Chapter Five: Hidden Messages
The train inched its way to the platform in Xi’an. Melissa was relieved to have help with her red suitcase; Tom handled it down the corridor, her backpack and his laptop pack all she had to deal with. In a shorter than expected time, they were off the train and into the subway, noisy with hundreds of luggage wheels bouncing over grips on the ground. In a few minutes, they got out of the station hall and into the giant courtyard with the grey, forbidding-looking City Wall looming directly ahead. The ground teemed with people and hostel flags.
“Well...,” Melissa began, clearly at a loss as they exchanged bags.
Tom smiled. “I’d go with you further, but...”
“I know,” she smiled her understanding. They stared at each other, a million things to be said and neith
