An Incident That Transformed Me: The Train I Was On Was in an Accident – and afterward I Overheard a Little Girl Sobbing.

That instant I realized my life was in danger came a couple of years into my 20s, when life was really just starting out. My dearest friend, Helen, and I were traveling to Blackburn to visit an old university friend who had made a new home there for work. Overjoyed at the reunion, and enjoying the thought of the social gathering to come, we conversed constantly as we journeyed by train from York.

We stashed our bags – packed with necessities such as bottles of wine and my brand-new black clogs – on the overhead rack and made ourselves comfortable in a cosy two-seater. About 50 minutes into our journey, I was vaguely conscious of a bang. This was followed by a second, now unmistakable. A woman screamed as our carriage was thrown up into the air in what felt like slow motion. Suddenly, Helen and I were standing up in the middle of the aisle, hugging each other. Looking down, eyelids tightly closed, I anticipated the carriage to flip and explode, as I’d seen in films. I remember thinking our families and friends receiving the notification. Subsequently, there was the young girl weeping.

“It's going to be fine,” I murmured, speaking with a rasp. “The worst has passed,” I whispered, mostly for my own benefit.

Her age was roughly seven or eight, and seemed to be entirely alone. Her weeping jolted me from my stupor; this was my opportunity to be useful. I moved to where she was standing and wrapped an arm around her. “Avoid looking back,” Helen shouted, the warning came after the fact. I saw a man with blood all over his face. An enormous piece of metal had crashed through the window behind us. Later, we learned a runaway digger had tumbled down the embankment and into the side of the train, causing us to derail.

Our car was lodged with its nose pointing upward. Next was the sound of sirens and another traveler requested that I to pass the little girl to him so he could assist her exit through the opening, as kids were being rescued to emergency personnel below. A few minutes later, Helen and I were also climbing out of the train window and descending via a ladder onto the railway line.

Once back on solid ground – next to a goods shed in Pudsey – my body started to shake uncontrollably. I looked for the little girl and observed her being embraced by her mother, who it turned out had been using the restroom when the crash occurred. An emergency worker helpfully fetched my clogs. One of the passengers plonked down on Helen’s case, making it split apart – however, fortunately our wine remained intact. Following a 30-minute delay, we made our way in a free cab to Blackburn, accompanied by a young man and the woman who had caused the luggage to burst. Our friend was waiting, pale with worry. She was aware there had been a derailment and a staff member had led her away and offered her a hot drink while she hoped for information.

Displaying the fearlessness of young adulthood, we set the accident aside and carried on with our night out, which featured a memorable turn by Blackburn drag queen Clitheroe Kate. Not a single life was lost in the incident, despite the fact that several people required hospital treatment. Helen and I got away with bruises and aches and pains from the violent forward motion in the carriage. The train had been slowing to enter Leeds station, which had been the key factor in preventing major harm. Since nobody was badly hurt allowed us not to focus on the “what ifs” but the child was the one who made a permanent impression. Looking after her and calming her down helped take my mind off myself and showed me the value of focusing on others in a crisis. As time passed, I have repeatedly asked myself if she remembered anything about it, and how significant it had been for her.

Helen and I have stayed close 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 gave me the impression I was protected from the worst of the situation. The derailment further transformed my perspective on different emergencies, providing me with insight – and reminding me that, regardless of how terrible things look, it is invariably an honor to grow older.