A Moment On A Bus Sarah Reid   © Copyright 2024 by Sarah Reid

Photo by Ina Carolino on Unsplash

A queue of people waiting for the bus in the rain as it pounded on top of the bus shelter like thunder in a storm. It made Sarah jump like a jack in the box just like 3 out of the 4 people in the queue too. Sarah didn't understand why the man in the queue didn't jump, but suddenly the bus skidded to a halt at last and they quickly filed on to the bus paying their fare, the man at the end of the line quietly mouthed to the driver "Sorry, im Deaf, need ticket ". It was hard to understand what he was saying. Rudely the driver ushered him away.

Sarah felt sad as other passengers edged away from him rudely as he sat down on a dusty seat as the driver pulled away to head to town.

Sarah suddenly remembered that she had learned some British Sign Language at guides last week and waved at the gentleman to get his attention.

As their eyes met Sarah smiled cheerfully but nervously and signed to him "whats your name?". (Remembering to sign it "name what?" as thats how Deaf people communicate).

He was so grateful that Sarah was chatting to him and beckoned her to sit next to him and told Sarah his name was "Alan" asked Sarah her name, so she replied "name me, Sarah".

Suddenly Alan was signing away quickly a conversation as Sarah panicked in her mind that she only knew the alphabet and a few basic signs like please and thank-you, but she smiled and nodded. Suddenly Alan noticed his stop was approaching and rang the bell. He smiled at Sarah and waved goodbye and as he left the bus he stood outside in the rain signing "Thank you" again and again until the bus was out of sight. Just seeing his grateful face in her mind made her feel happy for the first time in a long time due to the many challenges she had faced due to bullying at school and the multiple seizures a week she faced due to a head injury she had ten years ago. Having a purpose in life made her smile and making a positive difference.

Sarah felt warm inside like butter meliting on toast and grateful that she had made his day. That precious moment stayed with her for many years.

It inspired her to work with Deaf children in the future and a few years later went to college by day to train as a nursery nurse and back at night to learn Bsl, eventually getting a job at a charity caring for Deafblind adults with complex needs for many years making a positive difference to so many people and raising money for multiple charities close to her heart in her free time too.