Once there was a boy who rode the Hypersonic Express every day with his father. He was six years old, and he prided himself for now being in the second grade. He was becoming a man, and someday he would be a great businessman like his father, who was never late for work and never missed his stop. The only thing the boy feared was the speed at which the adult world moved. How could they run around like this and not miss or forget a thing?

One day as the two rode the train through the city, it came to an unusually grinding halt. The boy was thrown forward through the train into a group of strangers. As everyone struggled to recover from the abrupt stop, the boy searched for his father. Around him strange eyes and glasses and beards looked at him in concern or ignored him completely, but his father’s were not among them. The Express moved again, and the boy began to panic because he knew his stop was coming soon. He pushed around the people back and forth through the train car with a timid, “Excuse me.” Had he gotten turned around?

The train speakers announced the next stop over the intercom, and the boy struggled toward the door — perhaps if he at least made it into the station, his father would see him. But the crowd was too thick and the train in too much of a hurry to allow the boy time to escape. So the boy missed his stop, and the train rocketed through the vacuum toward its next destination.

The boy couldn’t hold back the tears that began to slip in streams down his cheeks. He told himself he was a man, but he was terrified. His father had made it clear it was the boy’s responsibility to stay close. His father was never late for work, so he would be gone. The boy would be stuck in this train forever. He crumbled into the corner of the train car with his hands around his knees and hid his face so no-one would see him cry. What else could he do?

When the train stopped at the next station, a man placed his hand roughly upon the boy’s shoulder. “It’s time to go,” his annoyed tone was familiar.

The boy looked up into the frowning face of his father. “I’m sorry I made you miss your stop! It won’t happen again,” the boy cried in desperate relief.

The man’s face softened as he picked up his son. They exited the train, and the man sighed, “I would miss my stop a hundred times for you.”