5:55 PM

When she arrived home, she rushed toward her bedroom. The white blouse and the purple checked skirt, that she had spent the night choosing, were carefully set aside, folded on a chair. She quickly jumped out of her work clothes. A shower and a make-up session later, she carefully puts the clothes on.

She liked what she saw in the mirror – a pretty young woman. It was not everyday that she felt pretty or womanly. She smiled at the reflection and was glad to see her smile returned.

She put her glasses on. After 7 years of wearing them, they had become a part of her. They were more than a tool to see better. They boosted her confidence and made her look smarter, somehow. Maybe one day she would be able to display the same confidence without them. Maybe.

She checked the time on her phone. 5:30 PM. Crap! She had to grab the bus in 15 min. She rushed out of her bedroom and went to her parent room. Their huge bed was neatly made. On its left, her father's huge bookshelf, organized like in a library. He was a bit of a clean freak. Maybe more than a bit.

On its right side, her mother's big dressing table. A bit messier. She hurriedly looked through the drawers. She finally found the red box.

She opened it and grabbed the silver necklace with a pendant. The pendant made the necklace special. It was a water lily with silver petal and gold-plated stamens. Her father bought it when she was born. Water lilies were her mother favourite flower and Lily was her name. Romantic, isn't it?

She only wore it for special occasions. It was kept safe by her mother the rest of the time. It was her lucky charm and something that made her feel safe.

She checked her hair in the dresser's mirror. They were still safely tied in a high bun. Not a single unruly strand of hair. It was a miracle. Perhaps a good sign that everything would work out.

She blinked her eyes to get back to reality. She didn't have time to daydream. She put on a pair of stud earring and checked the time again. 5:37 PM. The bus stop was 3 min away from her home. She was still safe. She still hurried to the front door. She slipped a pair of black leather mid-heeled pump and a black trench coat on. She grabbed an umbrella next to the shoe rack as an afterthought. Just in case. She closed the door and made sure it was locked.

She checked the time. 5:40 PM. Still safe. She went down the stair at a moderate pace and exited her apartment building. It was a mildly warm afternoon. The sky was reddish as the sun was slowly setting a bit earlier than usual. Winter was fast approaching. She put on her earphone and walked toward the bus stop.

A group of students were waiting at the stop when she reached it. Probably high school students. She didn't wait for long. The bus arrived at exactly 5:45 PM. A mother with her son was waiting for the light to turn green as she motioned the bus driver to wait. The driver who had time to spare waited for them to board before pulling away. Seven more stops and his shift would be done.

She sat down on one of the seats on the back row and pulled her phone out of her pocket. She had to reassure her mother that she made it on the bus on time. Unfortunately, punctuality wasn't one of her strong points. She sighted as deactivated flight mode that she had forgotten to turn off, again. A concerto of beeps immediately started. She quickly removed the earphones from her ears. Holy moly! 25 unread messages! She clicked on her best friend name – Meredith. 6 messages.

Good luck! You're gonna ace it girl! *heart*

Did you get of work on time?

???

Are you alive?

DON'T TELL ME YOU FORGOT TO CHARGE YOUR PHONE AGAIN !!!

The last message, an annoyed emoticon, was received 2 minutes ago. She quickly answered.

Sorry I forgot to turn off flight mode. I made it on the bus. Love you too girl.

Her mother's messages were of the same tone as Meredith's – with less punctuation and better grammar. She answered her that she made it on the bus and thanked her for her encouraging word.

There were two messages from her dad. She was touched that he managed to find time to write something for her despite his busy schedule.

Don't forget to take a deep breath at the beginning. Talk slowly.

You can do it. I love you.

"I love you too." She wrote back with a smile on her lips. Her father wasn't the kind to be affectionate.

The rest of messages were just as heartwarming. They were from her friends from school, from work and from the gym, her favourite teacher (Ms. Murphy) and even her grumpy boss.

She smiled as she looked out of the window. She felt loved and supported. Another beep came from her phone. Her mother had sent her a drawing from her little brother, Joshua.

There was a big red heart. Inside the heart, there was what she guessed was her. She chuckled.

She typed in a reply.

"Wow! So pretty! I lov-

A loud bang.

The bus and its passenger are blown apart.

5:55 PM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The end~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tuesday, January 30th 2018 - 9:09 PM

*clap, clap, clap*

Thank you for reading till this point (sending some hearts, you better catch them).

How was it?

I am considering a sequel but still not sure.

How is the cover? Does it fit the story?

The song Jueves by La Oreja the Van Gogh inspired me this. You should check it out. You don't need to understand Spanish.

Thanks again and have an amazing day/evening/night/morning.