Since middle school, on the last weekend of every month, she would take the bus to a nursing home in the suburbs to visit her mother, who worked there as a caregiver.
The bus route was long and leisurely. Passengers got off along the way, and the bus grew emptier and emptier.
Whenever the moon rose above the hill, she would board the last bus home.
Apart from the driver, there was often only her and a boy her age on the bus.
Their eyes would occasionally meet. No smiles, nods, or greetings, just once, twice, three times...
It happened so often that it began to feel as if they had known each other for ages.
She couldn't remember how many times it had been when, on a moonless rainy day, she finally stood by the farebox with damp hair, blushing as she rummaged through her bag.
Clink, clink. Someone came over and dropped in two coins, saying softly, "I paid for you."
-
The moon rose above the hill, and hand in hand, they boarded the last bus home.
[Mutual Secret Crush]
Theme: The pure love of young people
