Without thinking, I stood and offered her my seat. It was the kind of gesture any of us would make, nothing dramatic or heroic. She looked startled at first — her eyebrows lifting as though kindness had caught her completely off guard — then she smiled warmly and settled into the seat with a soft sigh. I returned to standing, holding the rail above me, thinking the moment ended there.
I had no idea it was the beginning of something I would remember for the rest of my life.
As the bus rolled through traffic, I noticed that the elderly woman would glance at me from time to time. Her expression wasn’t one of curiosity or judgment. It was gentler, as if seeing me had tugged at some distant memory. There was a softness in her eyes that felt oddly familiar, though we had never met before.
