Nearing an end of another long commute, i stood awaiting my last 15 minute bus ride home. Hot, hungry, sweaty and dusty, i was certainly not in a sprite mood. Not just that it was one of those days when everything went wrong. Not quite wrong .. but still not exactly pleasant for me. At times an awry comment or a minor ticking-off or simply being snapped at gets the better of me. Let me try again.... i was ready to spout venom at the slightest interception.
Not many people at the bus stop right at that moment. However, a puddle too many, owing to a brief shower earlier, added to my agony. Skilfully dodging the murky water, i perched myself on my toes on a certain ridge between two such pot holes.
I had positioned myself to my advantage at the outer edge of a bent road track. The bus would swerve around the curve before stopping. For my own convenience, i had inched closer to the road track and now adamantly held my stand at the rim of the track; safely away from the stench but not quite from the traffic... who cares??
My bus was only yards away when it happenned. My vision blurred in a way similar to that when you look though rising vapour; the hot air distorts the sight. At the same time i felt something warm thrust into my face; i couldn't breathe. I tried shaking my head to get out of this but it didn't help. It was like some persistent force pushing me backwards until i relented.
After a few seconds of futile struggle i tossed and landed ankle deep in mud. A fraction of a second before the bus rolled to a halt.
A few seconds later i hauled myself up the footboard of the bus. My dripping footwear did not bother me. The spite in my mind had dissolved.
It took me a few blinks to realize that had it not been for the fall, my toes would have been ironed out under the wheels of the bus.
