Wing-Soon and his mother ride the train together to Penang, first through the city, and then out into the sprawling countryside dotted with rubber plantations and winding rivers that sparkled in the sunlight. Wing-Soon pressed his face against the window, watching small villages drift past like scenes from a storybook. There were long bridges and some tunnels that Wing-Soon thought were a bit scary, but the rhythmic clack of the train’s wheels made him think of steady, patient steps along the way to their destination.