Little train lay asleep at the back of the attic for many years.

It thought it was forgotten, and it was somewhat true.

Dust and rust were slowly taking their toll on it, but that was without counting Paul, a curious little boy, who one day opened the attic door and lifted the shroud where the train lay dormant.

He was amazed and then delighted. The train became the object of his thoughts. Alone, he could not wake it up and get it out of its dusty bed. Often he would ask his father: « Daddy, daddy, there’s a little train in Grandpa and Grandma’s attic. Can we bring it down from the attic? I’d love to see it running. »

His father was far too busy with his adult affairs. He had lost his childlike spirit. He would always reply: « Yes, yes, we’ll see about that later. Today, I don’t have time; I have other things to do. » And that was the end of it.

One rainy autumn day, the child, who was persistent, asked his father the same eternal question: « Daddy, daddy, when will we go to Grandpa and Grandma’s to bring down the little train from the attic? »

The father, who for once had taken a vacation to spend time with his son, agreed. Deep down, he was touched by his child’s request. He saw himself in his son, remembering the special moments spent playing with trains, pampering the locomotives, and building models to create scenery.

Memories flooded in. He recalled the afternoons and winter evenings spent with his father around the family table, building this wonderful world.

One day, they moved to a bigger house. His father no longer had time to take care of the train and the models. He grew up, and the train was put away in the attic and fell asleep for many years.

« Yes, my son, today the weather is rainy, and it’s perfect for this kind of activity. Let’s go to the attic. You are old enough now; we will bring down the train boxes and see what happens. »

Without further ado, they both went to the big family house, climbed the stairs four at a time to the attic. There was the train and its wonderful world in boxes and a mountain of dust. They rolled up their sleeves and carried the precious load back home.

There, the magic happened. The child and his father, who had become a boy again, had stars in their eyes when they opened the boxes containing locomotives, wagons, tracks, and models.

The little train had suffered during its long sleep. They had to take great care to restore it to its former glory. For several days, they cleaned, lubricated, and tested without rest.

Finally, they set up a simple oval of track, and the train woke up little by little. After several days of unsuccessful attempts, its electric heart finally began to beat. The gears, rods, and other mechanical parts started to turn.

At last, it set off on the tracks and made a first round, then two, then three. The child and his father’s eyes sparkled, and a broad smile lit up their faces.

This magical moment of complicity and sharing sealed their two hearts forever.

Since then, the little train runs, whistles on the track, and will remain for a long time in the minds of the child and his father, who has found his soul of yesteryear. For him, nothing mattered more than the moments of shared joy with his son.L