Number-one bestselling author
beside me, her
purse hitting my
knee. She glanced
over at me
and smiled brightly.
“Oh, I am sorry. You know women and their purses.”
I was uplifted
looking at her
smile. I pointed
to her purse.
“It’s all right. It matches your walker.”
The purse was
purple, the same
colour as the
streamers she had
dangling from her
walker. She smiled.
“Well, it is my favourite colour.”
“Mine too.”
We shared a
moment of happy
silence as the
bus stopped next
to a high
school. Kids got
off the bus
and another group
of them ran
by the window,
calling out to
each other joyfully.
“Oh, to be that young again. Not a care in the world.”
“To have that freedom.”
I said. She
looked at me.
“You know, when I was a little girl, I had this scarf. I would tie it round my neck and then run.”
She gave a
reminiscent sigh and
patted my hand.
“I used to watch it as it streamed out behind me as I ran. It was as if I were flying. I felt like a princess.”
“You still are.”
I said. She
rewarded me with
the brightest, most
dazzling smile. I
blushed when she
patted my hand
again. She let
out another reminiscent sigh.
“I remember how free I used to feel when I ran, with my scarf flowing out behind me.”
She looked out
the window as
if she could
see herself there.
“That was my freedom.”
She said. Then
she looked at
me and instead
of patting my
hand took it
in hers.
“Are you free? Do you have freedom? Do you feel like you can fly?”
I thought of
everything I had
in my life,
how I had
finally found love,
finally started coming
into my own.
“I am and I do. For the first time in my life.”
She released my
hand and patted
it again, looking happy.
“Oh, I’m so glad. For its only when you learn to fly that you can truly see the world.”
She reached over
and pulled the
bell and waited
for the bus
to stop. She
stood and looked
back at me.
“You have a good day now. And remember to keep flying.”
I watched her
get off the
bus and when
the bus started
moving again, I
looked for her
but she wasn’t
there, as if
she had already
flown away.