Yoli’s father’s death by train

Yoli’s father’s death by train is recalled through its connection to Elfrieda Von Riesen’s later death by train. The account offers few circumstances surrounding the father’s death; its emphasis falls instead on the family’s recognition of a repeated loss and on the way the railway remains present in Yoli’s life afterward.

The Death in Retrospect

In the aftermath of Elfrieda’s death, Yoli remembers seeing her sister’s body at the funeral home. That moment brings the father’s death back into view: Yoli identifies a train as the cause of both deaths. The account does not explain the circumstances of the father’s death, but the comparison makes the earlier loss newly immediate within the scene of mourning for Elfrieda.

A Family Loss Repeated

The two deaths are joined by the train, not by any stated shared intention or circumstance. Yoli’s recollection raises the question of where family violence goes, framing the deaths as losses that return in the family’s experience rather than as isolated events. The connection intensifies the weight of Elfrieda’s death while showing how the father’s death remains part of the family’s history.

The Tracks in Later Life

Later, train whistles and the rumble of wheels on tracks reach Yoli near her home. These sounds recall Elfrieda’s playing and the frustration of Yoli’s page-turning mistakes, but they also carry the possibility of greeting or farewell. Yoli says her mother would approve of that association, recalling her attentiveness to hellos and goodbyes. The railway therefore remains both a reminder of loss and part of the family’s continuing language of memory.