“The Stranger on the Bus”

The Stranger on the Bus

By : Sami ullah

Maya hated her evening commute. The bus was always late, the seats smelled of damp leather, and the flickering yellow lights made everyone look like ghosts. After eight hours at a gray cubicle, all she wanted was silence, a corner seat, and a straight ride home.

But lately, something had disturbed even that routine.

The man.

He was always there. Same seat, halfway down the aisle, pressed against the window. He never spoke. Never smiled. Just stared. His eyes were steady, following her like shadows each time she stepped on board.

At first, Maya thought he was just another creep. She kept her earbuds in, eyes glued to her phone, pretending not to notice. But the way he watched her wasn’t like the usual stares she knew too well. It wasn’t hungry. It wasn’t playful. It was… calculated. Like he was studying her.

Weeks passed. His silence became heavier than words.

Then, one rainy Tuesday, it happened.

The bus jolted to a stop, brakes screeching as passengers swayed. As Maya adjusted her bag, she felt a hand brush against hers. She jerked back, but the man had already turned toward the window, pretending to watch the raindrops streak down. In her palm was something small and folded.

A note.

Her throat went dry. Heart racing, she unfolded it with trembling fingers.

Five words in neat block letters stared back at her:

“Don’t get on this bus tomorrow.”

Maya froze.

Her first thought was: This is a threat. A warning from a stalker, a stranger who had been watching her too closely for too long. She stuffed the note into her coat pocket, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a reaction.

But when she dared a glance at him, he wasn’t looking at her. His profile was calm, distant. He didn’t seem like a man who had just threatened someone.

The rest of the ride stretched on in suffocating silence. Every stop felt longer. Every creak of the bus made her skin prickle. When it finally screeched to her stop, she bolted off without looking back.


---

That night, sleep didn’t come easily. She tossed and turned, the note burning in her pocket.

By morning, her logical side kicked in. It’s nothing. Some weirdo trying to mess with you. But doubt kept gnawing at her. What if it wasn’t a threat? What if it was a warning?

At 5:45 p.m., Maya stood at her usual bus stop. The streetlights flickered to life, painting long shadows on the wet pavement. She heard the familiar groan of Bus #47 pulling around the corner.

Her pulse thundered. The doors hissed open. The driver gave her a tired glance, as if asking silently: Getting on?

For a moment, her legs refused to move. Then, almost against her will, she stepped back, clutching her bag tighter. “Not tonight,” she whispered.

The doors closed. The bus rumbled away, disappearing down the street.

Maya let out a shaky laugh at her own foolishness. She felt ridiculous. She had let a stranger’s note scare her. With a sigh, she pulled out her phone to call a rideshare instead.

That was when the alert popped up.

Breaking News: Bus #47 Crashes on Highway — Multiple Injuries, Fatalities Reported.

Her hand went cold.

She opened the article with trembling fingers. The bus had lost control on the slick road, colliding with a truck. The pictures made her stomach turn—twisted metal, shattered glass, flashing sirens. The very bus she had just refused to board.

Maya’s breath caught in her throat. Her legs felt weak.

The stranger had saved her life.


---

The next evening, she went to the bus stop again. This time, Bus #47 arrived with a different driver, the seats half-empty. Her eyes darted instinctively to the man’s usual spot.

It was empty.

For the first time in weeks, he wasn’t there.

Maya’s chest tightened with questions she couldn’t answer. Who was he? How did he know? And why had he disappeared after saving her?

As the bus rolled on, she stared at the raindrops sliding down the glass, clutching the crumpled note in her pocket like a lifeline.

Some people cross our paths for reasons we may never understand. But sometimes, she realized, strangers weren’t dangers. Sometimes, they were guardians. Silent watchers.

And in the quiet hum of the bus engine, one thought lingered in her mind, chilling and comforting all at once:

The stranger may be gone… but maybe he’s still watching.