Cosmic Bus Stop
A short story of a brief encounter between time and space
A small child was sitting on an uncomfortable bench of a bus stop, flinging his feet up and down. His head was encased in a thin membrane filled with water, and he kept twirling around to make himself feel sick. Stars grew and disappeared, galaxies rotated and glimmered, and he only cared for the ever-shifting lava lamp screen next to the shoddy structure. And much to the child’s amusement, it lit up.
ARRIVAL
ONE MINUTE
The child was not quite sure what it meant, the word ‘arrival’ or the concept of time. At first he thought he knew, but the more he thought of it, the more it escaped his head, quite like trying to remember how he got here in the first place, or what he was supposed to be doing out here. He didn’t pay it much mind, though, because the new focus was back to the scenery. Entire galaxies moved, and exploded, and shrunk, and danced to a silent hymn - a tune orchestrated with his little fingers stirring the dark matter.
A minute had passed, and it was both slowed and accelerated at the same time, and the child heard a clear sound for the first time. He stood, carefully balancing his heavy, bulbous head with both of his hands, and peeked around the thin wall of the stop. A purple bus trotted along a road that conjured stars to drive on, which dissipated after contact with the naked tires. He was curios about the shiny trail and the vehicle as it became bigger, until it stopped right in front of him. The driver was a figure with a ball of blinding light as it’s head, and it illuminated the inside of the bus, and he felt it’s radiating warmth.
On the other side, the door opened, and two people got out, ushering smaller creatures with them, all made out of fabric torn from constellations. They thanked the shimmering driver, and the excited creatures skipped straight to the child, sniffing and licking his hands and feet and legs and arms and head. The child giggled, and it reverberated throughout the universe.
“Ah! You must be…” the woman gasped. The man silently nodded, with a smile strewn across his face.
They sat next to the child, one on each side, both speechless. The child looked at them, and offered the woman a red dwarf summoned on the tip of his finger, and she kindly accepted and ate it with a crunch. His toothless giggle warmed their hearts, and he was at ease. They felt familiar.
“He must be cold,” the woman said. “Did we bring a blanket?”
“Doesn’t seem like he feels it,” the man shrugged. “Is he your first as well?”
“Yes,” she answered. “Yes he is.”
The child brought his hand up to the woman’s cheek, and she let him touch it. Surprised how his hand went through her, he let out a laugh, and touched her forehead this time, and laughed again. Her throat closed and her eyes welled up.
The man stared at the unfolding, revolving universe in front of them, with the child’s small hand nested in his rugged, tough palm. The dogs have calmed, and laid down resting below the child, tickling his feet with their fur. The shifting screen rearranged another message.
DEPARTURE
ONE MINUTE
The woman cleared her eyes and pursed her lips before she spoke.
“Little one, you are going somewhere else soon. You will walk and talk and run around. You will fall, and you will rise. You will love, and you will hate. We both will live on through you, but live for yourself. We cannot go with you, but don’t be afraid of the ride. There are many people waiting for you at the end. It is your beginning. You will be welcomed and loved there.”
She stroked his hand, and the man cleared his throat.
“Trust your hands, boy,” he said, and continued with a softer voice, “and never betray yourself.”
A tiny vehicle announced itself with the nostalgic brewing of an old engine. The woman hugged the child, squeezed him gently, and let the tears roll down.
“Listen to your parents, okay? Be kind to your mother, as you have been so far,” she whispered.
The man burst open the child’s head encasement, and glossy water poured down his small body. He tried to breathe, but there was no air. The woman planted a kiss on his forehead, and the man did as well, and for a brief moment, the child saw and understood everything. The boy comprehended all, and immediately forgot.
The car stopped in front of them, and they were greeted by a figure of changing colours, shifting black, grey and blue hues, underneath a pearly sheet. The man took the child’s hand and lead him to the car, picked him up and gently pinched the chubby cheek before he settled him down in the seat. The boy fussed and reached out for both of them, shattering their hearts, but they knew there was no time left for him here.
“We will always be with you, little one.”
And the car started back up and the sparkle trail appeared, and the child emerged from speckled darkness and into the light, and he breathed an overwhelming breath and screamed.
Written to process the grief of my child only having half the grandparents.
Hope he got to meet them beforehand.
That was beautiful. It made me feel a lot of different emotions.