ALICE

Short Story

It was dark outside. The wind was chasing leaves through the late autumn night. I was still a long way from my destination, and the soft shaking of the bus was lulling me to sleep as slow music played through my headphones.
Maybe I could close my eyes for a little bit...
But just as I was about to doze off, my headphones died, cutting off the comforting lo-fi beats playlist I'd found on Spotify. I sighed heavily, taking my headphones off and hanging them around my neck.

"Because of difficulties on the road, this bus will be taking a detour. Please excuse the late arrival," a robotic voice said over the bus speakers.

I groaned loudly, just as a girl in the seat next to me did the same. We both looked at each other, surprised at the simultaneous sound of exasperation. If this had been a friend, I would have pointed at her and said, "Jinx!"
"Jinx," the girl chuckled.
My eyebrows shot up in surprise, and a quiver of laughter escaped my mouth. The girl had wavy black hair, spilling over her shoulders and curling up at the ends. Her skin was pale and rosy around her cheeks and nose from the cold of late November. She was wearing a red droopy hat and a leather messenger bag decorated with stitches and pins, resting on the seat next to her. Silver hoop earrings dangled from her ears, framing her sculpted face and drawing my gaze to her pink lips as they formed a sweet smile.

She must have been around my age—16 or 17, maybe—and for some reason, a part of me desperately wanted to find out what her name was.
"I hate buses," I said.
"Me too," the girl replied.
"They always make me late."
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"Just to a friend's house," I answered, shrugging my shoulders. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to dance practice."
"Really?" I said. "I dance too."
The girl laughed. "Do you also dance to cheer yourself up?"
"No," I said. "I watch funny cat videos to cheer myself up."

This brought another laugh out of her. I didn't even know the girl's name, but I already loved her laugh. I wanted to make her laugh again."As a wise man once said," I declared, clearing my throat, "'Cats are like happy pills, but cute—'"

"'—Don't try to eat your cats though,'" she finished the quote correctly.

I looked at her, stunned, because the words I said were not from a wise man but from a member of MIDNIGHT, my favorite K-pop group. MIDNIGHT is quite unpopular in this country; in fact, some people might consider you weird for liking Korean pop.
"You like MIDNIGHT?" I asked her, her brown eyes sparkling at me.

Her gaze traveled down as she pulled up the cuff of her coat to reveal a bracelet with four beads spelling the word STAR. Star is the name for the fans of MIDNIGHT. I pulled my phone from my pocket and showed her the screen. My lock screen background was a night sky with the same word spelled out in big letters and a list of my favorite songs at the side.

The girl grinned widely. "We're almost like the same person," she laughed.
"I like your laugh," I said and was surprised at myself for saying it.

The girl looked down, her cheeks going from pale and rosy to peachy pink. I felt my own ears heat up as well.
"You're charming, do you know that?" she said.
"Not until you told me," I replied.

I didn't think anything could ruin this moment until the bus speakers called out the name of my stop. I stood up reluctantly.
"Is this your stop?" The girl looked up at me.
I nodded.
"Oh," she said. I could see the same sadness in her eyes that was forming in my chest. She stood as I walked to the doors.
"Goodbye then," she said as the bus rolled to a halt.
"Goodbye," I said, stepping out. Then I spun around. "Wait!" I called.

The girl looked at me.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"Alice," she said just as the doors started to close.
"I want to see you again, Alice," I said.
Her face brightened instantly. "Me too," I saw her say, but the doors were already closed, and the bus drove off.
"Alice..." I said to myself. My voice echoed through the silent street as the sudden realisation hit me. I might never see her again. I had just met the most perfect girl in the world, and all I got was her name.

Alice...

Days went by. Weeks. Then, suddenly, it had already been a month since I met Alice. I started going to my friend's house more often, hoping to see her on the bus again. But I never did. After a while, I gave up lurking around the bus stop, though her sweet laugh and perfect smile never left my mind. Sometimes I thought I heard her chuckle while walking in a crowded area, but whenever I turned, she wasn't there.

The icy weather of December came around. Red and white fairy lights hung up on the streets. Christmas music played on the radio, and the sugary smell of Christmas markets lingered in the air. I started saying her name less. I started to forget what her laugh sounded like. I couldn't help but let the hope of ever seeing her again slip away.

Two days before Christmas, I was on a train home from dance practice, my sweaty clothes stuffed into the duffle bag resting in my lap. I was caught up in my own world, my favorite song blasting through my headphones. I was getting ready for the best part—the solo—when the music cut off. I let my head fall back and sighed, slipping my dead headphones around my neck.

I leaned to the side and looked out the train window. Snowy buildings slipped past as I listened to a group of people singing a Christmas carol. The train slowed as another approached from the opposite direction. The trains passed each other, and I watched as normal people enjoying their normal lives passed my window. But only one thing caught my eye and made my heart stop.

A girl, sitting in her train seat. Black wavy hair spilling over her shoulders, red droopy hat, pale skin, rosy cheeks, and brown sparkling eyes locked on mine.

Alice.

We jumped up simultaneously, pressing our palms against our windows as our trains passed each other and drove off in different directions. I stood stunned for a second. Everything suddenly came back to me. The encounter on the bus. Her laugh. Her smile.

I grabbed my bag from the floor and scrambled out of my seat, upsetting a few people. When the train rolled to a stop at the next station, the train going in the opposite direction was already there. I sprinted across the platform and jumped in just as the doors slammed shut behind me.

My heart raced as I caught my breath against the railing. Doubt filled my stomach. What if she wasn't there? What if she didn't leave the train at the next station? What if she didn't want to see me at all?

"We are almost like the same person," I remembered her saying. If she had really meant it, she would be there.

With a pounding heart, I stepped out of the train at the next station.

There she was. Her back was turned to me as she clutched her leather messenger bag, waiting for the opposite train.

Icy wind blew straight through my winter coat, but I didn't mind. I felt warm inside.
"Alice," I said.

She spun around, her black locks flying.
Her lips parted to release that sweet laugh of hers.

THE END