She got on the bus. Contrary to what she had thought, it wasn't very full. She sat down in the seat she liked, near the exit door but facing the road.

Then she looked around and suddenly saw this boy, who seemed beautiful to her, with features of a symmetry she had never seen before, wearing a kitschy cap. At that moment, he turned his head and looked into her eyes. Without thinking, she immediately turned her head away, embarrassed. Her heart hammered against her ribs as she whipped her head towards the window, pretending to be engrossed in the blur of the passing buildings. Why had she stared? A wave of heat flushed her cheeks. God, he couldn't be much older than her own son, and yet... there was an .

It was strange. Each time she risked a glance, his eyes were there, steady and unreadable, sending a shiver down her spine. It felt as if he were trying to decipher a hidden message in her eyes. She thought, "can he hear me? My thoughts? Or am I thinking out loud?"

She couldn't explain it. Something similar had happened to her with a much older man at an event she had attended. It was also very strange. She was listening to this man and at the same time she was looking at him, like everyone else. She was thinking what a super attractive man he was and at that exact moment, he looked at her as if he'd heard her thoughts. It was a strange experience and unfortunately she found out about his death shortly afterwards. It was really surreal.

Whenever she managed to catch that bus, which was always the same, it only varied in the timetable. Sometimes it was on time, sometimes not, but she never lost faith in its regularity. But every time she caught it, he was there.

She had this inexplicable feeling. There were certain occurrences she thought could not have happened by mere coincidence. She always stayed by the door, while he always sat further back. But he would always get up very early and stand at the door in plain sight, waiting for his stop, which coincidentally happened to be hers.

This went on for a couple of months. There were times when they didn't see each other because of other things going on in their lives. Then there was that situation where she got on the bus and he was sitting at the front by the door, which was unusual, but in a good way.

She sat slightly back, facing the door, and he turned his head from time to time to feel her movements.

When they got to the bus stop, he hadn't got up yet, but as soon as she did, he got up and stood beside her.

Her heart was beating at 100 beats per minute! She felt so alive! Even when she was young, she never felt like this. The bus stopped and she got out. She felt a hand gently pull her arm. She looked up, surprised.

"I'm sorry, but we need to talk."

It was him, in a calm, deep voice looking into her eyes.