Microfiction: A Rejected Proposal

a train at night

A Rejected Proposal:

Outside the train window, the countryside was pitch black. Every so often, lights from a small city appeared on the Spanish countryside. The young man stared out the window, not seeing much. Even though it was late, he couldn’t sleep. Suddenly he noticed a young nun sitting a few seats in front of him. Her face was calm and serene, focused on a book. He looked at her and in her face he saw something familiar. Something about her eyes. Something he might never see again. The box still holding a diamond ring suddenly weighed heavy in his pocket. 


A Rejected Proposal: 

Maybe in another life I’m still with you. I don’t say no. I watch you age like wine. And I don’t have any regrets. I never have to wonder if there’s someone else I can love. I never have to wonder if anyone else can make me happy. I don’t wonder, because I know the answer. Just like deep down, I know it now. 


Author’s Note: I based these microfictions off of a poem I read this week called “The Train” or “El Tren” by Antonio Machada. In the poem, a young man sits on a train and thinks about the girl that he likes, who has rejected him. We don’t get very many details about the situation. All we know is that he likes her and she does not like him back. On the train, the man sees a nun. He idealizes her in his mind and wishes that all women were like her. For the second microfiction, I wrote it from the perspective of the woman who rejected him. In my mind, she regrets turning him down. 


Story Source: “El Tren” by Antonio Marchada. https://www.poemas-del-alma.com/el-tren.htm

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