The Commuter story
Ed Jacobson is a railway worker at Woking station. His life takes a turn for the worse when his son, Sam, begins experiencing psychotic episodes. Shortly afterwards, a young woman named Linda asks for a ticket to a non-existent destination called "Macon Heights". Intrigued, Jacobson follows a number of passengers who jump off the train and walk to an idyllic village where their traumas are wiped away. On his return home, he discovers his son never existed, and he returns to Macon Heights to find Linda and demand she restore his original life.
13 total · 2 choice · 7 major · 4 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| be careful what you wish for | choice | Ed must have absentmindedly wished his son away |
| parental love | choice | Ed and Mary loved their son in spite of everything. |
| escape from reality | major | Ed found an idyllic community that seemed to offer an escape from his family and work life problems. |
| father and son | major | Ed and Sam. |
| husband and wife | major | Ed and Mary Jacobson. |
| parenting a child with special needs | major | Ed and Mary's teenage son Sam had a history of violent outbursts, and worst yet began experiencing psychotic episodes. |
| sacrifice for a loved one | major | Ed wrangled with the decision of whether to wish his violent son back, knowing that "terrible things" would be done. |
| the unappreciated and unimportant at the workplace | major | Ed seemed rather fed up with his job as a railway station manager and the unappreciative people there. |
| what if I found myself in an alternate reality | major | Upon returning from Macon Heights, Ed found himself in an alternate reality where he troubled son had never been born. |
| coping with personal failure | minor | Ed said he thought he had failed as a parent. |