A heart lay broken
A dream lay shattered
Yet, in those wee hours
The teenage ego mattered

When the bus was out of their sight, both the ladies let out a defeated sigh. They were so near, and yet so far. While Riya cursed the oldie in her heart, granny just forgot it.

It happens, she thought, she was never supposed to catch that bus.

But humanity wasn't depleted yet. Riya was quick to get on her feet. She kicked the cane hard, but the very next moment, she extended a hand towards the old lady. Shaky, wrinkled fingers engulfed her soft ones soon.

With all the strength her bony figure could provide, Riya pulled the old lady onto her feet. She does weigh too much for her age. Her own dress was all crumpled, but Riya straightened the saree of that old lady. Grabbing the cane which she'd kicked aside, she handed it back lovingly.

The moment was just too sweet to happen. Almost a dream.

A moment passed in silence when Riya finally broke it. "Happy?" she asked in a mocking tone.

If the lady was surprised by this sudden change in the young girl, her features never showed it.

"Huh?" she replied in a barely audible manner.

A whole day full of frustration was bottled inside her. Riya saw this old lady as a perfect target to let it all out.

"Happy now?" she asked again, her voice a little louder this time.

"Happy to make me miss my bus? Happy to strangle me away from my home? Happy?"

She was practically screaming by now. People were watching. And why not, it was a free show on offer. But no one really cared for the two isolated ladies.

"Why do you oldies even exist?" Riya continued, "Why do you splatter the color of slowness on our racing canvas? Why, huh, why?"

Granny didn't respond. She just stood there admiring the girl. She knew how the young blood boiled, how these teenagers always lived on an edge. The world was simple during their time. Life was simple. But it wasn't anymore. The mental pressure that these teenagers went through was immense. And if one of them wanted her to be a punching bag today, she was glad to do that.

"I never really understand you old people," Riya's lecture was still on, "you want us to move ahead, embrace our high dreams, and yet you become the roadblocks on our highway."

What are you doing Riya, her heart poked, you're supposed to find a ride home, not waste time with a stranger. She let out another frustrated sigh and turned around to leave. Suddenly, something flashed in her. Before I go, I need to clean my slate. I'm not the rude person that I portrayed a moment ago.

"I'm sorry dadi," she said with a bemused look, "It's just something happened this evening, and all my frustration went out on you. But that's not it. It's my birthday in a couple of hours, my eighteenth one, and I wanted it to be special. But alas, life never happened as I've wanted. So, just forgive me."

The old lady smiled mildly. What does she know of making your birthday special?

Riya was about to leave when she saw that spark in the lady's eyes. There was something in it which drew her back. She cocked her eyebrow, asking a silent question.

"It's just that in the next two hours, it'll be my birthday as well. My hundredth birthday."

***

"You're not the only one, others are special too. So get your ego down as you try and see the world through a different lens. Hopefully, you'll find magic in everyone else around you."