A bus stop in a wasteland or desert area is not the same sight as the sight of a bus stop that can be seen in a city with all the bright advertisements and a number of commuters waiting to catch a bus.
If one saw this stop, then for a moment he/she might be forced to wonder how this thing is still standing with all the rust and moving sound of parts which had come loose or had started to come apart.
A bus came to stop at this very stop and down stepped a pair of legs with brown leather derby shoes. The bus then moved away revealing a young man in his late thirties with his small travel bag and a bottle of water in the other hand. The young man was in a shirt and trousers, there was also a tie which had been loosened during the journey and a sunglass which had not been worn many times.
Sarin kept the bag down on the seat of the bus stop and then he kept the bottle of water beside it. He took out the piece of paper from his pocket, the paper had the instructions regarding where he had to go. According to the instructions, if he went straight and took the first right and then went ahead some more, he would come across another bus stop from where he would have to get on a tourister van to reach his destination.
Sarin looked at the piece of paper for a while.
‘What’s wrong with the bus routes here? Why couldn’t they just let one bus go all the way through?’ he thought
Sarin folded the paper and kept it inside his pocket and picked up his bottle and bag and away his feet went on what looked like a long walk. The heat was the biggest challenge as he walked and he walked for quite a while. He stopped to look back. There was no vehicle coming and there was no other sign of humanity except for the small bus stop which could still be seen at a distance.
Sarin took a sip of water from the bottle. He was thirsty for more but he decided to prolong the availability of the remaining water till when he came across another source. He heard a distinct sound of engine, not the kind that comes from a car but a bike.
A man was riding a fancy sports bike which had been ridden for quite some years and had a layer of dust over it. The face of the rider could not be seen under the helmet. He was well covered to protect himself from the elements of nature present. He slowed down his bike and came to a stop near Sarin.
The rider removed the helmet, he was a bearded man with a bandana on his head.
“You seem to be lost,” the rider told Sarin
“I know where I am going,” replied Sarin
The rider took his time to look at Sarin, “you are certainly not dressed for this place,” then the rider looked behind to spot the bus stop at a distance, “it’s a long way out from any town here. If you are not lost then you will be. Why don’t you do one thing, stick to the bus stop over there and get on the next bus.”
Sarin was about to reply, but the rider wore his helmet and rode away.
‘What was that about? Is this area really that much of a threat?’ Sarin asked himself and then decided to keep walking. His work was not yet complete.
Sarin turned left at the next turn and began his final stretch of walk towards the next bus stop. It was a curved road around a small hill. He heard the sound of the bike again and saw the same man coming towards him again. This time he almost stopped before hitting Sarin.
“Are you drunk or what? I am literally the only person here..” Sarin said and stopped speaking as the rider got down from the bike this time
The rider removed his helmet and placed it on the bike, then he walked towards Sarin.
“All you had to do was go back to the bus stop and wait for the next bus back to wherever you came from,” the rider spoke in a menacing tone
Sarin was taken aback by the sudden change in the atmosphere but regained control of himself, “So for some reason you think I will do what you want to. I am going to the town here and I will go there no matter what you say.”
The rider looked at Sarin and stared without speaking anything.
Sarin felt the rider had been taken aback by his reply and continued to say, “So, now..”
His words were interrupted, his vision shifted, he could feel a warmth on his cheek which began converting into pain and Sarin’s consciousness shook.
Sarin calmed himself to look at the rider.
“So, what were you saying?” the rider said, holding the fist he had formed in his right hand. He made no effort to hide that he would throw another punch if he had to. But he was suddenly blinded for some seconds and then when he opened his eyes, he found himself lying on the ground.
In a frantic move, Sarin had swung his travel bag to hit the rider on the face, making him fall. Before the rider could recover, Sarin quickly ran, sat on the bike which still had the key in it and rode off.
Sarin left the road he was on and went back on his way and turned left instead of right and kept riding the bike till he reached a bus stop where he felt the rider wouldn’t be able to reach.
He parked the bike behind the stop and then sat down on a chair. There was an old lady who also sat there.
“Out of fuel?” the old lady asked
Sarin looked at the bike, “..kind off..”, he took out his handkerchief to wipe off his sweat.
“If you don’t mind me asking, what are you doing here?” the old lady asked
“I am a salesman, I have work in the nearby town,” replied Sarin
“It is a dead town, what exactly are you hoping to sell there?” asked the old lady
“I am from a company that sells greeting cards”
“Greeting cards? Here? How long have you been working for this company?”
“It has been around two months”
The old lady looked at Sarin in a tense expression, “Look son, go back from where you have come even if it costs you your job. I don’t know what kind of greeting card company you work for and why they would send you here, but if you reach that town, then selling greeting cards will be the least of your worries.”
Sarin understood what the old lady wanted to let him know, he saw a bus coming from a distance.
“.. the bike”
“Give me the keys. I will give it back to him,” responded the old lady
“I don’t understand, you are not coming?” asked a confused Sarin
“Why would I, this is my home”
“Don’t tell me you and whoever the guy on the bike was, stay here to warn people about not going to the town”
The old lady smiled, “now, wouldn’t that be an interesting story?”
The bus came to a stop and Sarin got on it looking back to have a parting glance of the old lady who was still smiling.
Early Morning Memories 
One response to “Isolated Travel”
Wow 😲
Nice story 🤷🤷🤷
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