The bus was pretty full. I didn't have much choice. There were enough places to sit but some people were being very inconsiderate of others and had placed their bags on the seats next to them instead of on the floor.
I walked up the small stairs in the bus and looked straight into the eyes of a beautiful girl. She looked very kind and beside her there was an empty spot. I greeted her and sat down. She greeted me with a soft 'Hey'. She sounded cautious, almost timid.
She was listening to her music. Just great, I thought. I read my book because I needed to read it and got a chance to.
We approached the bus stop where you normally get off to transfer to another bus to go to the university. She put her glasses on. ' Are you getting out here', I asked. 'No', she said and she laughed. 'O, I thought so' and I laughed too.
'Do you maybe have a pen and paper? I have to write something'. She sounded very mysterious and it sounded important. 'I can not say it out loud'
Fortunately my bag is usually filled with pens. I pulled a pen out and an envelope that that was containing a letter that I had received from the bank. She could use that to write on.
First she showed me a picture of the two boys that had been missing and pointed at one.
The two brothers from Doorn, had been missing. Their father had committed suicide and since then they had not been seen and I feared the worst.
I knew what she meant even before she began writing. 'I get it'. I looked up and stared at the little boy who had just entered the bus with a man and was standing next to the door. They did not have a place to sit because of the inconsiderate people.
'Can you read it?' She asked. I did not have to read it to know what she meant.
The boy was holding on to the man's arm and the man occasionally stroked the boys hair.
'I don't think it's him', I said after I had observed the two for a while. After I had mentioned that I was sure it was not one of the two brother the girl sighed in relief. ' It's a good thing you pay attention though. It would be a good thing, if it was him. It would be a good thing to know they are still alive.'
We talked about the incident, it was terrible. 'It's not right', she said. The thing that I find very weird, and I also told her this, is that no one in the area realized that the father of the two brother was not doing well. His neighbors said that he always seemed like a really happy person. No one had seen it coming that he would commit suicide and possibly rob the lives of his two sons. Isn't that strange?
She asked me what I was studying because she had seen me reading. She was studying tourism and wanted to become a flight attendant. I could hear from the accent somewhere far away in her voice that she was Turkish, but I will never know for sure, but does it really matter? She got out, one stop before mine.
'People wear masks nowadays'. That's what she had said. And she was right. Those masks are frightening. People feel that they need to cry but still laugh and never talk about it and bottle everything up. Isn't that weird? It isn't healthy either.
I told her: 'It was nice talking to you' She got up and walked towards the exit of the bus, but turned around. 'What's your name?' I mentioned my name 'And you?' Her name was Elwira. It's possible that she had forgotten my name even before she got off the bus and maybe she had not. I decided to remember her name and remember it well because today she, among others, had made a difference.
I deliberately waited for everyone to get off when the bus arrived at the last stop. I walked up to the bus driver and asked: 'Are you alright?' She burst out in laughter. I don't think she saw that coming. 'Yes, are you?' I told her I was doing just fine. I wished her a pleasant day and a good weekend. A big smile appeared on her tired face. I jumped off the bus with the same big smile on mine and continued my journey.
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