I truly believe that people who love Mondays are psychopaths, or they are going on vacation starting Monday.

With the gray coffee thermos in my hand, I finally readied myself to get off the yellow bus at the last stop. The bus with a neat title "Liberium Line Express" was mostly empty for the entire duration of my trip, and considering it was eleven p.m. at night, it wasn't at all surprising.

"Another night shift Alexandra?" A familiar voice snaps me out of the daze.

The cheerful bus driver Eric knows me well by now. A man in his sixties, he was sporting a comfortable uniform consisting of a dark blue shirt and equally dark blue pants that fit well on his lean frame, it was obvious that he was still in good shape. He was steering the driving wheel with silent confidence, and the experience of forty-something years as a bus driver was clear in the gently switched gears.

I was impressed by his posture and his lean physique considering his sedentary job. With only three years until pension, I envied the freedom he was going to enjoy. He would talk about how he and his husband would go to an exotic location once he retires. I guess the bus drivers are paid better than I. Or maybe, his husband earned better than both of us.

I smiled at him disregarding the fatigue that was creeping on my eyelids.

"Yeah, yeah, and I got this bad boy here to keep me going." I winked and pointed at my coffee, but caffeine didn't do much for me if I was running low on energy or sleep. I had a curious ability to fall asleep like a baby even if I drank liters of it, but I still enjoyed the ritual.

"Speaking of bad boys, how was your date with the guy? What was his name...Colin?" He asked with his upturn curious brow, only briefly letting his dark brown eyes settle on mine before turning them back to the road.

I had briefly let go of the bus handle so I could waive the question off with my hand and chuckled.

"Uh, not gonna happen. And it was Cameron by the way." I answered with a polite smile nonchalantly and simultaneously focused on ensuring a steady footing on the bus floor despite its swaying. With each turn and stop, my body subtly adjusted, finding balance.

Judging by the way his dark brown eyes widened, and his bushy eyebrows shot up, he was surprised at my dismissal, knowing that I was looking forward to the date with him. Cameron, at least judging by the text messages via dating application was capable of witty banter, a quality that was rather rare to find nowadays. A quality I admired deeply.

"But why?"

"Oh, you know. He is a Scorpio and I am Aquarius."

I joked at my superficial reason and in response, he shook his head in amusement. I couldn't tell him that the guy tried to date rape me when he put a drug in my drink when he thought that I wasn't looking.

Eric had high blood pressure, and even though he was cheerful by nature, I didn't want to worry him with Cameron's transgressions especially when I was capable of handling such transgressors. So, I may or may not have made Cameron regret his actions when I winked and whispered something into his ear, only to knock him unconscious in an alleyway. I also may or may not have tied him to the streetlight behind the bar that we have been to. Naked.

Needless to say, social media was having a field day with the news of such an embarrassing story. Perhaps, out of knowledge what he did was wrong, or out of fear that he would be discovered for what he did, he never gave any interviews. Some sympathized with him, others made a meme out of him.

"So you mean to tell me you had a blast talking to him for a couple of weeks, but you draw the line at zodiac compatibility?" Eric said as he looked at me with a raised eyebrow via his rear-view mirror placed above his head.

I should have known that Eric wouldn't take a hint at my reluctance to talk about it. So I countered it with something that I knew he wouldn't exactly tolerate. Eric was above all, an old-fashioned gentleman.

"He "forgot" his wallet Eric. On a first date." I lied and his brows relaxed upon my answer. 

Yepp, that will do it.

"This generation of men nowadays don't know how to treat a woman. Most of them want to be female it seems. Pampered and spoiled the lot of them, yearning for their mates' approval, yet they are repulsed at me and my husband holding hands." Eric chuckled and refocused his eyesight on the road. Before long, the bus stopped with a gentle screech of the breaks, and with a light-hearted chuckle, he opened up the bus doors.

"Here you go, Alexandra, my last passenger of the day". Eric smiled as he gazed softly at me. Kind of like a father would to a daughter.

"Hurry up and get back to Maverick. Have a safe drive home." I waved him off and with a brief smile, he bid me good night and drove off.

The smile on my face naturally disappeared. The cool air hit my lungs as I inhaled deeply and gathered what was left of my remaining strength, willing my feet to move. One step. Two. Three.

I nuzzled into my collar as I kept my gaze firmly planted on the gray pavement, keeping my warm thermos low. The occasional chewing hums on the pavement and cigarette bums were a befitting decoration of Sisely.

The dread of Mondays means little when one has been working night shifts the entire weekend. I don't think that I will ever get used to them, even if I have been working as a security guard for a year.

Why did I accept the shift to help out my friend?

