Jonas stopped.
Ben looked directly in his direction.
For a moment, no one moved.
Time seemed to stand still.
Then Ben furrowed his brow slightly.
„…Did you see that?“
The others turned around.
Jonas’ heart raced.
„Okay… now there’s no turning back…“, he whispered.
He took a step further into the room.
And this time…
he was seen.
Sarah’s eyes grew wide.
„Jonas?“
Silence.
The others looked at him too.
Confused.
Surprised.
A little suspicious.
„Uh…“, Jonas began.
His voice suddenly sounded completely normal.
No longer muffled.
Completely real.
„I… know this is weird now…“
He nervously scratched the back of his head.
„I should have just come.“
No one said anything.
All eyes remained on him.
Jonas forced himself to keep talking.
„I said I didn’t have time… but that’s not true.“
A brief moment of silence.
Then Ben shrugged.
„Then why didn’t you come?“
Jonas took a deep breath.
That was the point.
The uncomfortable part.
„No idea…“, he said honestly.
„I just didn’t feel like it. And then I was too embarrassed to say so.“
Silence again.
This time longer.
Jonas felt his face grow hot.
„And…“, he added, „that was kind of… stupid.“
Sarah looked at him.
Then she suddenly had to laugh.
Not mean.
Simply honest.
„Yeah, it was,“ she said.
Some of the others grinned.
The tension in the room dissolved.
Just like that.
Ben shook his head slightly.
„You’re really an idiot sometimes.“
Jonas nodded immediately.
„Yeah.“
A brief moment.
Then Ben said:
„Just sit down.“
Jonas blinked.
„Really?“
„Yeah, what else?“
Some pushed their chairs aside.
Space was made.
Completely normal.
As if nothing had happened.
Jonas sat down slowly.
He could hardly believe it.
The conversations continued.
Casual.
Simple.
And this time…
he was part of it.
After a few minutes, the scene began to flicker.
At first very slightly.
Then stronger.
Jonas looked around.
The voices grew quieter.
The colors faded.
„Okay…“, he murmured.
„I think that’s it.“
He stood up.
The door appeared again at the edge of the room.
This time he walked toward it without hesitation.
He opened it.
And stepped through.
In the next moment, he was back on the train.
In the aisle.
Everything was quieter.
More stable.
The man in uniform stood there.
And this time…
he smiled clearly.
„You understood it,“ he said.
Jonas took a deep breath.
„I think so…“
He went back into the staff compartment.
The folder was still there.
He opened it.
His entry was now complete.
14:37 – Jonas Weber – continued
Below it said:
Station 1 skipped
Station 2 passed
Station 3 passed
And at the very bottom:
Journey ended
Jonas stared at it.
A calm feeling spread inside him.
No more stress.
No tension.
Simply… clear.
The train slowed down.
Very slowly.
Then it came to a stop.
Jonas went back into the aisle.
The door at the end was open.
Bright light shone in.
He stepped out.
And stood again at the old train station.
The broken fence.
The rusty tracks.
Everything as before.
Only the clock above the entrance…
was running again.
Jonas looked at his hand.
The key was gone.
Slowly he walked back through the grounds.
When he reached the fence, he stopped briefly.
He turned around once more.
The station seemed quiet.
Completely normal.
As if nothing had happened.
Jonas took a deep breath.
Then he went home.
The next day he wrote Ben a message:
„I’ll be there next time.“
And this time he meant it seriously.