The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon [62]
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And there were three other pictures, and they were very small, and they were a palace and a beach and a palace.
And this is what the orangutans looked like
227. And I kept my eyes closed and I didn't look at my watch at all. And the trains coming in and out of the station were in a rhythm, like music or drumming. And it was like counting and saying, “Left, right, left, right, left, right . . .” which Siobhan taught me to do to make myself calm. And I was saying in my head, “Train coming. Train stopped. Train going. Silence. Train coming. Train stopped. Train going . . .” as if the trains were only in my mind. And normally I don't imagine things that aren't happening because it is a lie and it makes me feel scared, but it was better than watching the trains coming in and out of the station because that made me feel even more scared.
And I didn't open my eyes and I didn't look at my watch. And it was like being in a dark room with the curtains closed so I couldn't see anything, like when you wake up at night and the only sounds you hear are the sounds inside your head. And that made it better because it was like the little station wasn't there, outside my head, but I was in bed and I was safe.
And then the silences between the trains coming and going got longer and longer. And I could hear that there were fewer people in the little station when the train wasn't there, so I opened my eyes and I looked at my watch and it said 8:07 p.m. and I had been sitting on the bench for approximately 5 hours but it hadn't seemed like approximately 5 hours, except that my bottom hurt and I was hungry and thirsty.
And then I realized that Toby was missing because he was not in my pocket, and I didn't want him to be missing because we weren't in Father's house or Mother's house and there wasn't anyone to feed him in the little station and he would die and he might get run over by a train.
And then I looked up at the ceiling and I saw that there was a long black box which was a sign and it said
And then the bottom line scrolled up and disappeared and a different line scrolled up into its place and the sign said
And then it changed again and it said
And then I heard the sound like sword fighting and the roaring of a train coming into the station and I worked out that there was a big computer somewhere and it knew where all the trains were and it sent messages to the black boxes in the little stations to say when the trains were coming, and that made me feel better because everything had an order and a plan.
And the train came into the little station and it stopped and 5 people got onto the train and another person ran into the little station and got on, and 7 people got off the train and then the doors closed automatically and the train went away. And when the next train came I wasn't so scared anymore because the sign said so I knew it was going to happen.
And then I decided that I would look for Toby because there were only 3 people in the little station. So I stood up and I looked up and down the little station and in the doorways that went into tunnels but I couldn't see him anywhere. And then I looked down into the black lower-down bit where the rails were.
And then I saw two mice and they were black because they were covered in dirt. And I liked that because I like mice and