Washed up and washed out, at the end of a long day just take me home.
It’s 8 P.M. and I’m on my way out of this dreary place that I work at. I wonder how long it’ll take me to get home tonight?
It’s raining too.
People and vehicles everywhere all moving to the sounds of the rain falling on the street, making more puddles for me to walk through.
I hope the food van doesn’t have a queue like it did last night, mind you, in this weather?
My bag weighs a ton and it’s hurting my back but if I carry on I know I can rest at the food van, there’s always a chair to rest it on, and even if there is a queue I can lean on the side of the van.
My feet are splashing in puddles on the ground and the rain is so heavy I can hardly hear a thing apart from the vehicles going by.
I do hope this quietens down, it’s not fair that I’m getting soaked. I have waterproofs on but I can still feel the wetness.
I see a table and a chair. There is NO queue, hoorah!
“Oh damn it, I’ve spent the last of my money earlier, shit, I’ll have to crack on.” But this bag is really weighing me down so I stop and sit the bag on a chair while I hide under the awning from the van. There is a new guy working away at making coffee and food and I daren’t ask him if I can borrow a cup of coffee. I would have paid him back tomorrow too.
Everything feels that much harder when you’re knackered, even talking.
By chance he asks me, “would you like one?”
“I can’t pay,” I said, “but I’ll see you tomorrow and I’ll buy 2 if that would be ok?” I muttered. “Nah that’s fine, you can have this on the weather!” he grinned. I’m glad someone is happy I thought and took him up on his offer.
Fucking rain!
I have 1 more block to go and I’ll hopefully catch my bus, I can’t hang around as they don’t wait, even in bad weather they don’t.
Putting my rucksack back on my back I take the coffee and thank the tradesman, “See you later” I shouted as I headed off up the street.
Man, where did all of these people come from, and why are they out in the rain are they insane? It was very busy for a Saturday evening but who cared? I need to make my bus stop so I trundled on.
The traffic was heaving and the sound of it was like white noise which was mixed with splashes and drips. Car horns beeped and water was washed up over onto the pavement as cars and trucks went by. You could hear the chatter of muffled voices through the ambient backdrop of sound.
Not far now and I’m actually a little ahead of time unbelievably, I’m so so tired.
I can see umbrellas everywhere and it’s amazing to me how they never seem to rub against each other, I suppose it’s because everyone is a different height. Big ones, smaller ones, and an assortment of different colours to mind you, in this light they all look black anyway.
I quickly make a dash over the road when there is a space in the traffic but I’m slow today and a lorry honks its horn. It wasn’t even near me I thought but then it could be honking at anything, I didn’t know.
I make it to the bus stop and shelter underneath. The sound in my ears of the traffic and rain is pounding and I feel like I’m in a daze. It feels like a wind tunnel all around my head and my eyes are staring at the L.E.D. clock display which tells me that I had a five-minute wait.
I’m thinking about the quietness and comfort of that bus as I stand there and my mind goes into a kind of hypnotic trance as I stare at the rained on road. There’s no one else waiting for this bus but there are plenty of people walking by, some rushing by because of the rain.
I’ve no idea what I’ll eat when I get home I’m thinking and I can’t think what I’ve got in the freezer but who cares? I just want that lovely warm quiet bus to come and I’ll sort all that out later.
Here it is!
The bus pulls up like a train making a grand entrance and as the doors swing open I climb aboard. Instantly the noise of outside starts to become muffled and distant and once I’ve paid the driver I head to the back where I’m most comfortable on the bus.
Quiet! At last, it feels great and I can feel the wind still rushing around my head as if I was still in that wind tunnel. The warmth starts to infuse my face and hands with a feeling that feels like my hands and fingers have swelled in size and my face feels like it’s being massaged by 2 giant soft and warm hands.
I love this bus.
Now I’m on my way home.
Now I can rest.
