
...
I was about to pick it up but this guy was already in front of me, before I even touched the thing. She said small, “maaf.”
Ducking down and seemingly not daring to look ahead for long, he passed me. I could see his face looking pale. Maybe because he ran to catch a bus?
My eyes continued to stare at his movements, The man sat three rows behind me, the seat still empty.
I again confirmed my sitting position to face forward and decided to stare out the window. This bustling city, I thought about what it would be like to live alone with Bayu in a foreign place.
My brain began to choose activities that we both had to do. I'll take her when she leaves for work and welcome her when she gets home.
I will definitely ask him to accompany us to the market, then we will change our place of residence later, I cook and Bayu who do the dishes, or I will do the laundry and he who hangs it. We would scream at each other in panic when we forgot to lift our clothes when it rained. Haha!
In addition Bayu will certainly be surprised later if you know there is hair loss that may be scattered on the floor. Of course as a woman, hair loss is natural and can not be avoided, especially having long hair.
Huh! Thinking about all that, made me somehow feel so happy.
This is the simple happiness I look forward to. Live with him both. Spending time with trivial things, meeting every day, when we talk our eyes will meet and stare at each other, then I can hold her, hug her and kiss—
BRAAAKKKK!
I feel dizzy. My gaze turned and the sound of screams echoed around me. My body tilted to the left and I felt my left arm hit something.
I groaned softly as I realized my position had now fallen below, midway through the seat between the right and left rows. But in fact it was not only me who fell, some other passengers who were also sitting in the same row as me fell, befalling each other. Since I was sitting alone, I was lucky not to hurt others with my body weight, but as a result my own arm hurt.
“What is this?!” The panicked voice of a man from my front seat sounded loud. The middle-aged man looked annoyedly back and he was speechless looking out at the bus.
“What is all hurt? All right?” The voice of the bus driver drew condemnation and annoyance from passengers. I immediately stood up and was grateful for not being seriously injured, only my left arm seemed to be bruised.
“Pak driver, looks like a car hit the bus.” Said this middle-aged man sitting in my front seat. Reflexes of almost all passengers scrambling to look into the window of the right side of the bus.
A black pickup car carrying a pile of car tires on the cover of a blue tarp, hit the right side of the rear bus to make the front car hood dent. I should have fallen out of my chair, but it was fortunate that the bus did not roll over.
The accident happened at a red light. People stopped to look at us, the road that got the turn of the green light did not move because of the bus that blocked their way.
Then I glanced at the back of the bus, where the pickup had crashed. Passengers in the back seat were in a fuss as some people were injured.
“There are wound medicines?” The scream from behind reminded me that I carry betadine, cotton, alcohol, plaster and cassa in my suitcase.
“I bring.” I raised my hand, everyone's reflexes were looking at me.
The bus driver agreed to my proposal as if giving a warning to all passengers to get off. As soon as we got off, there were already many people swarming buses and pickup cars that crashed, a traffic cop trying to make sure that the audience was not too close.
In an instant, the streets were jammed, there were horns everywhere, and then all of us, bus passengers were directed to wait by the side of the road, waiting for whether to change the bus or bus can continue in use.
Some passengers were busy calling, telling the people closest to them. I also wanted to tell my father or Bayu or mother, but the passenger who asked me about the wound medicine made me realize that I had to pick it up in my suitcase immediately.
The bus driver left the luggage open, almost all the passengers immediately took their luggage. I quickly pulled out the white suitcase I was carrying, and quickly walked over to the bus passenger whose head and hands were injured.
“Everyone please wait, don't go anywhere, I've called ambulance.” The police officer approached us.
I who was treating the injured teenage girl in his hand immediately looked up at the middle-aged policeman.
“Pak police!! Looks like you should call the fire department too!” Frantic screams of the man I remember being one of the bus passengers. He ran up to us and pointed behind him, towards the bottom of the pickup.
“I peeked out from his open bonnet, it seemed like his battery was going to explode.” Everyone was so panicked to hear the man's words.
Without even needing to be told, people ran away and frightened others who were watching. The same thing happened to me, quickly pulling the suitcase, carrying the remaining wound medicine bag, about to run but the girl I was treating was moving slowly.
My left hand clasped tightly onto the handle of the suitcase and my right hand pulled it to my feet, the panicked running people panicked me too. Fortunately, the girl I was leading was willing to cooperate and we tried to run away from the bus and pickup.
“Kak Icha!”
I gasped in shock, stopping walking as soon as I heard a woman's voice from behind me, the direction of the bus and the car.
“KAK ICHA!!” His voice became clearer, I quickly looked back, watching the people who had already moved away from the two cars. If you notice, it's just me and the girl next to me who's still close to the pickup.
The police and several men were carrying the injured middle-aged man from a pickup truck. Must have been the driver who hit the bus.
I didn't find anything, and looking at the window of the bus was empty. Am I hallucinating? But the sound of his call being held back earlier seemed very familiar, I had heard.
Just as I was about to turn around, back in a small run away from the pickup car, the sound of a stifled knock stopped my steps.
The girl I was leading forced me to walk quickly, but my gut feeling was that the voice of the woman was real, not a hallucination from the small impact.
“Kak Icha please!!! Gia in here!!!”
***