2022 Writing Contest
SHORT STORY : FIRST PLACE
Does My Bus Stop Here ?
Albert Azzara
An old woman in a frayed cloth coat and dusty hat sat in a bus shelter shivering , staring down the street for a long-awaited bus .
A small girl lugging an overstuffed backpack entered the shelter , sitting in the corner and setting her backpack as a barrier between herself and the woman .
“ Does my bus stop here ?” the woman asked . Silence . “ On your way to school ?” More silence . “ Oh dear , here I am seated next to a lovely , deaf girl , and I , unable to converse in sign language .” “ My mother told me never to speak to strangers .” “ Well , I ’ m Emily Strongbow , Amy Hatcher , and now we ’ re not strangers .” “ How do you know my name ? Are you psychic ?” “ Your name is on your bookbag .” “ Oh .” “ Does my bus stop here ? “ What number is it ?” “ I don ’ t know .” “ I ’ m on my way to Glendale School .” “ I ’ m not .” “ Oh .” “ What ’ s your favourite subject in school ?” “ I like poetry .” “ Really ? I was named for a poet . Emily
Dickinson . Do you know her poetry ?” “ No .” “ We had to memorize some of her poetry .” “ We don ’ t have many poetry books in our library .” “ Would you like to hear some of her poetry ?” “ Sure .” The old woman begins to respectfully recite ,
Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul , And sings the tunes without the words , And never stops at all
“ That ’ s pretty . Oh here comes my school bus . I hope your bus comes soon .”
She hefts her backpack onto one shoulder and hurries away . “ And I hope we study Emily Duckerson ’ s poems someday ,” she yells as she climbs aboard the bus . “ Dickinson !” the woman smiled as she waved . A few moments later a municipal truck drove up and a stocky woman dressed in reflective clothing climbed out . She approached the bus shelter . “ Does my bus stop here ?” “ Beg pardon ?” “ Does my bus stop here ?” “ That sign up there on the pole shows what buses stop here .”
The city employee , carrying a large garbage bag , walked toward the overflowing container , scooped up some of the litter on the ground into the almost
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