Life's path

By KhelD4R

The bus rumbled down the road, a light baby blue oldie, trimmed with rusted silver and filled with passengers. It was well into peak hour, just past 6, and it was already standing room only, half way along the route. Along both sides of the street, the yellowing trees continued to rain down their leaves, creating a carpet of colour to precede the way. Thankfully the day was cool, and a strong wind was blowing through the branches, otherwise the inside would have resembled a steam oven, filled with sweaty people.

Marcus eyed the approaching vehicle with a mix of resignation and disgust, knowing that it would be his only way home. As much as he would like to spend the beautiful day walking down the street and through the parks around his home, there was simply not enough time for such a luxury. Life was too full, too busy… HE was too busy.

As the contraception squeaked faintly to a half before him, the tall young man fell into line with the rest of the patrons, behind a mysterious girl with a shapely figure. At first he didn’t notice, engrossed as he was within his own thoughts about the bus ride home. However as they began to inch forward, the sway of her long rich brown hair drew him back to reality. It was mesmerizing. She moved forward, taking the first of three steps into the bus, still waiting for several other riders to purchase or show their tickets. Now that she was slightly above him, the young man noticed her groovy blue jeans; faded Levi’s, and her plain white blouse top. However he had yet to make out her face.

“Oi, you alright son?”

The Bus Driver’s question brought him back to reality again. With a start he realized he had held up the queue and vaulted up the three steps, fumbling for his wallet. After a brief, but excruciating few seconds, he produced his tickets and hurried down the aisle. He could feel the strange looks that people were directing at him, and he collapsed into the first seat he could find, unfortunately bumping the other passenger next to him.

“Oooff”

The poor boy’s head swung, as he registered the other person. “Ohh, incredibly sorry, my bad,” he apologized, head still spinning from the rush.

The man next to him shot him a glare which had clear elements of “scram” written all over it. Marcus then registered the tattoos and chain around the fellow’s neck, and decided to move on down the bus. He got up, pulling his messenger bag with him. Further towards the back, he spotted the girl with brown hair from before, her head turned away from him as she stared out the window. A brief moment of indecision hit him, but soon he realized that there were few other available seats.

Even as the bus began to continue down the road, he stumbled towards the back, and drew level to the unidentified young lady. Now that he had a different perspective, he figured she was about his age yet she looked a bit sad. He could feel his heart pound a little harder, but he sat down anyway, taking care not to intrude on her space, and certainly not cause any unintentional physical contact.

Minutes passed as the bus continued to travel, and the whole time Marcus stared straight ahead, his mind roiling with the many ways he could strike up a conversation. Sweat had long since began to bead on his forehead at the thought of taking that step, yet outwardly he was calm and very still not wanting to interrupt the musing of the girl beside him.

Outside the trees continued to whip by, a stunning display of nature’s wonder and beauty. The many colours were lost to the young man, lost as he was in his many thoughts. However they weren’t wasted.

Miranda could sense that someone sat beside her, her sense of smell picking up that he was a young man, slightly nervous, yet who had nice cologne. She smiled to herself, wondering if he would eventually work up the courage to say something, yet if he did or didn’t, it wasn’t really her concern; the gorgeous show before her was more then enough to fill her heart. She loved nature and the miraculous beauty it held.

The bus continued to roll; still travelling the same road, with various people getting on and off according to their stops. As she watched, seeing this area for the first time, the young lady wondered at the slow but steady change that she was beginning to see in the surroundings on either side of the bus. It was unnoticeable, even to the most trained observer, yet if she compared the background from near the stop to now, it seemed different, older here. It was like something had been lost. A great sense of sadness began to fill her heart, and she barely had time to wonder what it meant. Emotions started to form in her mind, and suddenly, without almost realizing it, she really needed to get off and walk.

Pushing past the still agonizing Marcus, she reached up for the pulley, and sounded the horn. Almost immediately the bus began to slow. With a rush, she stepped into the aisle and almost fell down the stairs.

Marcus was shocked by her sudden departure, feeling almost immediately that somehow he had caused her obvious discomfort, and he began to berate himself. However, as the bus started up again slowly, he memory turned back to when he had first noticed her hair coyly drawing him out of his daydreams. Suddenly a resolve hardened within him.

Miranda watched the bus drive off, and with a sigh she began to walk after it, already feeling the difference circumstances. She didn’t know why she had needed to get off, yet the sense of sorrow and loss had been far more then suffocating. It had felt like she had lost a part of herself, lost a passion for life.

As she continued to walk, head down, she pondered the strange turn of events, the new emotions. It was a puzzle and something she definitely needed to think about. But then she stopped, for the bus had stopped again, grinding to a half a few meters before her.

From off the bottom step jumped a young man, short black hair highly textured and moulded into spikes. As he landed softly, the wind seemed to swirl around him, ruffling his black cargo shorts and white sleeveless hoodie. Indeed Miranda hadn’t seen him before, yet the boy seemed strangely familiar. Yet she was sure she would have remembered someone so good looking.

Marcus looked around; searching for a glance of the girl he had followed. It made no sense to get off the bus, yet somehow, he had known that he must, or forever regret the lost opportunity. With a start he found her, not 10 feet away. She was beautiful, far more so then he had expected.

“Hi,” he began, suddenly nervous even after his crazy decision. “I’m Marcus.” He flashed what he hoped was a friendly smile.

Miranda responded in kind, offering a cheerful grin and replying with a laugh in her voice. “Hi, I’m Miranda.”

Relaxing visibly, Marcus gave a wane smile, although this one was more heartfelt. “You walking that way?” He asked, pointing after the swiftly disappearing bus.
“Yeah I’m going home,” she nodded, “wanna come with?”
“Would love to.”

As they began to walk side by side, the wind stirred up more leaves around them, filling the air around them with a cascade of shimmering orange.
“By the way, who are you?”
“Marcus, I thought I just told you that.”
“Yeah, but I have this feeling that we’ve met.”

Marcus looked up then, thinking about how he should respond. “It’s a beautiful day isn’t it?”
“Don’t avoid the question!”
“But it IS a beautiful day! Look at the trees, the leave, and the sky. Feel the wind, embrace nature.”

Miranda slowed down and began to take notice of all that she had missed. “Yeah, I guess I missed a lot of it on the bus…”
“I guess life gets like that, sometimes you just need to stop and walk.” Responded Marcus, a bit unsure what to say, but still trying to be cool. Miranda looked at him sideways, even as she drew even to the walking young man. “With complete strangers down deserted roads yeah?”
“Absolutely.”