I'm Sorry, Stefan

Chapter 10

It was bright summer’s day.  The sunlight poured through the glass windows of the bus, shining on Maya’s back. Her headphones were in, shielding her from the conversations of the other passengers. She hugged her backpack close to her face, her hair forming a curtain around her face. Sitting there, on the bus, she could have been invisible. At least, nobody paid an attention to the young, silent girl.

And that was how Maya preferred it. She closed her eyes, losing herself in the music. It took her almost an hour to get home from school; she took two buses that connected through downtown. She always brought her music with her. Glancing around her, she quickly pulled the small rope on the ceiling of the bus, and stood, walking towards the front of the bus. At the next stop, it grinded slowly to a halt, and the doors creaked open. Maya half-whispered some thanks to the driver, and leapt off the bus, stepping into the bustling streets of downtown.

She walked quickly down the sidewalk, purposely keeping her head down and avoiding eye contact with other pedestrians. She turned up the volume on her I-pod, attempting to block out the sounds of cars passing, and people’s voices. The bright sunlight stung her eyes, and she squinted towards the ground.

Up ahead, Maya turned sharply into a small alley between two streets. It was nearly invisible, most people walking past didn’t even consider it, or dare look inside. It was dark; the sunlight didn’t reach in between the two high buildings. Maya had learned how to avoid getting dust in her eyes as she walked.  She was really afraid of the alley, she only walked through briefly.

When she turned to corner, stopping into the alley, she wouldn’t have looked up had she not heard, even over her music, a large crash. Startled, Maya glanced up, to see a man slamming the lid to the small dumpster in the corner. She met his eyes.

He wore a loose brown coat, patched and frayed, and his hair was long and brown. His pants were black, and all of his clothing hung loosely on his frame, like they were some sizes too big for him. He was tall, much taller than the average man, with a thin, lanky frame. What caught Maya were his eyes. They were a startling grey, which seemed to shine in the darkness of the alley. They were full of hate, and narrowed to glare at her.

His hate shocked Maya, because at that point she didn’t know what she had done wrong. After only a second, the man broke eyes contact and sprinted out the alley, turning left and running off. That was what made Maya suspicious. Why would an innocent man run?

Curiosity overriding common sense, Maya walked with careful steps towards the dumpster. Her fingers shaking, she grasped the grime covered lid, and slowly opened it. Maya gagged, trying not to puke. The smell coming from the large, misshapen garbage bag was disgusting. A combination of chemicals and something rotting. Maya realised what exactly someone could hide in the garbage, and dropped the lid, jumping away.

Possibilities raced through her head, and she tried to force herself to calm down. She was probably just overreacting. Nothing to worry about. Just some nice, friendly homeless man depositing his trash. But one question kept nagging at the back of her mind, why would an innocent man run away?

Terrified, she turned around, and ran out the alley, turned right, and sprinted towards the bus stop, immediately catching a bus that was parked there. Nervous, Maya paid, and took a seat at the very back. She tried to focus on her music, but she was too scared to sit still.

She tried unsuccessfully to convince herself that it had been nothing. She tried to tell herself that it wasn’t her concern. Nothing to worry about, she thought. But Maya couldn’t stop worrying. What had just happened? Had it even been real?

The other passengers on the bus were glancing at her out of the corners of their eyes. Maya forced herself to calm down, stopping her leg from shaking, and when she noticed, made herself stop biting her lip. She almost smiled. That was what Stefan did when he was nervous. But that thought quickly fluttered out of her head, and the terrifying ones came back.