I was sitting on the B41 Local bus as a small crowd of new passengers boarded.
A little boy, wearing a shy looking smile and the expression of a dreamer, passed by and made his way to the back. He appeared to be around 3 or 4, with just-below-the-nape, long brown hair, large red framed glasses, and wore a grey and red fleece hoodie-- grey hood and sleeves-- over a dark blue pair of khakis.
Two passengers later, a young lady, sharing similar facial features, possibly 16 or 17 years of age, came in and stood next to a two seater closer to the middle of the bus. She then called out to him, and pointed at the seats. She called out a few times, gesturing him over and then indicating the seats.
At first, it seemed he was set to stay where he was. But she continued to insist, firmly and pleasantly, all the while showing no signs of impatience.
Finally, he slowly made his way over to her, slid into the space backwards--his front facing the seat--and then, when he was in, turned around to sit down.
I was drawn to how gentle she was from the moment she first called out to him, all the way until he settled in. There was no self consciousness on her part, no signs of judgement or nonverbal commentary about the situation. She simply stayed open, held her ground, and gave him time to come over and sit in the manner he wanted. It was lovely.
Later, when they prepared to exit, she leaned down, picked him up and made her way down the stairs. Once on the sidewalk, she placed him on solid ground. Last I saw, they were holding hands as they disappeared into the crowd.