"PASSION FOR LOVE"

THE BUS STOP

A week had passed and Jim was patiently waiting for Beige to come back and he was hoping that somehow she would keep her promise to him. It was a peaceful and rainy afternoon, when all of a sudden a girl who looked so tired, wet but still looking gorgeous walks by to their store and immediately looks for a table to sit. She was painfully crying. Jim knew that something had happened. He went to her right away. “Are you okay?” he said. “Yes, I am. Kindly, bring me a sandwich with fries. That’s my order.” She didn’t notice that it was Jim who took her order. Coming, right away mam, he exclaimed. While Jim is busy preparing her order, he can’t help but wonder what is happening to her. His friend, John said, “Nah, I think it’s about her love life bro.” Beige fixes herself and Jim brings the food to her. Beige didn’t say a thing, but even before Jim walked away, she told him, “I think I still owe you something.” Jim faced her quickly with a handsome smile. He said, of course you do. “What about a cup of coffee after my shift?” Beige replies, Okay, just let me know when you are done. They are both strangers to each other, but they leave the store together hoping to find comfort in each other’s presence. They both go to another store nearby because it would be very awkward for Jim if he dined in their own shop. They ordered and started talking to each other. Beige immediately opens up about what had happened last week. She just said that it was a stressful day at work and she needed to meet the deadline during that time. That’s why she forgot to have her order. Jim was able to understand her and he even said to her also, to take it easy. Beige refuses to appreciate his comfort for her. She can’t take things easily because she wants to be better at her craft, she dreams more for herself, she wants to be a writer. But again, Jim tries to put himself into Beige’s position, so instead of arguing, he just tries to understand this woman in front of him whom he knew nothing about. For him, he was not in the position to judge this lady beside him why she said those things. So, he just decided to change the topic to make it lighter for the two of them. Suddenly, Beige also shares the reason why she cried a while ago. She said that was again about work-related. She was scolded because she wasn’t able to correct some of the write-ups that caused the delay. She was laughing while crying again. She was sorry for Jim to see her for the second time around looking like that. But, Jim reassures her that it’s okay. That she doesn’t need to worry too much. “I won’t judge, you know; we all have struggles. And in order for you to be able to achieve your goals, we really have to face times like this, right?” said Jim. Beige felt so much relief after hearing Jim’s words. She said to him that she needed to hear that. Jim reminded her that it’s okay not to be okay, it’s okay to do your best for your career but don’t allow it to feed you up. Beige smiles and finds comfort in that. She cannot believe that someone like Jim, whom she just met in a restaurant, would say those nice words to her. After that, deep conversation, they manage to laugh it off and find a way to end the night beautifully. They were walking down the street and were about to separate ways. When Jim suddenly stops, he formally introduces his name to her. The same goes for Beige. The bus came over and Beige went inside and they both smiled at each other hoping that they would see each other again.