Published: 2025-09-15

She tapped her foot rapidly as the bus approached her stop. At seven in the evening, it was already pitch black, as usual in the winter. She would have to walk half a kilometer by herself; she was frightened. Her name was Elena, she didn’t wear provocative clothes or use makeup, and yet, she knew she could be assaulted by merely walking alone at night. It was how things were, and she was not one to complain. The bus kept moving, its tires rolling over the asphalt road. The chattering of people, the red sign that lit up when a passenger pressed the stop button, the constant bumping and jumping, everything made her on edge. She now fidgeted with her hands; her stop was close. Elena traveled with a small backpack where she kept her belongings; her cellphone and ID, among other things, were there in case she was jumped and the muggers demanded her belongings. It may seem like an extreme measure, but in a country where the crime rate was sky high, this was a sensible thing to do; failing to comply when mugged could make the muggers shoot you on the spot. It was a cruel world out there.

The bus stopped. Elena hugged the backpack and sank her nails into it. It was her stop; she had to get down. The bus’s back door opened, and passengers flooded the exit. Elena waited, still in her seat, as if trying to delay the inevitable. Finally, she stood up, trembling in fear. The driver looked in the mirror, asking himself if she was going to get out or not. She did. Dragging her feet with fear, she descended the exit steps. The bus closed its doors, and the next minute it was gone. Elena never felt lonelier than in that moment, in that bus stop, under the dark blue sky and the moonlight. But even if she was lonely, she was not alone, for she was still surrounded by the people who had gotten out of the bus. One of those people was a young man. His face was covered with small scars caused by acne. Puberty was not kind to the young lad. He was wearing gray sweatpants and a dry-fit shirt, and carrying bags of groceries in both hands. He seemed to be kind, therefore Elena approached her.

“Excuse me, are you going in this direction?” Elena said, while pointing eastward.

The young man was stupefied. It was not every day that such a beautiful woman shared words with him. He looked at her and felt as if time had stopped. She was tall and slim, with long dark hair and big black eyes. Even without wearing makeup, she was astonishing. He gulped and felt his tongue finally untie itself. “Yes, I am going in that direction.” He said. They stared at each other; it could not have been more than mere seconds, but for the young man, it felt like an eternity. He then realized he had left the conversation die. “Mmm… Why do you ask, miss?” He added. She smiled.

“I was wondering if you’d walk me. I don’t want to walk alone at this time, and you seem like a reliable fellow.”
“It would be my pleasure, miss. Come, I’ll walk you.”

Elena followed the young man from behind. She didn’t trust him; she didn’t trust anybody, thus she could not bring herself to walk by his side. He was a man of few words. The little experience he had in the conversation was certainly not with members of the opposite sex. “Let’s see, what do girls like? Flowers, and… tampons? I’m at a loss here.” Those were his thoughts when conversing with a woman. Saying he was socially awkward was an understatement.

He peeked over his shoulder and saw the frightened woman following him a couple of steps behind. He stopped, and so did she. He smiled, hoping to soothe her fears. “Miss, it would be safer if we walked next to each other.” Elena stood there, hugging her backpack, sinking her nails into it. “Come on, it’s OK. I’ll walk you. Come on.” The young man added. Elena dragged her feet and stood next to him. “That’s better,” the young man said, “don’t worry, I’ll see that nothing happens to you.” Elena smiled, timidly, but sincerely. She was glad she found this kind man on such a dark and cold night.

They kept walking, one next to the other, sharing no words, putting one foot in front of the other as if their only purpose in life was walking for the sake of walking. Elena hugged her backpack, as if this were her most important possession. The young man noticed it and thought of asking her, but being the man that he was, and seeing how frightened the girl was, he didn’t consider it appropriate. They walked, and walked, and walked some more until Elena stopped. She grabbed the young man by his shoulder. She wanted him to stop, and so he did. “It’s here,” she said, “I lived just at the end of this alley.”

The young man smiled. “I’m glad you made it home safe. I hope you have a good night.” He started to walk away when she grabbed his forearm.

“Please accompany me to the door. Please.” She said.
“I— You see, I’m carrying all these bags, and the alley is so narrow.”

Her eyes turned sad. It wasn’t fear her face reflected anymore, but a desire to see this man enter the alley with her. He couldn’t see her like that, thus he accepted.

“All right, I’ll see you to the door, and then I’ll leave. OK?”
“Thank you, thank you. Please, enter the alley, I’ll follow you.”

The alley was too narrow for two people to walk next to each other. They both entered the alley. A heavy grunt was heard, and only Elena got out.

“You got too close to the sun.” Elena said.

She turned in the opposite direction and disappeared into the night. The young man’s corpse lay on the ground, a pool of blood under his head and a hole in the back of it.

THE END.