I had just arrived by
ship some 40 or 50
kilometers outside a
Swedish town. I knew
that the town was on about the same latitude as
Mo i Rana in
Norway. Perhaps it was
Luleå or
Haparanda? Anyway, I had to walk a few kilometers down a road through the
wilderness, until I came to the end of a
railroad track. There, I started waiting for
the
train that would take me to the town.
After a few minutes, I found myself onboard the train. I walked up to a counter and checked
how much the tickets cost. They were very cheap -- only 9 SEK (about one USD).
Suddenly, I realized that I didn't have any luggage with me. I rationalized that I had
to have forgotten it on the place where I went ashore from the ship. I knew that I had to
get back there, before anything got stolen. I looked at the trees outside the window to
find out which direction the train was going, and I asked the people in charge on the
train what to do if I wanted to go "that way" -- pointing in the opposite
direction of where the train was going. I didn't get any clear answer, but it was implied
that there was another track alongside the one I was on. It should be possible to leave
the train at the next stop, and wait for the other train going back to where I came from.
I looked through the window again, and noticed something odd. Now the trees were flying
by in the opposite direction from the last time I looked. I hadn't noticed any change in
speed, so I couldn't make myself believe that the train had actually stopped and started to
go back again. Instead, I ignored it, and attributed the change in direction to a glitch
in my sleeping brain.