On the cusp of dawn

1 As the first light of dawn glimmers on the horizon, and the sky gradually shifts to an orange hue, Amal sits on one of the benches at the train station, checking the time on her phone. Suddenly, a distant sound echoes, and Amal turns to see the train making its way to the station, its loud whistle piercing the air. Amal’s gaze shifts to her left hand, holding ticket number 27, Luxor-Cairo. As the train doors open, Amal stands up, adjusts her backpack, drags her green suitcase, and stands in front of the train. All that separates her from the unknown ahead is the step into the train car. She glances back, then forward at the open train doors, and then to the right at the orange sun still in its infancy. She opens her phone and blocks some numbers, severing connections to a past that had lasted for years, ending with blocking those phone numbers. She then enters the train and takes a seat on one of the empty seats. As the train doors close and the train departs, time passes, and the girl sitting next to Amal sighs, looks out the window, then at Amal, and says: -"Where are you traveling to?" Amal looks at her and replies: -"Cairo." The other girl responds: "I’m getting off at Assiut, coming from Aswan, all due to the coordination ." She continues, "And you’re going to Cairo for what? Surely coordination has sent you there." Amal responds with a mumble, and the girl, feeling Amal's reluctance to talk, returns to looking out the window. As time passes, and the train moves farther away, Amal feels more comfortable, though there’s still some anxiety about the unknown. The girl becomes increasingly annoyed. The train whistle sounds, and it stops at a new station. The annoyed girl gathers her bags and gets off the train. Amal seizes the opportunity to sit by the window, gazing at the station platform with a bit of distraction.She suddenly feels someone sitting next to her.