“I don’t care if you can’t pay for the ticket”: the driver kicked a poor granny off the bus, and a few minutes later something unexpected happened 😱😱
Outside, it was raining heavily, like autumn melancholy. Water was running down the windows of the bus. People were silent: some were scrolling through their phones, some were looking out the window, some were just dozing, lulled by the roar of the engine and the pounding rain.
The bus stopped at a small bus stop – a slanted canopy, a wet bench, not a soul around. And suddenly, out of the darkness, under the stinging drops, a short old woman in a shabby raincoat, with a bundle in her hand, approached the doors. Her hair was tangled in wet strands under her scarf, her shoes were soaked through.
The driver glanced in the mirror and reluctantly pressed the button. The doors are creaked, letting an elderly woman into the car.
The old woman climbed heavily onto the step, clinging to the handrail. A few drops from her sleeve fell onto the rubber floor.
“Grandma, my ticket,” the driver said wearily, without turning his head.
“I don’t have any,” she answered calmly, moving a little closer. Her voice was quiet but firm. “But I need to. I really need to go home. I need medicine.”
The driver turned sharply to face her.
— Everyone needs it! Me, them, you. Everyone has problems. Without a ticket – the exit.
“The pension is the day after tomorrow…” she whispered. “I’ll give it to you. I promise.”
“I don’t need promises. I need a ticket,” he snapped, rising from his chair. “Rules are rules. Without a ticket, we’re out.”
The old woman nodded silently. No plea, no indignation. She turned to the doors and stepped out. The bag in her hand shook in the wind. A second later the doors closed behind her with a dull hiss.
The driver returned to his seat and stepped on the gas. The bus moved off again as if nothing had happened.
But then something unexpected happened.
Something clicked in the air. As if an invisible string had been pulled taut between the passengers.
“He has no conscience,” said an elderly woman with a headscarf on her head.
“Such an old lady… In the rain,” added the young guy, looking out the window.
“We have to do something,” said the woman with the child.
And then one man stood up and said loudly:
– Since we have such rules here, it means that no one will pay.
– That’s right! – someone from the back row responded. – We’ll get there for free, just like grandma wanted.
One by one passengers, began to approach the composter and take out tickets – not composted. Some simply demonstratively tore them in half and put them on the windowsill. Those who were just about to buy – hide the money back in their pockets.
The driver saw this scene in the mirror and turned pale.
– Hey! What the hell is this?!
“It’s justice,” the man at the exit replied calmly. “We’re not going to pay for cruelty.”
The driver braked sharply. The bus stopped. He got out of the cabin, looking at the people as if they were traitors.
– But I follow the rules!
“And we are the conscience,” the guy at the back door answered. “If you had just asked politely and thought with your head, no one would have objected.”
And then a girl from the front row stood up and walked towards the door.
– I’ll go after grandma. I’m sure she’s not far. Who’s with me?
Two people, a man and a woman, stood up. They went out into the rain, sharing one umbrella with the three of them.
When they returned ten minutes later with Granny, soaking wet, shivering, but smiling, the entire bus applauded. Someone offered her a seat, someone handed her a dry handkerchief, someone else a chocolate bar.
And the driver silently opened the doors and went out into the rain. His replacement appeared only an hour later.
