Trains, Delays, Cement.

On the 5th of May 2013 Frank launched himself into the carriage and held open the doors. His face was dripping with sweat. A moment later the tube driver angrily requested that the person in the rear carriage stop obstructing the doors.
"NO!!!" cried Frank "She's coming."
Minutes passed and the woman Frank was waiting for had not appeared, but more and more passengers had entered the train, which was now overflowing with people.

"Just get away from the doors." a cockneyed youth squeaked at Frank.

"Never. The woman I love is coming. I know she is."

The other passengers were losing patience. The train had been stuck at the station for over five minutes. A large Russian man attempted to push Frank onto the platform, but Frank clung like a spider to the doors. He could not be moved. Two more passengers decided to push Frank, but as soon as they laid their hands on him he let out an almighty roar.

"SHE'S COMING! MY ONE TRUE LOVE WILL BE HERE ANY
MINUTE!!!!" They stumbled back in fear.

It soon became clear that the train was going nowhere. Passengers began to leave the carriages and make alternative routes to their destination. Only Frank remained.

An hour later the police arrived. They found Frank with tears falling down his face.
"She'll be here. She'll be here." he was muttering to himself. The police questioned him and came to the conclusion that this man truly believed that the woman he loved would be here any minute now. To move him would cause him great distress. A doctor was sent for.

"To move him would cause great distress." the doctor announced "It might even kill him. He has created a world within this carriage where nothing exists except his belief that the woman he loves is about to arrive. To shatter this belief is to shatter his world and mind. He must remain here indefinitely."

And so, Frank remained in the carriage, holding open the doors with all his might. It was an uneccessary use of energy, because the power to the doors had been cut. But it didn't matter to Frank, he needed his love to see this gesture when she arrived. Food was brought to him twice a day. Volunteers came to shave and clean him once a week.

"Would you like me to bring you some magazines? A radio maybe?" asked a kind volunteer named Mary.
"No, no." replied Frank. "There's no need. She'll be here any minute." It had been six months since Frank first entered the carriage.

Quite often tourists would come to have their picture taken with Frank. It was said that by rubbing his arms your marriage would be blessed with longevity and happiness. Occasionally women would come and pretend to be Frank's delayed love, some as a joke, others out of loneliness. They didn't fool him.

Thirty years went by Frank hadn't moved. He hadn't spoken a word for over twenty years. Mary, the kind volunteer who had once offered him magazines, had continued to visit him every week. One morning in the winter of 2046, Mary was emptying Frank's shit bucket when she heard the most broken and defeated voice.

"Bring me cement." it said.

The next day Mary brought a bag of cement to Frank's carriage.

"Cover me." he whispered "I cannot do this any longer. Make me into a statue." And so, Mary, the kind volunteer who had once offered Frank magazines and a radio, turned him into stone.

On the 5th of May 2013, Rosemary got onto a busy train after being separated from her husband. A minute later she saw him enter the carriage and hold open the doors. Sweat was dripping from his face. He then began to act very strangely. Embarassed by his behaviour, Rosemary held a newspaper over her face and sneaked out of the other exit.