Chapter Three:
Alan:
When Alan got onto the bus, he spotted Benny immediately and sat down next to him.
Alan took the bus every Tuesday and Thursday to visit his mother. He’d met Benny two weeks ago and the two talked every time Alan was on the bus, and Alan ate up every word that Benny said.
He had been skeptical at first, but it didn’t take long for Alan to honestly believe he was talking to God when he rode the bus. After a while, the insanity of the situation wore off and it seemed completely normal.
“Hello Alan,” Benny smiled. “How are you today? How’s your mother?”
“I’m just fine,” he began excitedly, “but Mum’s great. Doctors say she can come home as early as next week!”
“That’s wonderful!”
“It’s just like you said, Ben. You said everything would be fine and it is!”
Benny nodded. “You never have to worry about illness, Alan.”
Alan cocked his head to the side. “Yeah, you keep sayin’ that Ben, but I’ve been thinking… Why not?”
Benny shifted in his seat, trying to get comfortable after a few hours on the bus. “See, Al, it’s already been decided when you start and when you end. The beauty of it that you have to decide what to do with the middle bit – and that’s the best bit.”
Alan nodded, solemnly. “That’s deep. Ben. Real deep.”
Benny nodded as well. He knew the topic of death brought people down; it had already changed Alan from someone almost bursting with excitement to someone with his hands folded somberly in his lap. But Benny wished he could make people see that death really wasn’t so bad. It was inevitable, an unchangeable fact, so why let it bother you? That was like letting sunsets bother you. It’s going to happen, so why not find a way to make the day that you have great, instead of dwelling on when it will end?
“Benny?”
“Yes, Alan?”
“Who decides when we come and when we go?”
“I do,” Benny said, simply.
Alan pulled the yellow chord that lit the ‘Next Stop’ sign with the ding. “Of course,” he said with a little laugh, “How could I forget?”
Alan stood up. “You know,” he said after pausing thoughtfully, “my wife still can’t believe I talk to God on the bus. She thinks we’re both nuts.”
“That’s because your wife takes the subway.”
Alan:
When Alan got onto the bus, he spotted Benny immediately and sat down next to him.
Alan took the bus every Tuesday and Thursday to visit his mother. He’d met Benny two weeks ago and the two talked every time Alan was on the bus, and Alan ate up every word that Benny said.
He had been skeptical at first, but it didn’t take long for Alan to honestly believe he was talking to God when he rode the bus. After a while, the insanity of the situation wore off and it seemed completely normal.
“Hello Alan,” Benny smiled. “How are you today? How’s your mother?”
“I’m just fine,” he began excitedly, “but Mum’s great. Doctors say she can come home as early as next week!”
“That’s wonderful!”
“It’s just like you said, Ben. You said everything would be fine and it is!”
Benny nodded. “You never have to worry about illness, Alan.”
Alan cocked his head to the side. “Yeah, you keep sayin’ that Ben, but I’ve been thinking… Why not?”
Benny shifted in his seat, trying to get comfortable after a few hours on the bus. “See, Al, it’s already been decided when you start and when you end. The beauty of it that you have to decide what to do with the middle bit – and that’s the best bit.”
Alan nodded, solemnly. “That’s deep. Ben. Real deep.”
Benny nodded as well. He knew the topic of death brought people down; it had already changed Alan from someone almost bursting with excitement to someone with his hands folded somberly in his lap. But Benny wished he could make people see that death really wasn’t so bad. It was inevitable, an unchangeable fact, so why let it bother you? That was like letting sunsets bother you. It’s going to happen, so why not find a way to make the day that you have great, instead of dwelling on when it will end?
“Benny?”
“Yes, Alan?”
“Who decides when we come and when we go?”
“I do,” Benny said, simply.
Alan pulled the yellow chord that lit the ‘Next Stop’ sign with the ding. “Of course,” he said with a little laugh, “How could I forget?”
Alan stood up. “You know,” he said after pausing thoughtfully, “my wife still can’t believe I talk to God on the bus. She thinks we’re both nuts.”
“That’s because your wife takes the subway.”
I hate you
But I just can’t seem to break you
Do I want you here?
Do I want you gone?
Everyone says your such a tease
But not to me
Are you real?
Are you fake?
Do I need to be
With this drama queen
You spout lies
No truth to be found
Why am I still
Trying to see the good in you?
Is it worth it?
Should I listen to them?
They tell me to go
Before I’m a victim
Of you mighty undoing
I won’t fall
I’ve made a promise
Can I keep it?
Will I leave?
Will I remain?
Promises
Sins
They all appear
The same
Lies
Sentences
Preach the
Difference
I’m listening to you
I can’t break you
I’m falling now
No one to catch me
Do I leave now
That I’ve fallen
Are you worth my time?
Am I worth this pain?
God, help me choose
For this is not my decision
Any longer
I’ve put my faith in my despair
Now show me the answer
Tell me what to do
Do I stay
Or do I leave you?
But I just can’t seem to break you
Do I want you here?
Do I want you gone?
Everyone says your such a tease
But not to me
Are you real?
Are you fake?
Do I need to be
With this drama queen
You spout lies
No truth to be found
Why am I still
Trying to see the good in you?
Is it worth it?
Should I listen to them?
They tell me to go
Before I’m a victim
Of you mighty undoing
I won’t fall
I’ve made a promise
Can I keep it?
Will I leave?
Will I remain?
Promises
Sins
They all appear
The same
Lies
Sentences
Preach the
Difference
I’m listening to you
I can’t break you
I’m falling now
No one to catch me
Do I leave now
That I’ve fallen
Are you worth my time?
Am I worth this pain?
God, help me choose
For this is not my decision
Any longer
I’ve put my faith in my despair
Now show me the answer
Tell me what to do
Do I stay
Or do I leave you?
You’re the reason why
I have to lie
Why I hurt so much
That my heart’s in a clutch
I’m slowly dying
‘Cause of your lying
You used to be my magic
But now you’re a dick
You made me long to be
Everything that wasn’t Lee
But look where that got me
Locked in without a key
If only you knew
That I plummeted deeper than blue
But then again
You’re just another two timing has been
You ran away
Thinking it’d be okay
But you were wrong
More so than any love song
You made me want to sing
With you following
But look at how wrong I was
Believing you that it was just “buzz”
Now you’re the reason why
I cannot do anything but cry
I have to lie
Why I hurt so much
That my heart’s in a clutch
I’m slowly dying
‘Cause of your lying
You used to be my magic
But now you’re a dick
You made me long to be
Everything that wasn’t Lee
But look where that got me
Locked in without a key
If only you knew
That I plummeted deeper than blue
But then again
You’re just another two timing has been
You ran away
Thinking it’d be okay
But you were wrong
More so than any love song
You made me want to sing
With you following
But look at how wrong I was
Believing you that it was just “buzz”
Now you’re the reason why
I cannot do anything but cry