The clouds seemed to be darkening by the minute thought Mia as she looked up at the sky yet again. She then craned her neck to look down the winding road as far as her eye could see. No sign of the bus yet, she sighed to herself her shoulders drooping just like her mouth was.
As she tapped her foot on the ground, small plumes of dust flew around it. It was her fault; she chided herself. Why did she have to miss the morning bus? If only she was better organized! If only she hadn’t overslept! As Mia continued berating herself, she thought she spied a vehicle in the distance. Would it be the bus, she bit her lip as she stood on her toes and tried to see.
The worry lines on her forehead smoothed instantly as she saw that it was indeed the bus, trundling towards her! A smile split her face, and she almost had an impulse to clap her hands in glee till she reminded herself of the silver sprinkled through her hair.
The dusty bus drove up to the stop, and she let out a sigh as it stopped in front of her. Collecting her luggage, Mia got in. As she paid the driver for her ticket, she looked up to see that the bus was empty. Or was it? No it wasn’t, there was another passenger too, occupying a seat in the last row, looking outside her window.
Mia arranged her luggage under her seat and sat down. She let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding, glad to have finally got onto the bus.
‘Hey there, pretty girl!’ Mia turned around to see the only other passenger calling out to her. ‘Yes?’ she answered, a quizzical note in her voice.
‘Why are you sitting there by yourself? Join me here’, the woman patted the empty seat beside her. Mia obediently stood up to do so, and just then, the bus lurched to a start. Steadying herself, she walked all the way back to the bus to take the seat the woman had patted. As she sat down, a comforting fragrance made its presence felt. Mia inhaled deeply, and just as she was about to say it, the woman smiled, ‘Lavender’.
‘Yes. I have just discovered it, and I love it’, said Mia.
‘It’s my favorite too’, chuckled the woman.
As she turned to smile at the woman, Mia thought the woman looked familiar. She crinkled her brow, trying to place her when the woman smiled back and said, ‘You have a habit of doing that, don’t you? See what my habit has left me with’, she pointed out to the deep furrows between her brows.
Mia immediately smoothed hers before, out of habit, it furrowed again.
‘The only lines we need to map our faces are the ones that good memories have left behind, but we realize that much later, don’t we as I did!’ the woman laughed aloud. As Mia studied her fellow passenger, she realized that even though her hair was snow white, her face was lined, her cherubic face looked like she was always mirthful, and the twinkle in her eye hinted at an impish temperament.
‘Trying to place me, are you?’ these mischievous eyes shone as they turned towards Mia.
A blush colored Mia’s face, and before she could answer, another question was thrown her way.
‘Why did you agree to sit here with me? Hadn’t you planned to spend time alone with your thoughts?’
Mia’s blush deepened as she wondered how this woman knew.
‘You missed the bus this morning, and you continued to berate yourself through the day for it!’ Mia’s mouth hung agape by now.
‘Haven’t you heard the saying, sometimes it is good to miss a bus? It might have been the wrong bus?’
Mia was lost for words.
‘Life is like this bus, Mia. Sometimes, you are meant to miss one so that you have the time to think about why you did. And anticipate and value the next one that comes along. Life is also like this bus ride. You board the bus, yes, and you spend the ride doing what you want or what you must do. Ultimately, whether you get onto the right or wrong bus, it will get you to where you want to go, as long as you know where you are meant to be.’
‘Who are you?’ Mia finally managed to find the words she had on her mind.
‘Me? Look closely, Mia, I am the future you.’ the woman smiled, and Mia saw herself reflected in her eyes. ‘This bus ride is a part of your, or should I say, our life’. ‘You will take many journeys to reach where I am. And I am here to remind you to enjoy every one of them. Make mistakes, correct them, or then leave them as memory markers. Hop onto the wrong bus, which will lead you to identify the right one. Be patient with yourself.’
‘Life, dear Mia, is glorious! When you get to where I am, you will cherish every moment, even the wrong ones.’ the woman winked. ‘You can either let life lead you, or you can lead your life. Choose wisely. Above all, be empathetic towards your co-passengers on this journey.’
The sharp honk of the bus made Mia snap out of her slumber. She looked around bleary-eyed. She was seated at the bus stop, and the bus was right in front of her. What was it that she had experienced, she wondered? An epiphany or a dream? Whatever it may have been, the words of the old woman were what she was meant to hear, and follow, Mia smiled as she boarded the bus.
‘On the bus ride home I met an old woman’ was the weekly #BlogchatterBlogHop prompt for which I wrote this.
For a moment it made me feel that the poor girl will be robbed. Robbed she was.. but for good this time. The older her took away her guilt and her narazgi from her. Keep up the suspense.. Loved it
‘Life is like this bus Mia. Sometimes you are meant to miss one, so that you have the time to think about why you did. And also to anticipate and value the next one…”
If these words are not an epiphany then they sure are preordained to light up the winding long tunnel of my life.
You must be a messenger of sorts….