Puzzled, lost, stranded.
I stood there bemused and stricken. Desperately typing in the bus code into the tiny screen that was surviving on a percent of battery, I yearned that the tiny inking of hope left in me would become wilder. However, all hope was lost. I was helpless. Even my trusted Google maps could not help me.
Looking around frantically, in search of a familiar creature, I started to run. With fear and embarrassment making their appearance on my face, I wanted to break down. I wiped away the tear drop that rolled down my cheek. How could I be lost? Well I did manage to take a bus to this place... so there should be at least a few people in this area... But then again, if I am lost, how will I escape? How will I go back home? Will that hot chocolate my mother had given me in the morning be my last one? I tried to switch on that electronic gadget that had betrayed me once again. It was dead.
There I was with my electronic gadget that had barred me from communicating and seeking help from my loved ones. There I was dreading the decision to have taken the wrong bus because I was glued to that new tiktok my friend had posted. There I was missing all the simple yet memorable times I had spent at home. That one experience was enough, it was enough to teach me the importance of appreciation- though every day might seem boring and mundane to us(waking up at 6am to start the routine and returning home at 6pm after sports training or a long day at work), not everyone has those opportunities and there are people out there yearning for such a stable life in order to avoid being uncertain if there will even be food on their plates the next day. That one experience was enough to teach me that we need to strike a balance between the two worlds- the virtual one and the actual one. That one experience was enough to teach me how much more there was out there in the world that I needed to learn.
After having sprinted my way along the road that the bus journeyed with me, I was lost once again. I wanted to demystify the situation. I was so puzzled as to what had happened to me that I was clouded with so much of negativity.- so much that I could not handle. I halted. I had alighted from the train as per usual and had made my way to bus stop. Suddenly my phone started notifying me incessantly and I started to pacify it by clicking on the notifications. Before I knew I was scrolling through the new posts that appeared on Tik Tok. I realised I was getting late for my usual morning morning class. I boarded the bus that came to the bus stop without realising that I was the only one that had boarded the bus when usually people will swarm into the bus that I usually take to go to the class. After I finished watching the video, I looked around to check if the bus stop I needed to alight had arrived. To my horror, all I saw were trees, trees and more trees. I alighted fearing that it would take me to even more unfamiliar places and also becauseI was too shy to ask the driver how I could make it back to the train station. I regretted it, very much. I tried to search Google maps hoping it would help me get to my class on time and save me from that unfamiliar place. It showed that I could only drive my way out. I knew that it was failing me as going by logic, if I had came to that place by a bus, I should also be able to make my way out of the place by a bus, right? However since I had no clue as to how to take the bus back to the familiar train station, I scrambled through my wallet in search of some cash to take a taxi to the train station. I was that helpless! However, I realised that I was only left with a few dollars as I had spent my money on breakfast. I could also not access grab as my phone chose to betray me and leave me helpless; the battery had drained.
After I was clear with the situation and how I had ended up in that place, I looked around once again. The meditation classes had helped! I was in a state of calm and I saw a construction site a stone’s throw away. Energy surged in me. I saw a fellow human!!! Hope pounced onto me as I jolted into motion.Then again, fear gripped me- I was too afraid to talk to others as I feared that I might be judged. However, I threw that fear away, my situation mandated me to. I approached the worker and asked him how I could go back to the train station. Seeing that my face was coated with sweat and that I was very worried, he said “The train station is not in this year”. The hope in me left me as fast as it had entered. I wanted to quickly explain how I actually took a bus to that place and the words ran up my throat but soon braked as he started to continue with his advice. “ Walk to the bus stop down the road and board the bus(which also happened to be the same bus I took to that place) and alight from the bus after nine more stops. This is a construction area and this is the only bus that travels through this area.” he said, in a very calm manner. I thanked him profusely as only I knew how much the directions meant to me. I thanked him once again before I ran back to that bus stop with a smile inching its way on my face. I was so thankful for the worker. If not for his directions, I would have been lost and late for my class. I boarded the bus and glanced at the numerous construction sites and trees that it drove past. Initially, I was quite scrared as the train station and houses were nowhere to be seen. But just like what the worker had told me, the train station arrived. My eyes brightened up upon seeing fellow human beings and familiar places. I was safe. I made it back without the use of my phone. Relief flooded through my mind.
I glanced at my watch, ten minutes more to the start of my class. I waited for the bus and boarded the right one this time around. I made it in time for the class and my friend asked me why I was perspiring so much. I stared at her with a sneaky smile.
Although this situation might be illogical or even comedic to some, only I knew how worried and panicked I was. I had learnt so much that day and had also escaped from the fear of speaking to strangers to seek help. From a girl who used to think twice to even ask the cashier if there were any discounts for the things I had bought, I had changed. I had changed and I was proud of it as I was now more confident to express my thoughts and seek help from others I do not even know, if such a need arises. But most importantly, I learnt to appreciate the people around me and be thankful for the routined life I am able to live.