I already knew the answer. Because I wanted to avoid the repercussions that would possibly follow upon letting people down. Rejecting Esma's request might cause her to harbor resentment toward me. In turn, she might become spiteful of me. Maybe even give me a snide comment here and there that would give me anxiety. Maybe she would start a rumor that would possibly ruin my reputation.

Dramatic, nonetheless my brain insisted on that being a probable outcome.

I hope that the people pleaser inside of me is happy with my high blood pressure and my messed up hormones from the picked-up night shifts, all because my coworkers are unable to plan ahead and my inability to say no.

This time, Esma wanted to go to the countryside with her family. She said something along the lines of "Oh come on please, I already spoke to the manager Rey, and he said it would be fine if you were to accept it".

I did try to reject requests at one point but said manager would add pressure alluding that my not having kids or a husband automatically means that I have no responsibilities or hobbies. It didn't matter much that I had this job longer than them.

For all of my resentment towards my colleagues, I resented my lack of spine even more.

At least the uniform was comfortable; a classic jet-black cargo pants and shirt. Beretta ninety-two gun was secured safely at my belt, and thankfully, I haven't had a chance to use it yet. I did use my teaser only once, and that was only because some girl tried to rob me at knifepoint on my way back home.

Boy did I have nightmares after that incident.

Grey cobblestone embraced the force of my heels in a narrow street. Fountains were shut off, thankfully. I couldn't bear to look at the way the hand-carved statues were made to look like men pissing into the pool of water below. Not that I had anything against nudity, but a naked man pissing and almost celebrated by being carved out in a statue was a rather grotesque view.

This hectic city, Sisely, is the kind of place that truly gives an impression of endless possibilities to all who come to visit. During the day, streets would be packed with people rushing to and fro. Strangers with their heads down, some on their phones, and others engaged in conversations that seemed as if they were a matter of life and death. The aroma of street food would linger through the air, mixed with the stench of exhaust fumes, producing a homunculus of a scent that wafted throughout the day, giving a unique odor to the crowded city.

However, at this time, the chatter would quiet down, with only an occasional drunk group of women and men, or taxi cars driving by. The scenery was almost serene. Perhaps it was the hypnotizing effect of the red light or the flashing neon sign of a nearby pharmacy that contributed to my zoning out on a traffic light.

Movement in my peripheral vision snapped me out of my reverie which painted a comforting picture of me under my warm bed covers. A dark fluffy ball of feathers eyed me with its amber eyes.

A carrion crow?

The green light for passengers turned on, and as it did, I didn't notice that there were people behind me, almost kicking the bird onto the road. I winced in worry and with a shaking hand, I extended my palm to a vulnerable animal.

"Come here, I will not hurt you. Please." I said with a shaking voice and with a panicked state of mind. 

With a pace of a snail, I stepped towards it. Once I was close enough, I immediately tried catching it, but the animal got frightened so it only made the bird jump onto the roadway. Probably because I looked like a goddamn giant to it. I had no jacket to throw onto it that would possibly facilitate my attempt to rescue the crow. I put my coffee thermos down on the pavement so that both of my hands are free, in hopes that I don't miss out on an opportunity to remove it from the danger of the oncoming cars.

An elderly couple stood by next to me. A beautiful dark-skinned red-headed lady in a burgundy sweater, paired with indigo blue suit pants, and a pale man, wearing a fedora and a black suit worryingly observed it.

"Poor thing." They pitied the bird, but my focus was on the neatly folded newspapers under the man's armpit. Perhaps I could use it as a makeshift thin blanket?

"Sir, can I please borrow your newspapers? I will give them back to you I promise."

He nodded, and as if on cue the green light for cars turned on. I promptly took the newspaper and placed myself in front of the cars, using the paper to try to corral the small bird back to the pavement.

The cars honked as they bypassed me, but all that mattered was that the frail creature eventually jumped back to the safety of the sidewalk. Using the opportunity of its proximity, I spread the newspapers around its sleek wings, and as gently as I could, I finally grasped it into my hands.

The vulnerable creature didn't put up too much of a fight. I was thankful for that, considering how the sleekness of its feathers did little to prevent it from slipping out of my soft grasp with the tiniest of movements. If the bird was injured, I couldn't really tell with the darkness of the night, but something must have been wrong considering its odd passive behavior. The crow eyed me cautiously, as I paced toward what I deemed a safer zone.

"You will be okay buddy", I said as I tried to provide comfort to the bird with a soothing voice.

I walked to the nearby park, where I had gently put the bird down to the ground after which it promptly hid in bushes. I returned the newspapers to the elderly couple who were praising me for my bravery, but I did not feel that way. I felt bitter as I wondered how long had that bird stayed there, vulnerable and in harm's way.

My thoughts lingered at the odd encounter long after I parted ways with the crow.