I was looking around from my vantage point over the heads of the people standing at the bus stop when a woman, walking through them, burst into a smile. I looked around again to see if I could spot what made her smile, but couldn’t find anything. I looked at her again, and now she was trying to hold back the smile. I do that too, sometimes, when walking on the streets. Sometimes I think of an old joke, or remember something funny. I thought maybe that was it. I fixed my gaze on her, and watched as she walked past me. When I turned back, an old man in a black coat, wearing a plaid scarf and a grey beret, was looking at me with a kind but mocking grin and a twinkle in his eye.

I wondered if he had noticed my eyes tracking the woman. He edged slightly towards me, so I looked away. When I looked back, he was still staring at me, so I turned away again, this time for longer. When I finally looked back at him again, he was still staring at me with a smile. He took a small step towards me, and said, looking up, “That’s a cosy spot you have there…”

I smiled, “yes it is!” I was sitting on a green water control cabinet, with my arms and legs crossed, swinging my feet. It gave me an extra foot or so of height, and a better view of the street. Maybe it was because of my sister’s cats when I was growing up that I had acquired the habit of looking for a good vantage point when waiting around.

The old man asked, “Are you waiting for a bus, or the end of the world?”

My smile widened into a cheeky grin, “whichever comes first!”

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