Barnabus stepped onto the city bus and headed for a seat way in the back. As he walked towards the back, he looked at the many faces. He noticed many emotions in the faces of the people. Some of the people looked sad and others looked content. Some of them seemed mad while one looked confused. Barnabus sat down on the seat and thought, what does my face look like? He looked across the isle to the elder lady sitting there and smiled at her. She slightly smiled back at him and then turned her head away.
Seeing the peoples faces made him wonder what their lives were like. Does the man that looks mad have a rough life or job, Baranbus thought. Does the lady that looked confused know where she is going or is it something else that is bothering her? Barnabus has ridden the bus many times before but this time he took notice of what he saw. He noticed how the blonde lady that he sees each week is actually wearing a white hat with a small yellow feather attached to it. The man that has a constant grin on his face is wearing a blue bow tie with a black and white plaid jacket.
Barnabus even noticed that the elder lady across the isle from him was holding a white beaded handbag.
“That must have taken a lot of time to make, did you make that?” Baranabus said to the elder lady.
The lady looked at Barnabus and then the handbag, “Oh, heavens no, I don’t have patience to make something this detailed.”
“Oh, was it a gift or did you buy it like that?” Barnabus asked her.
The elder lady looked at Barnabus and felt that she could trust him. After all they have been riding on the same bus together for a year. She turned towards him but then glanced around at the other passengers. With no one else paying any attention to them, she whispered something to Barnabus. Barnabus couldn’t hear her so he leaned in and whispered for her to repeat what she said.
The lady patted her handbag and said, “it’s worth ten million dollars. My late husband had this made for me with genuine pearls and gave it to me for Thanksgiving five years ago.”
Shocked by what he just heard, Barnabus gasped and then mouthed ten million dollars? The lady smiled and nodded yes.
Barnabus looked at the exquisite handbag again and then looked at the lady, “well, it is beautiful and your husband must have really loved you.”
“Oh yes, we were together for sixty-five years before he passed away. We were college sweethearts and did everything together,” the elder lady smiled.
Barnabus saw the delight in the lady’s face when she talked about her husband. She told him that he used to do deep sea diving for a living and that was how he was able to get so many pearls.
“He was a pearl diver?” Barnabus asked.
“No, his job was locating wreckage and ruins under water, but if he saw oysters along the way he would pick some up with me in mind,” the lady said.
“That must have been an interesting job,” Barnabus said.
“Oh, he loved it. He didn’t make a lot of money doing it back then but he enjoyed the job,” she said.
“Well that’s good. So many people who have a job just for the money seem miserable to me. I believe that if we have to spend much of our life working, then why not do something you like to do,” Barnabus said.
“I agree with you there young man. I was a secretary for twenty years and very happy with my job. It was many of my bosses who seemed unhappy with their lives.”
“Yes, I know what you mean. I’m just a janitor and I don’t make a lot of money but I love the freedom I have with my job. Even though I have a boss in an office, the job I do in the high rise, I do on my own, so I’m pretty much my own boss when I’m there,” Barnabus smiled.
The elder lady smiled at Barnabus. She was happy to see such life and satisfaction within him.
“So tell me this, why after all this time did you decide to talk to me today?” The lady asked.
Barnabus smiled, “well, I woke up this morning feeling a bit low and I told myself to look around and I should see how bad my life really is. So, when I stepped onto the bus, I looked at all the faces on here. So many sad and angry looking faces. It got me to thinking that my life must not be as bad as some of the people on here. I know that I have a lot to be thankful for. Plus, I like to smile even if I am having a tough day because it might just brighten someone else’s day. So, when you smiled back at me I knew I had to say something to you. I’m Barnabus by the way.”
“Nice to meet you Barnabus, I’m Hellen.”
“Can I ask you something?” Barnabus said.
Hellen nodded, “sure, what is it?”
“Do you think that it’s wise for you to carry that out in public?” Barnabus pointed to her handbag.
Hellen smiled, “I only show it off around Thanksgiving out of respect for my husband, otherwise I keep it at home. Besides, some might not even think of it as being that valuable,”
Barnabus nodded and smiled.
From that day on, Hellen and Barnabus sat near each other on the bus each time they rode. Whatever their destination was they made time to talk to each other. They shared different stories of their lives that they have had. And talked about dreams that might never come true. Barnabus even learned a lot of past histories from Hellen, whereas Hellen learned some new things from Barnabus that she was interested in. Barnabus even helped Hellen from time to time with other things too, like carrying her groceries home for her.
Their friendship was a kindred friendship that unfortunately ended after a few years. Barnabus found out by a phone call from her son that Hellen had passed away. Heartbroken, Barnabus was sad that he lost someone who he felt was his best friend. But, he knew that he couldn’t be sad for long though because Hellen wouldn’t have wanted it that way. About two weeks had passed and Barnabus received another phone call from Hellen’s son. Because of that special friendship and appreciation for life that Hellen and Barnabus shared together, Hellen left something precious for Barnabus in her will. Can you guess what that was?
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