▮ TEASER 001

A red orb of light casted over the moving sea rippled with the wind, creating a domino effect. It first began further away from land, at what seemed to only be a few inches under the beautiful sky, and made way towards the white shore. The previous blue sky was now adorned with a brilliant combination of reds and oranges. Within minutes, the sky seemed to have been forced into a battle of its own: the beautiful colors versus the bleak darkness. The clouds struggled to maintain its position, only to be blown away by the wind. The colors attempted to uphold its bright and warm hue but failed to do so. Every passing minute, the colors got darker and the night got colder. At last, the battle had ended; the previous sky was now replaced with darkness and shimmering gemstones.

"Twinko Twinko Wittle Star," a little girl, no older than three, chimed. She was perfectly positioned to sit in the middle of the black seat with her mother's arms over her chest, acting like a seatbelt. Her short legs barely crossed the edge of the seat, causing her small red shoes to dangle off the edge. The red shoes glimmered with every movement of the young child's, reminding the bus passengers of the stars in the night sky. On the middle of her shoes, right above the big "U" cut shape before the velcro attached, was a small red bow. It oddly resembled the heels worn by Dorothy, in The Wizard of Oz, but uniquely altered for children.

In the seat diagonally in front of the mother and child's was a young slim girl. She wore a dark gray sweater with comfortable pants to match. The hood of her sweater was draped over her beautiful black locks that passed her collarbone. On the seat beside her sat a navy blue backpack with her most important belongings: a cellphone, wallet, passport, and a map neatly marked with colors. Her entire body was slightly positioned towards the right so she could comfortably lean against the window and relax. No one knew when she began to drift into her dreams, but they were all aware of it as her body accomodated the slightest movement of the bus.

One after another, passengers packed their belongings and left. The child's mother frantically grabbed her stuff, in preparation of her stop slowly approaching. "Let's go sweetie," she said fixing her daughter's pink coat, "we're home." With their belongings held in her right hand, she firmly grasped her daughters arm with her left and walked off the bus into the cold night.

The bus driver closed the door and adjusted his hat before he stood up. It was 11:30pm and thankfully this was his last stop. As protocol required, he examined the bus in case his passengers had left something. If they had, he was required to fill out a slip and return it to the station. Not many would do this, especially if it were a wallet or an expensive cellphone. They would keep it themselves, claiming another passenger had stolen it, and sell it at a market for some easy money. At times, drivers may be telling the truth: a passenger had stolen it. Drivers then would not be punished on the spot, rather they would seek for help from surveillance cameras until a decision has been made. However, for drivers who were honest and filled out the yellow slip, they would receive an extra bonus for that month and a good reputation. Regardless of the amount, he needed that bonus for his wife and two kids.

He walked down the aisle, switching his head from left to right. He released a heavy sigh and continued his search until he reached midway, and abruptly stopped upon noticing a young girl slouched against the window. He slowly approached her, quietly calling out to her.

"Excuse me, Miss," he said and received nothing, not even the slightest movement from her. This time, in a louder voice, he repeated: "Excuse me, Miss!"

She slowly moved her body into an upright position. With her eyes still closed, she released a loud yawn before throwing her arms up into the air.

"This bus is no longer running. I kindly ask you to make your departure here," the driver said motioning towards the closed door behind him.

The girl quickly opened her eyes and jumped up, "what do you mean they're no longer running?" She looked around the entire bus, realizing she was the only passenger left. "Is this the last stop?" She asked him, quickly turning her head from side-to-side in disbelief. It was unbelievable in her eyes that she had slept through her stop, and not only that but all the stops this bus had made.

She swung her backpack over her left shoulder and made way to the front of the bus with the driver. He pressed the button and the doors quickly opened, welcoming the coldness into his warm bus.

"Sir, where am I?" Was the last questioned he had received from her before she got off and disappeared into the darkness.

▮author's note