My toulouse version of the typical bus romantic encounter

i was waiting for the second bus, that takes me to work, it had an unusual delay of 25min, but at this point i got used to it so i just sat on the sidewalk step because this bus station had no chairs. that street had no pedestrians as it's close to the highway where few people live nearby. i watched cars passing by, people carrying their emotion on their face, but overall most people seem used to the dullness of the everyday life. the first bus of the trip, passed by again while the other one still didn't, and a girl stepped out of it in a rush with her backpack in one hand while the other hand is deeply looking for something in it, she looked at the timer screen and maybe saw that her bus is gonna be late too so she too sat down on the sidewalk step three meters away from me. she was a short girl with very tall hair and a nice body with blue jeans, probably in her early twenties, her face signaled clear explicit frustration and a little bit of sadness, not even 2 minutes after she sat down her bus passed by and she didn't get to wave at it to get on, she stood up, then dropped back at the wall and slid down slowly back to where she was sitting, a clear frustration scene, she held her backpack on her knees and laid her head on it, as if she gave up on her obviously unsuccessful morning.

even with my feelings being muted by prozac, i felt bad for her and kept watching the scene and thinking about asking her if there's anything i can help with, but a voice in my head (let's call it the black voice) said that i may have just liked her body and body language and so my oga boga brain thought i could mate with her, another voice (white voice) acknowledged the possibility but said it's also just human to ask if someone needs help especially if they're in obvious struggle, the black voice responded saying oh no it's just nature setting me up for a mating affair that i will regret investing in as soon as things will evolve in a certain direction and i end up committing to her. the problem is not commitment itself, but it's the alignment of principles and beliefs. Hearing these voices arguing, i thought about the financial burden of proposing the help, it felt selfish but what if she didn't deny the help and actually asked for something, i probably would have had to provide her with some of my resources which is not gonna feel pleasant because it's not as if i'm a millionaire. My bus is gonna arrive in 2 minutes, during which i was in a dilemma, should i just take my bus and leave or should i miss my bus to talk to her, but what if she denies the help, i might have to insist a little out of kindness before letting it go, and my bus would have passed by and i'd have to wait for another 30 minutes, but what if she accepts the help and we go grab a café to talk and reassure her as a verbal comfort in case she doesn't have friends or so, but what if she needs, beyond verbal comfort, something material, would i be able to cross my selfishness and share my resources with her for nothing in return ? or am i (oga boga brain) expecting something in return ? 

Unable of resolving this internal thought war, i stood up, waved to my bus and got on, with a little displeasure of not talking to her, but maybe i did well by not bothering her and leaving her alone as that's what some people actually need when they're having a bad morning.

did i have to talk to her ?

Posted Aug 12, 2026, 2:08 PM UTC

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