NEPENTHE

The Lady Aboard the Bus

You climb aboard the bus and sit down in your usual seat, panicking, because you're 15 minutes late for class and it's an important lecture and you just can't miss it and then worry grabs your mind and shakes it and you are anxious about getting yelled at and thrown out of class and how on earth am I going to get those notes and then your worry shifts to the upcoming exam next week and how unprepared you are and how your marks last time weren't good enough and that leads you to think you just aren't good enough for anything and...

The lady seated on your left, breaks into your cluttered musings. She had always sat on the left.

'Hey! Didn't see you, yesterday!'

You think back to yesterday and reply, 'Oh, I was unwell. Didn't go to class.'

'Hmm. Well, I'm glad you are feeling better.', She says, casting a quick glance at your face, 'I missed your smile. Oh!! Bye, this is where I get off!', and then she's getting off the bus.

And you sit there, painfully aware that you don't even know her name. But as she waves bye to you, you feel a slight starry glow. And a smile like a shooting star lances past your face. Because despite everything, everything, despite all evidence to the contrary, people do care about you.

Thank you for reading!!