A detail at the old train station gave me a whole story idea

I was at the old Union Station in Denver last weekend, just walking around. I stopped to look at the big board with all the train times, the kind with the flipping letters. One of the destination slots was stuck halfway between two names, showing just a jumble of letters. It made me think, what if someone bought a ticket to that messed up place? What if the train actually went there? I stood there for maybe ten minutes just building the idea in my head. It would be a story about a person running from something, buying the cheapest ticket they could find, and ending up somewhere completely unknown. The stuck sign felt like a perfect prompt starter. Has a small, broken detail in a public place ever sparked a full story for you?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_lee16d ago

Ever wonder if the broken detail is the only way to see the real place? Like maybe that stuck sign is the actual destination, and the normal ones are just for show. Tbh that idea would keep me up at night.

vera_robinson3616d agoMost Upvoted

But why would anyone go to that much trouble just to hide a sign? Seems like a lot of work for a pretty simple thing. I get the idea, but it feels like overthinking a random street corner.

wesleyb2016d ago

That "real place" idea reminds me of a house I moved where the front door was just a wall.