She has always heard that the black train was the way to a brighter future. They told her it was the way out for a troubled teen like her. The soft hum of the train will make you sleep like you've never slept before. And the quiet laughter will make you feel at home until you read your new beginning.
Sara was always the outcast; she never really had friends. Her fake smile always seemed to be too much for those around her. Her hair fell in perfect curl just above her elbows. Her legs, a little too long for her body and her eyes, a deep green. Behind all those seemingly perfect features, was a troubled teen. 
Six children and two drunken parents. The new title at least twice a week. Sara wasn't alone in her battle of unhappiness. Her three brothers and two sisters experienced it as well. They all went through it but Sara got the worst end of it. Being the middle child, she caught the heat for everything that went wrong. She was the outcast in all ways, not just at school.
Nights were the hardest for Sara. She often dreamed about the black train her brother told her about. He knew exactly where it was and she hoped to one day make it there. She could hear it, happiness. Those dreams gave her a sense of hope; that maybe she can be truly happy one day. 
Sara hasn't seen her brothers in years. She hoped they make it to the black train and are happy now. Education was a way out for Sara; when she was away from home everything went away. She has a plan to ask someone how to get to the black train and leave as soon as possible. 
It has been two weeks and Sara has yet to find where the black train was. She began to think that her brother lied to her. No one at school knew what she was talking about.  They gave her dirty looks, so she decided to leave and take a walk to clear her mind. The town seemed a little more empty than usual. Sara walked to the train station. She sat in front of a painting for what seemed like forever; then came a train horn in the distance. Sara looked around and wondered why a train would be coming if nobody was waiting on it. 
The next thing she knew a train, black a coal came flying by. Her eyes widened, and there her brother was yelling a date and time out the window of a never-ending train. And just like that, it was gone. February 17, 1997 couldn't come any sooner. It was a month away and she couldn't understand why she had to wait so long. 
A month has almost gone by, Sara has a day before she leaves. Things haven't changed much; her parents went out more and her siblings stayed at the park. Sara spent a lot of time at the train station thinking of the day. She gets to leave. It's late evening and too excited for her journey tomorrow. 
It's the early hours of morning and Sara is standing staring at the same painting that she always does for what seems like forever. Then there it was, the train horns. It came slower this time, and stopped right in front of her. Sara's brother welcomed her with a hug. She walked up the steps and saw at least twenty smiling faces; her and her brother took a seat closer to the back with her by the window. The ride went by faster than she thought and soon they were entering the bright blue sky's and green grass. Sara knew it wasn't perfect but it was home!