“Are dragons real?” the 4 year old asked me as we walked along the train platform with all our bags.
“Dragons are just in stories?” “What about Hogwarts?” “Just a great place in the book Pan.” “Where does this train go to Dad?” “This train will go all the way to Nice.” “Is that in France?” “Yes.” “Are we in France now?” “Yes we are already here, the whole last week since we flew from London we’ve been in France. This train will take us from one part of France to Nice in France.” “Why are dragons in stories?” Our boy continued to ask and learn at an alarming rate. We piled the bags up in the luggage section of the carriage and bundled down to the seats. Travelling in Europe with a baby and a high-speed-question-asker was going fairly well. At times it had been a lot to handle: children’s sleep with the timezone change and extended conversations about the woman asking for money at the station and why she didn’t have shoes for example. Mostly though it was a joyful adventure. “Why in France is it called a Pain au Chocolat?” There was a beautiful respite upstairs on the train. We had 4 seats facing each other and the four of us where tucked in and nicely contained. The baby bounced on a knee as fields and villages whipped by the large window. I went to check on the bags and go to the toilet. The baby had some milk and we talked about mountain creatures. We all breathed easily. “Why are there different countries?” Somewhere within a 15 minute window one of our bags was stolen. It was a small black backpack - easy to pick up quickly and potentially carrying some items of value. It was Pan’s bag. It contained 4 children's books, a stuffed toy, a pair of tiny child sized sunglasses, a phone charger, a card game, sunscreen and 2 pairs of goggles. We noticed and took turns storming up and down the carriages looking for it. The ticket checking guy said there was nothing much to do, this was the Paris line and had a high rate of theft. Dani and I kicked ourselves, Pan asked questions. “What happened to my bag?” “Someone took it.” “Where is it?” “We don’t know, they may have taken it off the train.” “Will they give it back?” “I don’t think so. It has been stolen Pan. Stolen bags don’t usually come back.” “Why?” “Lots of reasons. The thieves don’t want to get caught and in trouble.” “What is a thieves?” “A thief is someone who takes something that isn’t theirs. They might not have much themselves, or maybe this is the way they get money to live. It isn’t usually fair.” “Are my books gone?” “Yes they were in the bag.” The train arrived in Nice. We piled our world back up onto our shoulders. I had the baby on my chest and a small bag on my back, the big red bag in my hand. Dani carried the two medium sized bags and read the signs. Pan walked beside me with no bag on his back. Dani and I exchanged glances and regret. The boy was quiet as we moved through the crowded station, our eyes darting and scanning. “Are thieves real Dad?”
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AuthorHigh school teacher Archives
September 2023
CategoriesThemes |