Every time I go back home, I don’t bring a car because the journey is exhausting. It’s better to take the bus, so I don’t have to drive myself. When I arrive in the province, I’ll just rent a motorcycle and have it take me to the church and cemetery. After that, I’ll return to the city where my family lives – my Doberman dogs.
As early as one in the morning, I left my house and headed to the bus terminal. It usually takes about an hour to get there, and it’s more convenient for me to catch the bus departing at three o’clock. That way, I’ll arrive in Stonewick early, before it gets too hot.
I hailed a taxi to get to the bus terminal. Suddenly, it started pouring rain. It figures. Good thing I had a thick jacket with a hood, which would come in handy when I’m on the bus later. It gets too cold inside the bus during early morning trips.
I told the driver to stop by at a fastfood and go through the drive-thru to get some coffee. There’s nothing like hot coffee during cold weather. Since the driver was so kind, I treated him to a meal and coffee as well. When we arrived at the bus terminal, there were only a few people since it was still early.
I sat on a metal gang chair, sipping my coffee, and more passengers started arriving. It’s a Saturday, so many people were going home to the province or on leisure trips. Most of the people sitting near me were teenagers, carefree and seemingly unaware of the world, just like I was during my youth.
There was a pretty girl constantly holding her boyfriend’s hand. I suspected they had something going on. Hopefully, they’ll end up together and not end up like me – brokenhearted and shattered.
When the bus arrived, I was one of the first to board, and the teenagers followed suit. I chose a seat in the middle part of the bus to minimize the swaying and turning sensation during the journey to Stonewick.
Normally, when I travel, I pay for the seat next to me, so no one will sit beside me. But I noticed that many passengers were arriving, and it would be a waste if the seat next to me remained vacant. So I paid for one seat only, thinking that it wouldn’t be a big deal if I shared the seat with someone.
I took out my cellphone and put on my headset. I was watching a show on Netflix, “The Crown.” I was almost finished with season 1. As the series started, I couldn’t hear anything else from the other passengers. I was so engrossed in the television series that I didn’t notice someone had taken the vacant seat beside me.
I adjusted my seat to avoid straining my hand while holding my cellphone, and the conductor had to tap me to issue my ticket.
“How many tickets and where to?” the young conductor asked me.
Oops, I forgot that the ticket issuer was still young. I think he’s in his mid-twenties and looks good.
“Just one, Stonewick.” I handed him my payment to avoid further disturbances. After that, I continued watching “The Crown.” But it didn’t escape my hearing that my seatmate was also bound for Stonewick. I adjusted my hood to cover my face more; I didn’t want to talk to anyone from Stonewick.
“Excuse me, Miss?” The guy sitting beside me tapped my shoulder.
I regretted not paying for the seat next to me. He seemed a bit pesky, as he had been tapping me since earlier. I put down my cellphone with one hand and gave him the ‘Talk To My Hand’ signal. Fortunately, he understood my gesture and stopped bothering me.
After an hour of travel, I felt sleepy. So, I turned off Netflix and searched for some good music from the radio stations. I took an eye mask with “Sleeping Beauty” written on it from my bag. In a short while, I was in a different world, enjoying a date between Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth in “The Crown.”
“MISS! MISS! MISS!”
I suddenly stood up as someone screamed near my ear. I almost had an accident when the bus driver slammed the brakes. Because of the commotion, I forgot that my seatmate was from Stonewick, and I faced him.
“What’s your problem? Why are you screaming?”
“I’m sorry, okay? But I’ve been wanting to pee for a while now, and I can’t hold it in.”
“And now? If you want to pee, tell the driver about it and don’t shout at me!”
“How could I do that when you’ve been snoring on my chest earlier?”
I heard the other passengers laugh at our exchange.
“Excuse me, mister. But I don’t snore when I sleep!”
“I have evidence,” he said.
What? I felt like he was just fooling around with me, maybe trying to extort money from me. What evidence is he talking about? I haven’t even asked him, and he already took out his cellphone and showed me a picture. To be fair, he looks good, and he definitely looks younger than me. He’s fair-skinned too, honestly.
After scrutinizing his good looks, I finally noticed my own appearance. I blinked several times to confirm that I was indeed the girl in the picture. It was me! I told myself after confirming the picture. But why do I look like that? I can’t accept the fact that I fell asleep on the bus leaning on a stranger’s chest, mouth wide open.
Oh, Lord!
“Weren’t you taught good manners? Why did you take a picture of me without permission?” I scolded my seatmate, but he didn’t respond, and it seemed like he wasn’t listening to me. I adjusted my hood to cover my face even more; I didn’t want to talk to anyone from Stonewick.
“Excuse me, Miss?” The guy sitting beside me decided to finally speak up. “I didn’t mean to offend you or anything. I took that picture because you looked so peaceful while sleeping, like a sleeping beauty. I promise I won’t share it or do anything weird with it.”
I sighed, feeling a bit embarrassed by the whole situation. “Well, just delete it then. I don’t want any pictures of me being shared without my consent.”
He nodded and quickly deleted the picture from his phone. “I’m sorry for the trouble. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“It’s fine,” I said, trying to shake off my irritation. “Just be more considerate next time.”
He smiled, and I couldn’t help but notice that he had a charming smile. “Sure, I will. By the way, I’m Alexander. Nice to meet you.”
I hesitated for a moment but eventually introduced myself. “I’m Jamie.”
The tension seemed to ease between us, and we engaged in some small talk for the rest of the journey. As it turned out, Alexander was also visiting Stonewick for some personal reasons. We discovered that we had a few shared interests, and the initial annoyance I felt slowly faded away.
When we finally arrived in Stonewick, Alexander offered to walk me to my destination, which was the local inn where I would be staying. Along the way, we continued talking and even shared a few laughs.
As we said our goodbyes, I found myself feeling grateful for the unexpected encounter. Despite the awkward start, it had turned into a surprisingly pleasant journey. Sometimes, the most unexpected moments can lead to unexpected connections, and that bus ride was a reminder of that.