The Bus Terminal

Short Story Day 84 of 365

As instructed by his mother, Jason clung to her going through the Baltimore bus terminal.

Every step of the way.

His older brother also stayed close.

Why, he wasn’t sure, but there were a lot of new people and faces and loud noises. To kill time, all three sat in the terminal and watched people for two full hours.

As the loudspeaker called out their bus information “Altoona, now loading in Lane 8,” the three walked outside and had the bus driver load their luggage. The trip to their central Pennsylvania home, with stops, was now only six hours away.

When the two police whistles sounded through the terminal, there was a lot of commotion and shouting.

One man yelled as he ran, “Ladies, hold on to your purses. Hold on to your purses!”

More shuffling and more commotion. Jason’s mother was hurrying to get her and her two boys on the bus.

Then the same man yelled, this time with a smile in his voice, “I got mine. I got mine. Only one more left, y’all, only one more left. Cling to those purses. Don’t let them purses dangle about.”

From the bus window looking out, Jason could see the policeman kneeling on a man’s back putting handcuffs on him. Many others were around the policeman watching and cheering.

Then, just as clear as a bell, another policeman yelled, “Got ‘im. I got ‘em, Marty. Got ‘im good. This cat’s gonna be in jail for a long while.”

Jason couldn’t see the other thief or policeman so he sat back in the high-backed bus seat and closed his eyes.

The world was now a slightly better place.