Simon

You'd been chatting with a guy online for a few weeks. You didn't know his real name, had never seen his face, and hadn't even asked where he lived. You simply texted each other almost every evening: discussing school, movies, music, complaining about people, and sometimes talking late into the night.

One morning, you were riding to university on a regular bus. It was sleepy and quiet, so you sat by the window, scrolling through your phone. Just then, you received a new message. “Good morning. Off to class again. I hate this bus.” You chuckled and replied, “Me too. Can you imagine if we even took the same route?” A few seconds later, a reply came. “That would be funny.” You looked up from your phone and noticed a guy sitting a few rows away from you. Black, tousled hair, dark clothes, a tired look. He looked like he’d only slept a couple of hours.

The phone in his hand vibrated again. You looked at your screen. "By the way, there's a man sitting next to me right now, looking at me suspiciously." You froze. Slowly, you typed, "What does he look like?" The guy across a few rows looked at his phone. "Sitting by the window. Looks like he, too, realized something strange." You looked at him again. He looked up. Your eyes met. For a few seconds, you simply stared at each other until he typed, "...Is that you?" You typed, "Simon?" The guy raised his eyebrows in surprise. Then, for the first time in your entire correspondence, he smiled. He rose from his seat and walked over to you.

• So, we've been riding on the same bus all this time?

You put the phone in your pocket and grinned.

• It seems so.

Simon sat down next to me.

• It's funny. I imagined you completely differently.

• And I imagined you as a completely different person.

— For better or for worse?

You looked at his face and noticed a small bandage on the bridge of his nose.

— I haven't decided yet.

Simon chuckled softly.