Platform 8: the scene of the crime

As we walk along the platform I want to be sure we have the right train so ask a couple of people, but they don't seem to know. Finally a train comes in at about 10:45am and we ask the conductor as he exits the train if this one is going to Sinaia - actually I just shout out Sinaia in the hope he'll know what I want. He nods. So we place down our bags by one of the free pillars and wait. I see the conductor coming down the platform again so show him our tickets, to be even more sure, and point to the train. He nods and indicates it's the where we're standing. So we put our bags back on and head on to the train. We're immediately confronted with a queue of people looking for seats and find ourselves squashed against the windows as people pass by a narrow corridor. Further down the carriage we show someone our tickets and they point back to where we came from. Finally we find our seats, numbered. We're pleasantly surprised at the width of the seats although they are quite close to the people facing. As we sit, the carriage is visited repeatedly by people selling stuff: fruit, drink, books, magazines. One guy even empties a bag of toiletries on an empty seat and then returns to collect them without selling anything. And then we notice one guy selling a phone and I joke to Katarina that he's probably selling one stolen from another passenger. It was then that Katarina quickly checks her bag (not because the phone looks like hers, but just to be sure). It was then she notices it was missing from the pocket inside her bag. She is immediately sure it's gone because she checked only a few minutes before we got on the train. At first I look elsewhere but realise there was nowhere else to look. We were travelling very light and I hadn't taken the phone. We were in shock, especially because we had been so careful and Katarina's bag had been on her front, but somehow we accept the awful truth immediately. It was then the train starts to leave and we have to deal with the situation. It was too late to do anything in Bucharest and the phone is likely long gone. So I immediately call Virgin who were so helpful and put a stop on the SIM card. Then Katarina uses my phone and disables her social media accounts. We stare blankly at the space in front of us.