The Train Memory -Jade da Rocha

It was a Friday afternoon on the summer of 1985 in Brazil; I was traveling on the train from the City of Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais to Vitoria, Espirito Santo. I could never think an approximately 7 hours on a train could be so exciting. At first, the sound of the train encased on the railroad tracks felt like a repeated melody to my ears as I was recounting my vision for a happy summer at the monazite sands of the beaches of Guarapari, located on the coast of the state of Espirito Santo where my family waits my arrival.

The smell of the meat grilled with charcoal from the restaurants cabin, convinced myself to have lunch at the restaurant. Suddenly, on my way to the restaurant cabin I hear a woman screaming. I was so curious that I followed the sound of her painful voice. Someone else scream “Is that a doctor in the train?” I could not see what was happening, all I could see was the astonished, surprisingly face of the passengers.

I see a doctor rushing thru the aisles and I follow him as if I was his assistant and finally broke through the crowd and saw this young woman about to deliver a baby. It seemed more like we were part of a dramatic film as the young woman screams more intensively. The doctor remained patient as we could contemplate this magnificent phenomenon of the head of the baby coming out slowly. We could not hold our breaths screaming in a chorus “It’s coming, it’s coming!”  The doctor announced: “It’s a girl, a healthy baby girl.” We all applauded this incredible, marvelous, yet scaring situation at the time.

 I went back to the restaurant cabin to taste the smoke of the charcoal on the meal, after all I was starving. For the rest of the trip we feel to talking about this unusual moment, creating a bond that one could never forgot. The train arrived at 9:00pm sharp. My father was anxiously waiting for me. Inside the car heading to Guarapari, I told him the beautiful experience I had witnessed.  We laugh…  From the “varanda” of our house in Guarapari, I can see the waves breaking on shore. I can touch this moments as if was only yesterday.

Oh, I would love to be back there now. Happy times!

*Varanda – verandah, balcony

-Jade da Rocha