Chapter 29 - : 29 : The Phantom Carriage Mystery : The Kids!
The train gently rocked as the group passed through the narrow door connecting one carriage to another. A faint metallic screech accompanied every sway, and overhead, the hanging lights dimmed further, as though even they were unsure how long they could stay lit.
The door creaked open.
A new passage stretched before them—narrower, dimmer, and lined with large windows that revealed only blackness beyond. There was no platform here. Just a suspended corridor connecting the two sections of the Phantom Carriage. A transitional space.
And yet...
Aiden froze.
So did the others.
There—at the far end of the passage, in the dim orange light of an overhead fixture—stood two children. A boy and a girl, no older than twelve, both dressed in formal attire.
The boy wore a miniature tuxedo, a red bowtie perfectly centered under his chin. He looked nervous, clutching something in his palm—a small ribbon. The girl beside him wore a simple, pale yellow dress, her dark hair tied back with a matching ribbon. Her shoes were dainty, and her eyes sparkled as she smiled shyly at him.
The boy stepped forward, extending his hand, voice soft yet clear.
"Would you... like to dance?"
The girl looked away for a moment, cheeks flushed. Then she turned back with a radiant nod.