I found that I had boarded the wrong bus...

I found that I had boarded the wrong bus. The seats were the wrong colour, the bus driver was a different person, even the passengers were different. I was sure of this because I had ridden on the same bus every day of the week since last year. I tried to stop the bus, but the driver was already going at full speed, and the driver either would not or could not hear my request over the sound of the engine.

Wearily, I found a place and sat down by the window. I tweaked open the curtain. It was raining heavily, and the sky was dark. So was the bus. A sudden flash of lightning illuminated the bus. I looked away from the window hurriedly, as if afraid of hurting my eyes. Funny. I was not so jumpy usually. My gaze traveled to the seat next to me, and I jumped as though I had received an electric shock.

The seat next to me had been empty when I sat down. But it was now occupied by a little girl who looked about five. I could see her face clearly because of the lightning. Her face was deadly pale, and she was thin, very thin. Her face was also completely empty of expression. Then the lightning was gone, as though somebody had switched off a light in the sky, and her face was once more in shadow. I looked away from her hurriedly, as a crash of thunder descended from the sky.

Looking determinedly through the window, I pondered about the presence of the little girl beside me. The bus had not stopped after I got on, that was certain. So how had she got on? I steeled myself and turned to ask her this. After all, she was only a little girl. Only a little girl. But if so, how had she disappeared so quickly? The seat beside me was empty once more.

I turned and searched every face on the bus, hoping to see the little girl somewhere. But all the passengers on the bus were old people. And their faces were as expressionless as the girl's had been. I tried to convince myself that they were just fed up with the rain.

I stared straight in front of me, waiting impatiently for the next bus stop. Suddenly, another flash of lightning came. I hesitated for a few seconds, and turned my head to the seat beside me once more, willing the little girl not to be there. But she was.

She was just sitting there silently, staring at the floor, looking as pale as before. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck standing up straightly, and it was all I could do to prevent myself from going up to the driver and forcing him to stop the bus. Hey, that was a good idea.

But then the lightning disappearing, and the thunder came. And the rumble of thunder seemed to roll a heavy weight against my heart, as I remembered the expressionless face of the driver, and how he had pretended not to hear me when I first got on.

An uneasy memory floated back to my mind, the time when my friend was telling me a story about the Ghost Bus. A man had got onto the wrong bus, just like me. And just like me, he had felt uneasy about the bus and the people on the bus. Then, a frightened-looking young girl beside him had whispered to him that this was the Ghost Bus, and all the people on the train were waiting for the best chance to attack and eat him. Then, he grasped hands with the young girl and they leapt out of the window together. The bus rattled on, while the ghosts in the bus shouted after him in dismay and disappointment. He was just going to thank the young girl, when she smiled and said, "Now, you're all mine."

A creepy story, but I had just scoffed and laughed at it. And now, it was coming true! Well, not exactly. But almost.

The lightning flashed once more, and the girl, who had disappeared with the lightning just now, appeared again. This time, she had a cut on her head. It was bleeding slightly. The lightning was gone, and the bus was plunged into semi-darkness once more. But suddenly, a small person hurled itself against my chest.

I screamed.

The bus wobbled, and came to a stop.

I fainted.

When I woke up, I was in hospital. I got up and checked myself all over. No bites, not scars. And no —— OH MY GOODNESS, the girl was standing next to me!

She was staring at me, and she was laughing. I was ready to black out again, when she spoke for the first time. And to this day, I really wish I had covered my ears.

It turned out that she was just a human child. She had been scared of the darkness, so she had hidden under her seat. Every time the lightning came, she thought that the light had been switched on, so up she came. And the last time, she had banged her head, and she had just wanted me to comfort her.

I felt so stupid.