It was a winter coat, hat, gloves, scarf type of day as the bus pulled up to the stop and three passengers got on.
The first to board was a young girl who looked to be about 7 or 8. She wore a black coat and a black winter style hat. The logo on the hat brought to mind the intimidating monster like mascots adopted by various sports teams. One might say the image's tough demeanor seemed rather appropriate, shedding insights on it's wearer who had boarded while struggling with a large black tote. Although, physically, she teetered under the extra weight, her facial expression looked to be that of pride and determination. One could almost hear an inner mantra chanting, "I've got this. I've got this. I've got this."
The young girl had taken a few steps into bus but then ambled back to wait on the next boarding passenger, a woman, in the process of paying the fare.
The woman also wore a black coat and hat. Draped over her left shoulder was a red and white blanket with the name, "Rosaleen" embroidered in several places in red. In her left hand she carried, even in its folded state, a cumbersome looking dark blue baby carriage and in her right hand balanced a child of about 2 or 3.
This little girl wore a white and leopard print covered coat, a blue winter hat depicting cartooned humans on the front, and dangling from her left hand-- fastened to something underneath the coat-- was a single mitten whose color matched the blue on her head. The mitten's twin, clearly not dangling from her right hand, appeared to be missing.
Fare paid, the older girl proceeded to look for a seat. Behind her, the woman navigated herself, the carriage and youngest girl into a vacant seat towards the front, left side of the bus. As an older gentleman was already seated directly across from the woman, the older girl settled down two seats over on the right hand side of the bus.
A short time later, the woman leaned over to speak to the child she was carrying. But betraying no emotion regarding the nature of the one sided communication, the child's only response was to alternate between staring out, expressionless, in front of her, and looking down at floor of the now moving bus.
In fact, the only thing that did draw the younger girl's attention, as well as that of the older girl's, was the sudden movement of another young girl who had already been on the bus. Whatever it was that occurred had the girl with the tote surreptitiously throwing glances out of the corner of her eye, while the younger child, without any pretense at secrecy, simply just stared.