I stood there bemused and stricken. Desperately typing in the bus code into the tiny screen that was surviving on a percent of battery, I yearned that the tiny inking of hope left in me would become wilder. However, all hope was lost. I was helpless. Even my trusted Google maps could not help me.
Looking around frantically, in search of a familiar creature, I started to run. With fear and embarrassment making their appearance on my face, I wanted to break down. I wiped away the tear drop that rolled down my cheek. How could I be lost? Well I did manage to take a bus to this place... so there should be at least a few people in this area... But then again, if I am lost, how will I escape? How will I go back home? Will that hot chocolate my mother had given me in the morning be my last one? I tried to switch on that electronic gadget that had betrayed me once again. It was dead.
There I was with my electronic gadget that had barred me from communicating and seeking help from my loved ones. There I was dreading the decision to have taken the wrong bus because I was glued to that new tiktok my friend had posted. There I was missing all the simple yet memorable times I had spent at home. That one experience was enough, it was enough to teach me the importance of appreciation- though every day might seem boring and mundane to us(waking up at 6am to start the routine and returning home at 6pm after sports training or a long day at work), not everyone has those opportunities and there are people out there yearning for such a stable life in order to avoid being uncertain if there will even be food on their plates the next day. That one experience was enough to teach me that we need to strike a balance between the two worlds- the virtual one and the actual one. That one experience was enough to teach me how much more there was out there in the world that I needed to learn.
After having sprinted my way along the road that the bus journeyed with me, I was lost once again. I wanted to demystify the situation. I was so puzzled as to what had happened to me that I was clouded with so much of negativity.- so much that I could not handle. I halted. I had alighted from the train as per usual and had made my way to bus stop. Suddenly my phone started notifying me incessantly and I started to pacify it by clicking on the notifications. Before I knew I was scrolling through the new posts that appeared on Tik Tok. I realised I was getting late for my usual morning morning class. I boarded the bus that came to the bus stop without realising that I was the only one that had boarded the bus when usually people will swarm into the bus that I usually take to go to the class. After I finished watching the video, I looked around to check if the bus stop I needed to alight had arrived. To my horror, all I saw were trees, trees and more trees. I alighted fearing that it would take me to even more unfamiliar places and also becauseI was too shy to ask the driver how I could make it back to the train station. I regretted it, very much. I tried to search Google maps hoping it would help me get to my class on time and save me from that unfamiliar place. It showed that I could only drive my way out. I knew that it was failing me as going by logic, if I had came to that place by a bus, I should also be able to make my way out of the place by a bus, right? However since I had no clue as to how to take the bus back to the familiar train station, I scrambled through my wallet in search of some cash to take a taxi to the train station. I was that helpless! However, I realised that I was only left with a few dollars as I had spent my money on breakfast. I could also not access grab as my phone chose to betray me and leave me helpless; the battery had drained.
After I was clear with the situation and how I had ended up in that place, I looked around once again. The meditation classes had helped! I was in a state of calm and I saw a construction site a stone’s throw away. Energy surged in me. I saw a fellow human!!! Hope pounced onto me as I jolted into motion.Then again, fear gripped me- I was too afraid to talk to others as I feared that I might be judged. However, I threw that fear away, my situation mandated me to. I approached the worker and asked him how I could go back to the train station. Seeing that my face was coated with sweat and that I was very worried, he said “The train station is not in this year”. The hope in me left me as fast as it had entered. I wanted to quickly explain how I actually took a bus to that place and the words ran up my throat but soon braked as he started to continue with his advice. “ Walk to the bus stop down the road and board the bus(which also happened to be the same bus I took to that place) and alight from the bus after nine more stops. This is a construction area and this is the only bus that travels through this area.” he said, in a very calm manner. I thanked him profusely as only I knew how much the directions meant to me. I thanked him once again before I ran back to that bus stop with a smile inching its way on my face. I was so thankful for the worker. If not for his directions, I would have been lost and late for my class. I boarded the bus and glanced at the numerous construction sites and trees that it drove past. Initially, I was quite scrared as the train station and houses were nowhere to be seen. But just like what the worker had told me, the train station arrived. My eyes brightened up upon seeing fellow human beings and familiar places. I was safe. I made it back without the use of my phone. Relief flooded through my mind.
I glanced at my watch, ten minutes more to the start of my class. I waited for the bus and boarded the right one this time around. I made it in time for the class and my friend asked me why I was perspiring so much. I stared at her with a sneaky smile.
Although this situation might be illogical or even comedic to some, only I knew how worried and panicked I was. I had learnt so much that day and had also escaped from the fear of speaking to strangers to seek help. From a girl who used to think twice to even ask the cashier if there were any discounts for the things I had bought, I had changed. I had changed and I was proud of it as I was now more confident to express my thoughts and seek help from others I do not even know, if such a need arises. But most importantly, I learnt to appreciate the people around me and be thankful for the routined life I am able to live.
