Hackmack with the Big Plastic Bag

Finn looked at the empty space next to him and felt pretty excited. It was the first time he’d taken the train all by himself. He’d told his mum and dad over and over again that he was big enough to do it. But Mum had always said not until he was ten. It was still three whole weeks and two days until his birthday. But this was an emergency. Dad was in a rush to make a ton ofwildgarlic tofu fritters1 for a spa hotel where the guests paid a lot of money so that they only got healthy things to eat. And because it was such an important order Dad had no time to travel all the way to Berlin with him, the way he usually would.

Dad had phoned Mum and, of course, they had started arguing again, and Dad had shouted into the phone, »Why do I always have to bring him? You could come and pick him up for once!« And then it was almost too late and they had to rush to make it to the train station in Neustrelitz.

The regional express with the two-storey carriage was already waiting. Dad got on the train with him for a minute. Almost all the upstairs seats were empty and Finn sat down in the first group of four seats. Dad hugged him and said, »No-need-to-be-afraid-everything-will-be-fine.« Then he got off again really quickly just before the doors closed and the train departed.

Finn wasn’t one bit afraid. At most, he had a slightly funny feeling in his tummy because everything had happened so quickly and he hadn’t really been able to say goodbye properly. Out on the platform Dad ran alongside the train for a while and waved until Finn couldn’t see him any more.

The brakes made a screeching noise. The train stopped in Fürstenberg. The voice over the loudspeaker said, »Please mind the gap between the train and the platform.«

A few people got out; a few people got on. Through the window Finn could see a man with abeer can2 in his hand. He was in a rush and pushed his way on to the train before the others had got off. The clock on the platform said that it was ten past seven. Behind the station the tower on the castle shone in the evening sun. Finn knew that it wasn’t a proper castle but an oldfeed factory.3 In East Germany they had made tons of animal food there. Dad had explained it all to him. East Germany was one half of Germany before both halves had joined together again. All this was calledreunification4 and had happened quite a long time ago, before Finn was even born.

The man holding the beer canteetered5 his way up the stairs. A large grey plastic bag was dangling loosely from his wrist. Finn thought that the man might be one of those people who collect rubbish making his way through the train. But instead of collecting rubbish, the man dropped his bag on the seat across from Finn and sat down next to it.

»Ey up, little man, how’s things looking?« He undid the zip on his tracksuit top and made as if to clink his beer can at Finn over the table. »Bottoms up6.«

Finn could smell the beer on his breath and quickly looked out of the windo