“Just get off the bus.”

That’s what Phillip told himself once again but the doors quickly closed and the bus driver prepared to pull away from the curb. Raising his sullen eyes he saw the face of a young woman look up from the chore of putting yellow tinted plastic bags around one of the many stacks of freshly laundered clothing on the table before her. Behind the brown framed glasses she wore her eyes closed slightly as she smiled in his direction but before he could decide if he had been her target she drifted behind the bus and was gone.

He adjusted the knapsack on his lap as the cold wet spot it hid continued to spread. Once again the bus slowed as it approached the next stop on it’s daily route. “Just get off the bus with everyone else and leave it behind. No one will notice until you’re gone.” Phillip slid the pack to the seat beside him and sidled up to an overweight woman, following her closely as they both exited the bus. He turned as the doors shut behind him and saw a small boy opening the sack.