A Moment That Altered My Life: The Train I Was On Was in an Accident – and then I Overheard a Little Girl Sobbing.

T I knew the end was near arrived during my 20s, as my adult life was unfolding. My closest companion, Helen, and I were headed to Blackburn to reunite with a former classmate who had made a new home there for work. Delighted to be together, and basking in the prospect of the social gathering to come, we chatted nonstop as we traveled by train from York.

We stashed our bags – containing vital items such as bottles of wine and the clogs I had just bought – in the storage compartment and got seated in a snug pair of seats. About 50 minutes into our journey, I was dimly aware of a bang. Then came another, which could not be dismissed. A female passenger shrieked as our carriage was lifted off the tracks in what felt like a dreamlike pace. All at once, Helen and I were standing up in the middle of the aisle, holding each other tight. Looking down, eyelids tightly closed, I waited for the carriage to flip and explode, like in the movies. I remember thinking our loved ones getting the news. Then I heard the child sobbing.

“Everything is okay,” I whispered, my voice sounding croaky. “It's finished now,” I murmured, primarily to calm my own nerves.

She appeared to be seven or eight, and seemed to be entirely alone. Her weeping jolted me from my stupor; this was my opportunity to be useful. I made my way to where she was standing and put my arm around her. “Don't turn around,” Helen called out, too late. I saw a man with his face covered in blood. An enormous piece of metal had crashed through the window behind us. Later, we discovered a uncontrolled excavator had rolled down the hill and smashed into our carriage, causing us to derail.

Our compartment was trapped with its front end in the air. Next was the sound of sirens and a fellow passenger instructed me to give the girl to him so he could help her out the window, while young passengers were extracted to emergency personnel below. Shortly after, Helen and I were also climbing out of the train window and scaling a ladder down down to the rails.

Standing on firm land again – adjacent to a storage building in Pudsey – I began trembling violently. I looked for the little girl and watched her mother gather her up, who it turned out had been using the restroom during the incident. An emergency worker helpfully fetched my clogs. Another traveler sat down heavily on Helen’s case, making it split apart – though luckily our wine remained intact. Once we had waited for thirty minutes, we proceeded in a complimentary taxi to Blackburn, with a teenage boy and the woman who had caused the luggage to burst. Our host was there, visibly shaken. She was aware there had been a derailment and a staff member had led her away and prepared some tea for her while she anticipated updates.

Displaying the fearlessness of young adulthood, we set the accident aside and proceeded with the social outing, which involved a unforgettable performance by Blackburn drag queen Clitheroe Kate. Not a single life was lost in the incident, although several people were transported to the hospital. Helen and I got away with bruises and aches and pains from the force of the sudden jolt in the carriage. Our speed had been decreasing to approach Leeds station, which had been the primary reason in averting grave physical damage. Since nobody was badly hurt helped not to obsess over the “what ifs” but the child was the one who changed my outlook profoundly. Taking care of her and reassuring her helped take my mind off myself and demonstrated the importance of directing attention externally in a crisis. As time passed, I have often wondered if she recalled any details, and what a major event it had been for her.

Helen and I have remained friends for over 30 years and That location's name now symbolizes for our capacity to handle any situation, as long as we're side by side. Having her companionship during the accident made it feel as if I was insulated from the full horror of the event. The derailment further transformed my perspective on various difficult situations, offering me a new viewpoint – and reinforcing the idea that, no matter how dire circumstances appear, it is always a privilege to age.