Fae Land

Kindness and Compassion Equals Floor Mat

Alicia crumpled the letter giving herself a paper cut as a nice exclamation to a pretty shitty day. She rolled her eyes at her luck and tossed the now bloodied paper into the nearest waste receptacle as she noticed the blue city bus hissing to a halt. She frantically ran towards the bus stop hoping she would reach it or at least catch the attention of the driver. No such luck. The bus hissed again and rolled forward leaving her panting at the corner trying not to stumble off the sidewalk edge.

"Thank You!" She yelled at the shrinking bus.

Looking at her simple plastic watch which was held together with duct tape, she noted she would have to wait another half hour at least for the next bus which doesn't stop near her house or an hour for the one that did. The choppy breeze wasn't making the decision any easier for her.

She sighed and rubbed her neck weighing her options. Her thumb was still tender from the slice, but she suckled the metallic blood to not make a disgusting mess of her clothes as she searched the blue Walmart reusable bag that currently doubled as her purse. She had to have a napkin or something to use as a band-aid, right? Nothing. Her purse was shockingly sparse. 

She scrunched her bushy blonde eyebrows together as she tried to remember if she emptied it before leaving. Nope. She definitely remembered; specifically, she put a few napkins from a fast food joint in the bag and the baby wipes she normally tries to keep on hand were gone too. She sighed again. Someone from the homeless shelter she was volunteering at must have helped themselves. 

"Well, I guess they needed it more than you, Alicia." She tried to make herself feel better. 

She exhaled loudly, tilted her head to the sky, and tried to find a star through the smoggy night. The bright city lights were masking most of the twinkles, but she saw the six faint throbbing stars of Cassiopeia. She always looked for it because it looked like a sidewise three or a stick figure Halloween bat, so it was easy to find. She traced the number using only her eyes. It helped her feel less frustrated. She was so enamored with the meditation, that she almost missed the next bus. The hissing breaks broke her from the trance. Her mind flashed confusion because it was the second bus that goes to her house. She looked down at her watch. An hour passed. "whaa." She stopped. She shook her head. She must be more tired than she thought.

The bus driver smiled at her with a gappy toothed smirk. She wasn't shocked at his raspy voice, "U okay darlin?" His eyes lingering far longer than appropriate.

"Yes. Thanks." She said curtly to let him know not to continue his questioning. She used the rails, sat near the front, and didn't make eye contact with anyone if she didn't need to. That was the rules. If she did sneak a peek at the other occupants, it was through the busses long rear-view mirror or a reflection of the opposite window. If anyone's eyes met the other, you give a courtesy smile, but you had to be quick to not give the impression you were naive or looking for something from someone. Those were also the rules, the unspoken rules that you figure out only when you accidentally look like you are too interested in what someone was doing or in a person, in particular, it could be an invitation to harass you. 

So you pretend to not notice anyone else. You stay aware watching with your corner of your eyes but never linger. The bus driver followed the rules too, pretending not to notice the smell of cannabis wafting forward. He knew better than to address it. Everyone knew to pick your battles downtown. The occupants in the back this time were more interested in getting high than messing with the occupants. Alicia hoped it would stay that way.

To pass the time, she looked at her thumb which was still sore, but no longer bleeding. She opened her bag only to see a Vegan King Napkin laying at the top. "What the fuck?" It was quiet, but her voice must have carried. The bus driver glanced her direction in the mirror and smiled at her. "Sorry." She mouthed. He shook his head and looked back at the road.