Alone
I met a young man waiting for a bus.
He was standing behind me.
He was friendly.
He wanted to talk.
We talked.
He was an accounting student,
he was worried about his classes,
how hard they were,
but he was going to do it.
He was going to pass them.
He sounded pretty smart.
I figured he would pass them.
But something else was brewing in him.
And I didn't know yet.
The first bus came by and it said “SORRY BUS FULL”
and I said, were not going there.
He smiled at me.
We talked about taxes,
Canadian Taxes, American Taxes,
about rules and laws he knew about.
He wanted to know if I was a professor at the college.
I told him no.
I was going to Continuing Education.
What are you taking he asked.
The Art of The Short Story I said.
Oh, he said.
Our bus finally arrived and we got on.
I started going to the back and realized there
were no seats left there.
I passed some empty seats at the front
and I wanted to get to them.
So I stopped, trying to turn around.
The bus started to move.
I almost lost my balance.
He said, you better just hang on for now.
Finally things settled down and I made my way to the
empty seats at the front.
He followed me.
He sat next to me.
He started talking to me.
He was a good conversationalist.
You almost couldn't tell he was trying to be.
He wanted to know how you write a short story.
I told him how I did.
He said he never could write one in school.
He just couldn't get any good ideas.
He said he was better in math and science.
I said that was good.
I told him I was terrible at math and science.
We talked quite a while.
We talked all the way to the last stop.
We got off.
I said, I'm going to catch the Skytrain, are you?
He said no, he needed to transfer to another bus.
I said, well good luck with your classes
and started to walk into the covered area to board the train.
I looked back at him for just an instant.
I saw something.
Something he did.
It was physical.
A gesture with his whole body.
It said one thing.
You are abandoning me.
You are hurting me.
I am hurting.
I wondered about this,
as I rode the train.
He wanted my company.
He was a very lonely person.
He didn't expect our parting.
He reacted as if he was physically crushed.
He seemed to cave in.
So sad, so hurt.
There are others,
like him,
like me,
like you.
We are alone.
And even the company of a stranger,
is a comfort we crave.
(Drawing by Allen Forrest, real_characters_counter_ink_on_paper_12x9)
Congratulations @artgrafiken! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain And have been rewarded with New badge(s)
Your next target is to reach 2500 replies.
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOP