I was late, so when I found myself still sitting, one stop away, I pitied myself. But then a little girl screamed and began crying, explaining she had no fare back. She had boarded the wrong bus and, if I describe it correctly, was twelve stops and four turns away from school. We got off and I drew her into an embrace and wiped her tears. The passengers stared at me, confused, until we crossed over to another bus. As she boarded, she smiled and said thanks. I smiled back and thanked her within for screaming, for breaking my trance.
Meredith Asuru is an epidemiologist and writer in Nigeria. His works have appeared in Brittle Paper, The Kalahari Review, and Friday Flash Fiction Magazine. Visit him @meredith_asuru on Twitter.