Stolen glance.

Today I saw you on a bus. Or I thought I did.

I catch a glimpse of a profile ahead of me and despite the fact that its only for a second and I haven’t thought about you for months, I find myself taking a second, third, fourth look.

I know it can’t be you; I know you’re not here anymore and would have no reason to be taking public transportation if you were. I can’t stop stealing looks, comparing this man with my memory of you which had faded with time and disuse.

Was your hair that curly, that blonde? I can’t see his eyes clearly, but I’m guessing they’re not the same green. His smile wouldn’t light up the room the way yours did, and his laugh probably wouldn’t make my heart swell.

I know it’s not you and I’ve lived perfectly fine without you all this time, but somehow this stranger in the bus has brought back memories that I didn’t think would make me feel this way.

I try to peel my eyes away from him and I wonder if you ever see me in places that I’m not too.

Reviews

[Herbert B. Benton]

A thoughtful and moving read; sad too. I enjoyed such bittersweet feelings in so few words.

[SleeplessVolcano]

Thoughtful writing. Some suggestions:

- Try to stay in the same tense, i.e. If you write in the past tense, stay there. (Second paragraph "caught" instead of "catch" etc)
- how about a punchline? Millions of short stories are out there, and the ones we remember are those making us think.....can you think of something that could give this memory a "bite"?