Cadespades

I ended up leaving earlier than my best friend. It was supposed to rain around 9 but it was only 7 when I left and it was pouring. I covered my backpack with my sweater and walked to my bus stop. As I looked up at my rainy mini city I felt incredibly happy and at home. If I could film with my very eyes I would, just to capture what I saw in that moment.

I happen to be an easy target for strangers of every kind. I’m sociable and kind of stupid and I wear those labels on my face apparently. I’ve had every type of guy leer at me, talk to me, try to be my friend with ulterior motives, you name it. I’ve had someone try to follow me home. If anything I should be wary of people but for some reason I’m not. Don’t get me wrong– I want to keep myself safe and I don’t engage with everyone, just most people. I don’t know what the other person is going through, who am I to not let someone have a chance just because of others? What I’m trying to say is, a girl in a storm at 8pm should be wary of not just the weather but people too. Despite that, a person with a gold string of kindness in their mind decided to be nice to me today… and I let them.

I stood at the four-way cross hoping to get to the bus shelter on the other side quickly. Next to me was a guy with a red umbrella that looked like a giant japanese paper umbrella. I kind of wished I thought to bring my own umbrella (it wasn’t supposed to rain this hard anyways). So I stood there and eventually stopped feeling the rain. As the light changed I looked to see the guy next to me, quietly sheltering me. No small talk, no “come under my umbrella”, he just moved his arm a little bit to the left. I thanked him and we crossed the street together. A little part of me thought to speed away and hide (however it is possible to hide in on a public sidewalk) but another part of me was happy to let this moment play out. A stranger, a man of all things, did a kind act with no need for repayment.

We made it to the other side of the street and I thanked him again. I moved into the bus shelter and did the thing with my phone where you check the calculator to look busy. The guy stood outside the bus shelter, not even sparing a glance at me. For that I was so happy. It was a happy moment to be inside a packed bus shelter with people of all different backgrounds and ages all under one goal (and one roof); to get out of the rain and home. I watched an older lady looking at an energetic young boy with his mom. I watched a young college guy talk to an old man about the weather. To quietly observe was just great.

I get on the bus and then off two stops later and it's pouring hard. I curse as I protect my bag with my life. I’ll be so damned if I lose a thousand dollar laptop because I forgot an umbrella. A girl with an umbrella saw my pain and invited me under. We laughed like little girls hiding from the rain. We crossed the street and I learned she lived in my building. She goes to TMU and it was hell getting back up to where we live in this storm. 

I happen to live on the lower part of a hill if you could describe it that way, so we get a whole bunch of water from up the street. Our shoes were soaked as we ran around a bus and into the street. I hate getting my feet wet but having my whole left foot submerged in water wasn’t even a worry because I was with a kind stranger. We make it inside and worry about our laptops being dry, then we part ways. In my mind, I am beaming because even though my left side is soaking, my afternoon was a little better because of a few kind strangers.