The Stationmaster

The wheels rumbled along the tracks. Snow falling all around him, on the platform at the end of the line stood the stationmaster, holding his lantern high.Railway man Otomatsu waits each day, as he has for most of his life, at the end of the line to greet the incoming trains. But where once the cars brimmed with passengers, they now carry only one or two--sometimes none at all. Facing the imminent closure of his station, Otomatsu reflects back on the quiet tragedies of his life. Then into the cold emptiness of his days wanders a carefree young girl who bears an uncanny likeness to his infant daughter who died years ago. In the winter of his life, has spring returned to the stationmaster?In these eight short stories by award-winning author Jiro Asada, flawed characters haunted by loss find love, reconciliation, and redemption in the most unexpected places.To face the future, sometimes you need a little help from the past...