out to Raya.
