Assignment 1.
4: Creating a short story
Point of view: Third-person omniscient
Theme: "An individual's greatest enemy can be themselves"
The Midnight Train
By: Alhsasn Albrbar
Jenna stepped onto the platform, her breath fogging in the cool
night air. She missed the last bus, and her only option was the
midnight train. She’d never taken it before, and for good reason.
Her friends always joked that strange things happened on the
midnight train—ghost stories and urban legends—but Jenna never
believed them. Still, she felt a weird feeling settled in her stomach.
The platform was eerily quiet. Then she heard the rumble of the train.
When the train stopped, Jenna felt a cold shiver down her spine. The
doors hissed open. Every part of her body was telling her not to
enter, but deep inside she knew she didn’t have another choice.
Jenna hesitated, then entered. Only a few people were inside, and
they didn’t look normal. They sat unnaturally still, staring out the
windows like they were at something far in the darkness. Jenna shook
off her nerves and walked through the aisle, finally sitting in the
middle of the car.
The train jolted forward. She stared at her phone, trying to distract
herself, but there was no service. She glanced around, trying to pay
attention to everyone in the car. She stared at the man across from
her. He sat frozen, his hand gripping a briefcase so tightly his
knuckles were white. Another woman was quietly crying, her long
hair covering her face. Jenna swallowed hard and looked away. They
were probably just tired. After all, it was late.
The rattling of the train’s wheels grew louder, filling her ears. Jenna
looked out the window but saw only darkness. No city lights, no
trees,
nothing. The eerie reflections of the passengers made her shiver.
Were they watching her? She quickly looked away, her pulse racing.
She knew she needed to leave this train as soon as possible.
The lights flickered, dimming for a second before steadying
again. The train slowed, and Jenna let out a breath of relief. They
were stopping. She stood, ready to get off, but froze when the
doors opened.
Outside wasn’t a station. It was an empty field, going on forever. No
platform, no signs. Just darkness. Her stomach twisted in fear.
What kind of stop was this?
The passengers began to rise, their movements slow and robotic.
The man with the briefcase stood, eyes still locked on the window. He
walked off the train without a word , disappearing into the field. The
others followed him one by one, disappearing out into the dark like
they knew exactly where to go.
Jenna’s feet felt glued to the floor. What was happening? Should she
get off too? Before she could decide, the doors slid shut. The train
jerked back into motion, leaving the empty field behind. The
passengers were gone. She was alone.
"Going somewhere?" a voice said from behind her.
Jenna jumped, spinning around. A boy, about her age, was sitting in
the back corner. She hadn’t noticed him before. He was staring at
her, his face calm but serious.
"Who—who are you?" she stuttered, stepping back.
He smirked like he found her fear funny. "Same as you. Just
someone who got on the wrong train."
Jenna’s heart raced. "What do you mean?"
He shrugged. "This isn’t just any train. It’s the midnight train. It
doesn’t take you where you want to go."
She gulped. "Then where does it take you?"
His smirk faded, his face serious. "Depends. Everyone ends up
somewhere different. But you… you probably shouldn’t have
gotten on."
Jenna’s blood ran cold. "I didn’t have a choice."
The boy leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms. "None of us did."
Before she could ask more, the train shook, throwing Jenna off
balance. The lights flickered again, then went out completely. In
the pitch-black darkness, she felt the train spinning, twisting, like it
was no longer on track. The boy’s voice echoed in her ears.
"Wherever it takes you… you don’t get to come back."
Suddenly, the lights turned back on, and the train screeched to
a stop. Jenna gasped, turning her head around. The boy was
gone.
The doors hissed open. Outside, she saw her stop, the station she
had been trying to reach. Confused but desperate to leave, she
stepped off the train, looking back one last time. The doors shut
behind her, and the train disappeared into the night. Although
she got out, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was trapped
inside the midnight train.
The End
Task 2: Reflection
To develop the theme "An individual's greatest enemy can be
themselves," I used Jenna’s thoughts and feelings to show how her
fear and doubt affected her decisions. The midnight train
symbolized her inner struggles, and everything she saw, like the
strange passengers and the creepy stops. This reflected her
feeling of uncertainty and how scared she felt. I made sure to
describe her hesitation and how she tried to figure out what was
happening but couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t
right. Even the boy’s warning was meant to show her fear was the
real problem. By keeping things mysterious and focusing on
Jenna’s reactions, the story shows how our biggest challenges can
come from within us.
The creative writing process can be a form of "power messaging"
because it lets you share ideas in a way that really connects with
people. Instead of just telling someone what to think or feel, a
story shows it through characters, character development and
events. For example, in my story, I didn’t just say, “Fear can hold
you back.” Instead, I used Jenna’s experience on the midnight
train to let readers feel her fear and confusion. Writing like this
makes the message stronger because it gets people to relate to
the situation and think about it more deeply. It’s like giving
someone an important idea without making it too obvious, so they
understand it in their way. That’s what makes storytelling such a
powerful way to share messages.
