Donna waited at the shelter for her bus. On the bench at the end of the shelter, a little old man in a ratty wool coat and hat waited too. He looks kinda dicey. Donna kept her distance and shuddered a bit as she got on the bus. The little old man just sat there. She could see him through the window. He didn't move. Is he dead? On reflex she shuddered again as the bus moved away without him. Even the pulling away of the bus went unnoticed by him. He just sat there.

oOi

The next day, Donna is running. Running to catch the bus. She makes it just in time. The doors close and a figure catches her eye at the benches outside. The old man. Sitting in the exact same place as the day before. Not dead then. But he still does not acknowledge that the bus is even there as it pulls away.

oOi

Coming home that evening, she looks intently for her stop. There's a figure where the old man is sitting. She gets off the bus and walks slowly towards him. It's him. The old man. Same position. Same wool coal as this morning. Maybe he's dead this time. She walks slowly towards him and sits on the bench next to his and feigns looking in her bag for something as she quickly scans to see if he is breathing. Should be easy, she can see her own breath in the cold air. A wisp of warm air comes from his mouth. Alive. Definitely alive. She catches him looking at her. She shudders for a brief second."Uh, hello," she says quickly to hide her agitation. He says nothing and watches her. It is too dark to see any expression on his face. She feels very self-conscious and shudders again. "G-Good night." As she turns to leave, the old man acknowledges her presence with the tip of his hat. She pauses a second in her tracks. Gramps does the same thing. She smiles and nods back. Donna walks down the sidewalk away from him. No shudder this time. No, this time she has a smile. Because she knows this old man is a kind soul.

oOi

Today he looks different. The old man sat in his usual spot on the bench and wore the same old coat, but she could tell something was different. She just couldn't decide what that was. She smiled and said, "Good morning." He looked up at her, nodded his head and smiled. She expected him to say something, but he was silent. The bus was a little late this morning, so she sat down next to him, opened up her bag, pulled out a scone and offered it to him. "Want one?" He looked at her for a second and took the scone. He nodded his thanks, tore a little chunk off and began to eat. Donna did the same with her own scone. They sat there and waited a few minutes until the bus finally came. Donna got up, waved goodbye and got on. He held up his half eaten scone and smiled goodbye. She smiled again. The hat. That's it. That's what's different. He isn't wearing his hat today.

oOi oOi

Donna walked to the front of the bus in anticipation for her stop. Was he still there? Yes. Just like clockwork. This made her happy. Donna sat down next to him. "My name's Donna. What's yours?" He just smiled. "Not going to say, huh? You are a crafty old man, aren't you?"

He laughed.

She shuddered. No, it wasn't a shudder at all. More like a shock. A little shock of static electricity. He was an old man, but his laugh sounded more like it belonged to a much younger man. There was a youthful vitality to it. She did what she did best and laughed as heartily back. As the laughter died down, she took a quick breath and said, "Well, if you don't tell me, I'll just have to make one up. What shall I call you, then? Tootie Fruity? Bus Boy? No, that's not respectful enough. Bus Man? No..." She looked at him for suggestions. He just shook his head. "Smiley?" He considered it and then nodded his approval. "Smiley it is then." She grabbed her bag and stood up. "Well, Smiley, I gotta get home. See you in the morning?" He smiled and nodded.