I became a member of Santa Clara library and spent my time reading books in it’s quiet environment. I commuted by bus and did that almost five days a week. An incident happened on one of those days that till today I remember.

It was a nice day, sun retiring from it’s assigned job. Sitting on the wooden bench I was waiting for my bus, number 58, to take me home from my visit to the library. I was killing my time looking at the passing vehicles. Out of the blue a short old lady comes near me. She had a hunch back, thick glasses over her fragile nose, a heavy bag on her drooping shoulder and a wooden stick in her hand. She sat on the bench looking exhausted, reclining a little, making herself comfortable. I looked at her from the corner of my eyes and estimated her age to be about seventy-five or may be eighty. I assumed she was also waiting for her bus.

Few minutes passed and I heard a soft voice near my ears…can you tell me the bus route to the library. I looked at her, this time straight into her eyes. She had a very kind face and a smile that tried to keep up with her wrinkled skin. I returned a warm smile and then explained to her that the bus to the library will stop on the other side of the road and would be there in a few minutes. Her eyes twinkled and thanking me she rushed towards the pedestrian crossing. I looked at her shuffling gait and then smiled to myself thinking of her sweetness.

Then suddenly I heard a screeching sound of the tires of a vehicle. I looked up, and to my horror I saw a car just stop within inches of that old lady. The old lady didn’t have the patience to wait for the green signal for crossing the other side of the road. Anyway, by Gods grace she was saved. She finally crossed and reached the other side of the road. Her face was expressionless as if nothing had happened. Well for me it was terrifying! I thought what if the car wouldn’t have stopped? She could have got hurt or may be worse. Would I have been responsible for it in some way? Did I know the woman so much in a few minutes of observation that I felt so much for her? I looked across the street. A bus was standing hooting to start for it’s next destination. When the bus was gone the old lady had gone too leaving a strange feeling in my heart and an unforgettable day in my life.

- Shephali

This entry has been viewed 380 times. It was posted on Friday, May 21st, 2004 at 8:25 am and is filed under Personal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.