It was 2.30 pm when I boarded onto the bus. I was to go to Plaza Seni near Puduraya but it was not my destination. I was actually heading to Amcorp Mall in Petaling Jaya. After that, I was supposed to catch a train to Taman Jaya station which is located right in front of the mall. Journey from UPM (where I’m currently studying) to Plaza Seni takes around an hour. I sat beside the window to enjoy sight-seeing (so called) throughout the journey.
The bus just travelled as far as 3 to 4 km and suddenly a young lad stopped the bus and jumped into it. He was the conductor of the bus and I could guess that right based on the small bag that was dangling across his shoulder. Oops… I could not keep my eyes away from him for a while; quite a good looking young man. He glimpsed at me for once and then I realized that he was actually an Indian. Earlier, I assumed him to be Malay for his complexion was such. My mind went on imagining him to be a white collar officer. I did not know why I thought such. Perhaps, I was a little too imaginative. I just felt that he could have been better than who he was at that moment. Lazy fella should be, I thought in mind. He neared me for the fare. I was so taken aback to see his figure without his left palm. It was not there! I shrieked at the top of my voice in my mind. I did not give him any expression as not to make him irritated. My earlier impression on him diluted away. I should say here, that I was impressed with the way he managed the ticket sheets and money with such a condition. At that a point of time, it stroked my mind on how we humans like to draw our own conclusion with no investigation. Very bad!
Upon reaching Pasar Seni bus stop, I crossed to the other of the road and walked briskly towards the LRT station and managed to catch the train at 3.30 pm. As the train stopped at Bangsar station a young Malay guy sat beside me. He introduced himself as Faizal. He was promoting Rasamas’s promo coupon to me. I liked his initiative and perseverance in searching for customers but as I do not really enjoy eating chicken, I had to reject his offer. My rejection did not halt our conversation. As we were talking, I got to know that we share the same age and surprising both of us are net workers. The train stopped at Kerinchi station. Faizal cut the conversation and we bid farewell towards each other. I reached Taman Jaya after a while and had a mind-blowing get together with my networking comrades. The gathering ended at 8.30 pm and I dashed to LRT station to make my way to Pasar Seni again.
The sky was pitching dark. It was five to nine; the Metrobus which I was waiting for almost 30 minutes finally arrived. I got into the bus. The bus was almost full. I ended up sitting with a foreigner. His stale sweat odour made me a little uneasy. His head turned and grinned at me and I replied him. Perhaps he was a little excited. He started talking to me in Malay however; the rest of the conversation took place in English. I liked his warmth but warmer was his breath and not forgetting that it was stinking too. I was surprised when he claimed himself to be a graduate in Myanmar, his motherland. We introduced each other and the conversation went on and on. I was surprised with this stranger’s comfort to have speech nonstop. His destination (stop) came before mine and he alighted the bus after throwing a wide smile at me. Despite his grubby personality, he was polite and jovial. One thing that will keep Michael Tan (his name) in my mind is his advice to me which sounds like this ‘You are young, experience will teach you’. Wow!Never dreamt of getting advice from a complete stranger...
