"the couple"

There used to be this couple that I see every morning at the bus terminal. They were around my age, perhaps a little younger, and looked like they were in the beginning stages of their relationship. I thought they made a beautiful couple. She looked shy and wore torn clothing, not because she couldn't afford better clothing but because it was her style. She also had a mane of rich orange hair, which is quite an uncommon thing to see. The boy was Asian and stood just a few inches taller than her. He was more free with his emotions, smiling and initiating the conversation between the two. They were both individually attractive and although their looks were physically contrasting, they complemented each other well.

Every morning when I arrived at the terminal, the two would already be sitting on the little metal bench closest to the bus we all take to school. Sometimes, they would be talking in a circle of friends. Other times, it would be just them two, listening to music through shared earphones. I saw them everyday and these circumstances repeated. It was rare to see one without the other. It was only a few times where I saw them separated and when I did, it felt like they were missing something. Then, summer arrived and school was let out. I was no longer required to take the bus to school every morning, therefore I stopped seeing the couple.

Summer rushed by fast. So fast that I had to stop and wonder if summer even occurred at all. September crept up upon me and before I knew it, I was once again sitting on the bus that was slowly making its way to the bus terminal, where I would transfer onto another bus that would take me to school. I expected to see the same people I used to see every morning. I expected to encounter the couple once again and offer them that awkward smile, the one you give people you are familiar with yet never actually spoken to. Yet this time, it was different. I arrived at the bus terminal and only saw a lone figure. The girl. She looked different too. She dyed her orginally radiant orange hair into a pitch black. Her bangs grew out and hid half of her face, shielding one of her green eyes. As she sat on the bench that used to hold two, she never raised her eyes but chose to stare down at the ground. I wondered where the boy was.

The next day was the same. And the next. I had a nagging suspicion of what occured but it was never proven until one day. Some would say that it was just like before, the three of us waiting at the bus terminal for a bus that was dependable and constantly on time. However this time, it was noticeably different. The boy and the girl did not speak to one another. In fact, they were standing apart and avoided each other's gazes. There was a chill in the air that did not come with the arrival of autumn. We boarded the bus and the boy quickly hurried to a seat in the back while the girl chose a spot in the front with her back facing towards him, so she wouldn't have to look at him. The bus ride was silent yet screaming in thick tension. Their destination arrived earlier than mine so I was still in my seat as they both got up to prepare to leave. They still have not looked at each other. They exited the bus, one after the other, pretty much strangers. They showed no signs of knowing the other person. They refused to acknowledge the other. It was as if the other didn't exist. Or that they wished they didn't.

As the bus continued along its way, I couldn't help but think back to the days when they were together and happy. And now it's as if those memories never even happened.