"The Strange Man at the Bus Stop."

Sometimes we never find out why things turn out the way they do. We never really have answers to all of our questions. We come up with more questions than with answers. And even when we think we have an answer we are just stuck with never-ending questions.

            Everyday as I walked to the bus stop, I came up with millions of questions and I never seemed to have any answers. At the bus stop next to the apartment, there was a man inside the building. His window was always open. Everyday ten minutes before the bus arrived, he left his apartment and came down to the stop. He was always dressed in all black, even on the hottest of days. I never knew why he stood there because he never got on the bus. A smile never danced on his face and his eyes never grinned. Its as if his whole body was alive except his soul. Everyone has at least one reason to smile or to be happy about. But it seemed as if he didn’t. Look at me, I’m dying of cancer and my husband just disappeared, he left without even giving me a reason. But I still smile.

            I stood there observing the man while he just stood there looking down tears began rolling down his face. I didn’t know what to do or what to say. As the bus approached the stop, he began to back away and just watched people get on the bus. As the bus drove away, his black silhouette became less and less visible. The bus rides to the hospital seemed longer and longer each day. My body wasn’t getting used to the long uncomfortable rides that also smelled like public washrooms that haven’t been washed in months. As my stop approached, there were less people every time. Eventually I was the last one on the bus as always.

            The first thing you see when you get off is the cemetery, and right across the street was the hospital.  As I turned around I felt a hand on my shoulder. I knew I was alone because I had just turned around. I wanted to turn around but a part of me kept me from doing so. It’s as if someone was standing in between me and whoever had their hand on my shoulder.  The next thing I knew, I was laying on a hospital bed. All I could hear was multiple voices and my vision was blurry. I saw a black figure standing behind all of the doctors that were attending me. I realized that it was the man from the bus stop. But what was he doing here? I didn’t know him, so why was he here? At the foot of my bed, was my mother. She was crying and all she was saying was “I thought she was getting better.”

            An hour passed. My mother left. I was lonely once again. Why wasn’t anyone coming to my room to give me my radiation? Minutes later, my vision became blurry once more. But I could see that same man from the bus stop approaching me. My body became paralyzed. His face wore an evil smile and all he said was “I’m sorry things had to turn out this way but its time for you to come with me.”