The Gray Ride

I paid a dollar thirty and now I’m soaring seven feet above the ground. My neck is craned to the left and my head pressed against the cold, wet window of the bus. I watch out the window as I pass cars and cars pass me. I try to count the raindrops that roll past me, down the window, but I just can’t seem to keep up. There’s a woman sitting a few rows ahead of me. I don’t know her, I will never know her but, she seems angry. I can only hear bits of her conversation in a language that I don’t understand, muffled by my headphones that aren’t even playing music. My phone died long ago. I wear them simply to be passive. To become invisible to others around me and just float through my day without having to awkwardly converse and make small talk with strangers. I tap my foot in an effort to make the illusion more convincing. I mouth the words to “Cough Syrup” by Young the Giant.

“Life’s too short to even care at all,

I’m coming up now, coming up now, out of the blue

These zombies in the park, they’re looking for my heart

A dark world aches for a splash of the sun”

I hum the rest because I don’t know the lyrics without the song playing. A clean red car catches my eye. I drift back into the fool’s paradise in my head. The car appears to glitter like a sunset on a lake. Or glow, like a white t shirt under a blacklight. I know it’s not, but it sure as hell looks like it. It stands out against the dark gray sky above it, the dull red bricks behind it, the light gray cement beside it, the black asphalt below it. I snap into a palpable fantasy. Inside the bus. A flickering yellow fluorescent light brings life to everything it shines on. At each stop it welcomes new passengers. New strangers. New people that I may never say a word to and new stories that I may never know. The light makes them human. Without it, they’re merely zombies in the park, looking for my heart.

Author's Note

I'm not too sure about "At each stop, it welcomes new passengers. Like a fire, providing refuge, from the harsh outdoors. The light makes them human."
Any suggestions on what I can add or subtract to improve those lines?

Reviews

[Srchaud]

I am not so sure it really needs changing, its pretty the way it is.
Very creative use of words, that made the entire piece fun to read.
I assume its about the zombie like actions we take everyday to get to work. I will also assume its about how we spend so long around so many strangers yet never take the time to get to know any of them. TO us they are already dead(zombies) yet for a brief moment in the light they are almost like people, a friend a family member etc.
Good job. these have been fun to read.