Sleeping beauty and the nasty bus driver

The company bus - the thing I hate the most but can’t do without. I have to pay an astronomical amount for using the bus though the place where I live is the nearest residential area with respect to my company’s location. And till last month getting the bus driver to stop on my bus-stop was next to impossible. I often had to perform a “tandav nritya” in the middle of the busy main road to catch the bus driver’s attention. But anything remotely female trying to stop the bus was enough for the driver to bring the bus to a screeching halt.

One day, I and another guy from my stop watched the bus fly past without stopping and we had to take an auto to the office. Now this guy had a girlfriend, who also traveled on the same bus. That day she lashed out at the driver and the conductor and hurled abuses on them. From that day onwards the driver always stops even if neither I nor my friend (the other guy at the stop) turns up to catch the bus.

I always have to sit at the back of the bus. Mine is the last stop before the bus reaches the company office. My friend always has a seat reserved for him by the side of his girlfriend. So I walk back to the last row of seats watching him settle down by the side of his girl friend wishing that I too had such a nice and caring girlfriend. The last row always has a permanent occupant.

A beautiful fair girl who is always sleeping. Mostly I sit besides her since there are no other seats available. She never opens her eyes and we have never talked. When the bus reaches the company campus somehow she always manages to know and wakes up. She always dresses quite well and wears socks even when she has sandals on. Maybe she is not keeping well… I always wonder why she is alone. Where’s her boyfriend? I never get to see her id tag...know her name…something to track her identity. Sometimes I wonder whether she is real. Such a beautiful girl all alone. I never get to talk to her after reaching the company campus, people rushing about here and there. I just pray to the almighty that next day she will be awake when I get on the bus and we can have a nice chat. It’s been more than a month since I first saw her. Am still praying.