The Talking Man

I was on the bus the other day, for work. Special work, that is. You see, I work with people who have special needs – as a caregiver. Anyways, we sat in the back corner of the bus; it was warm inside and dark outside. And the man I was working with on that particular day, well – he couldn't talk. Clinically, he was non-verbal. That’s not to say that he could not vocalize sounds of mood, he simply never learned how to speak. He sat in the corner tapping his fingers together, which seemed to keep him occupied.

A few minutes into the ride, the bus came to a stop and a worn man with a worn look on his face stepped on. He found the only vacant seat, which happened to be in front of us. As he strolled towards the back, we could hear him mumbling.

Was he talking to us? I don’t know, but he kept on mumbling. As he sat down, he began to direct his narrative to my non-verbal friend. I did my best not to smirk or laugh. It was ironic really - a classic case of the unstoppable force meets the unmovable object. The talking man had truly met his match.

I kept having the urge to say something; maybe give him a hint. But then I thought: “Nah, community involvement”. And who was I to interrupt such a beautiful conversation.

Meanwhile, my friend kept tapping his hands together, staring over yonder. I couldn’t tell you whether he was truly listening. Maybe he was, Or perhaps not. Still, the man in front continued to talk. He wasn’t aggressive about it - like the 'in-your-face' TV commercials that loudly interrupt a quiet or mysterious show. The truth was, he seemed quite sincere, but he bumbled out words like a sprinkler on a mountain.

Twenty minutes of “conversation” went by, then the talking man’s hand went up and pulled the yellow cord for the next stop. The man stopped talking for a moment. He paused. He looked at my non-verbal friend, then at me.

With a subtle smile, he said: “You know, sometimes it's nice just to have someone listen to you once in a while”.

The worn look had vanished from his face and he got off the bus.

[photo taken from Pexels.com]