An Angel (A Short Story)

            Do you remember the day when you saw someone for the very first time and you felt like you’ve seen an angel? I have, but that moment was very short-lived.

            It was back in the days when I was when I was still a freshman taking my regular public transit to my school. I always sat in the very front of the bus where usually all the adults were seated and the rowdy teenagers sat in the back. To be honest, I was afraid to sit in the back due to the common stereotype that if you were “looking for trouble”, then you’d go there. Another reason why I sat in the front was that I wanted to see my stop in case the bus fills up and I can’t look out.

            One typical Friday morning waiting at the bus stop, there was someone I met which was still clear in my mind up till now. I got on the bus and greeted the same driver who known me over the past few months. I took my usual seat on the second row behind driver and looked out the window like I always did. Traffic was a mess day even though people were scrambling about in their vehicles heading for work in the rush hour.

            That day, something was different. A deviation had occurred in the daily norms. There was traffic accident in the middle of the intersection where most of the teenagers on the bus got off to shop at the malls. The driver turned left from the traffic under the directions of the police and began to make amends to the regular bus route. People on the bus carried worried looks on their faces as passengers were panicking whether or not they’d be late for work while students looked tense and nervous.

            I, on the other hand, was quite calm and collected. It was weird because I knew I was going to be late for my classes, but I was not worried at all. Everyone else on the bus was gazing out the windows trying to figure out what other means of transportation to take. The cell phones ringing, the texting, the chatting, and the not-so-quiet whispering seemed to blend with the chaotic traffic outside. The loud mixture of noise mixed so melodiously that I tuned out. It was a unique day and that’s what I liked about it. Change, that was the word that I wanted to describe. A change in the daily routine made the day much more interesting and adventurous. Not knowing what was going to happen made my heart accelerate to the unknown thrills of life. The intensity, gosh, it was something that I had been missing out over these few yours.

            The bus halted to a stop to pickup some irregular passengers who were madly waving at the driver. It was an elderly couple who seemed to be tourists for the parade downtown by the way they dressed. Even though the stop was not on our route, the driver gladly welcomed them onboard. I looked at the couple having difficulty getting onto the bus and immediately realized that the bus was full. So, I offered my seat to the couple and grabbed a railing. Just as the bus doors were about to close, a party of children ran up to the bus. The teacher apparently seemed to be taking her students on a field trip because she was handing out bus tickets for the children and doing a headcount. The driver again, gladly accepted the group onto the bus and the children piled into the bus. I had no choice but to move to the back of the bus to make space for the new passengers.

            In my head, I was feeling slightly uncomfortable because I had never moved to the rear of the bus thinking that I’d get into trouble. There were two high school jocks who each took two seats and a girl with purple hair writing on the back of a seat. I turned my eyes away in terror of getting their attention and saw another teenager who had tattoos on his arms. He stared at me looking as if he wanted to pick a fight, so I quickly turned my head to the other side pretending to look for my stop.

            And that was when I saw her. She sat next to the window reading a textbook. What stood out to me was her looks especially in the crowd of intimidating people around me. Like a bright moon in the dark night, she carried an aura. An energy that was lively followed by warmth. Her golden blonde hair gave her a crown marking royalty and her brown eyes complimented perfectly reducing the unnecessary attraction from other people. As I stared in awe of such a sight of beauty, she turned her head and looked at me. She must have felt someone watching her. When her eyes matched mine, I saw something in her eyes that could make any man’s heart melt. I smiled with a blush and quickly turned away before I died from shyness.

            What did I see in her crystal eyes? I saw myself…I saw myself with her and living the happiest days of my life. I saw the pure innocence and the beauty that every man dreamt of…which was a loving companionship. As I turned my head to look at her, she had already got up from her seat and was about to step off the bus. When the bus doors closed and the bus drove by her, she turned her head to me and gave me a warm smile like she had acknowledged my existence on the crowded bus. I smiled back with a light grin on my face and the bus drove away.

            That was it. I never got her name or her contact so that we may meet again. What I learned from that was that from the things you don’t expect or the places you don’t go, you’ll miss out a lot of opportunities. It was by pure luck that the normal chain of events was disrupted and I had been given the chance to learn from this. Although it was a missed connection, I believe angels do exist in this world that are here to aid us and give us a new meaning of hope and insight towards our daily lives.