1. I sat there, in that same seat in the back of the bus, listening to the raindrops slamming against the window. It was melodic, and mesmerized me. I had always been one to recognize patterns, whether they were worth noticing or not. It was a habit I had, for better or for worse, and it couldn’t be stopped. Some would find it obnoxious, to always hear music out of such trivial things, but I considered it a treat. Outside the window was a scene of pure chaos; rain flew everywhere, with large winds blowing green grass all about. There were farm animals, too, dazed and confused while grazing in fields, wondering how they ended up in this storm, and wanting nothing more than to exit it. I tried to take my mind off of the weather and began to look around the bus. It was nearly packed with people trying to weather the storm: a young mother with two boys was sitting in the very back, trying to deal with her crying offspring; an elderly man and his wife sat in the front row, holding hands as their wet, thin hair dried; a dog walker brought along his entire troop, including two poodles, a bulldog, and a Rottweiler, which scared a young girl sitting next to the dog walker, who was sobbing into her mother’s dress. There were skaters, and businessmen, and readers, and dreamers, and everyone under the Sun, all in this small bus. At that very moment, a thought popped into my head: we were all here for the same reason. We all had different upbringings, different backgrounds, different wants, different needs, different professions, different family, different friends, and different lives. But, at that very moment in time, we all wanted to do the same thing: we all wanted to weather the storm. We all wanted to try and lessen our problems, one of our many, many problems, by hopping aboard a bus, and staying dry for a few minutes. We all wanted to make our lives just a bit easier, just a bit more manageable, in that moment. I turned around and looked out the window one last time before exiting the bus, filled with strangers who I felt close to, and saw a rainbow coming from behind a large tree. I smiled, and walked out, silently wishing the other passengers good luck in life, and passing on the melody of the raindrops. Photo credit: “Rainy bus ride.” by Michelle R.

    I sat there, in that same seat in the back of the bus, listening to the raindrops slamming against the window. It was melodic, and mesmerized me. I had always been one to recognize patterns, whether they were worth noticing or not. It was a habit I had, for better or for worse, and it couldn’t be stopped. Some would find it obnoxious, to always hear music out of such trivial things, but I considered it a treat.

    Outside the window was a scene of pure chaos; rain flew everywhere, with large winds blowing green grass all about. There were farm animals, too, dazed and confused while grazing in fields, wondering how they ended up in this storm, and wanting nothing more than to exit it.

    I tried to take my mind off of the weather and began to look around the bus. It was nearly packed with people trying to weather the storm: a young mother with two boys was sitting in the very back, trying to deal with her crying offspring; an elderly man and his wife sat in the front row, holding hands as their wet, thin hair dried; a dog walker brought along his entire troop, including two poodles, a bulldog, and a Rottweiler, which scared a young girl sitting next to the dog walker, who was sobbing into her mother’s dress. There were skaters, and businessmen, and readers, and dreamers, and everyone under the Sun, all in this small bus.

    At that very moment, a thought popped into my head: we were all here for the same reason. We all had different upbringings, different backgrounds, different wants, different needs, different professions, different family, different friends, and different lives. But, at that very moment in time, we all wanted to do the same thing: we all wanted to weather the storm. We all wanted to try and lessen our problems, one of our many, many problems, by hopping aboard a bus, and staying dry for a few minutes. We all wanted to make our lives just a bit easier, just a bit more manageable, in that moment.

    I turned around and looked out the window one last time before exiting the bus, filled with strangers who I felt close to, and saw a rainbow coming from behind a large tree. I smiled, and walked out, silently wishing the other passengers good luck in life, and passing on the melody of the raindrops.

    Photo credit: “Rainy bus ride.” by Michelle R.