He looked up from the book in his lap as the Greyhound bus stopped at the Greenville station.
The old woman next to him fell asleep on the trip up from Charleston and leaned her head on his shoulder.
Her face was as wrinkled as the bark of an ancient magnolia tree.
It was colored the same beautiful brown as it’s trunk and branches.
She breathed in, and the air made a soft, whistling sound through her nose.
She breathed out, and it made a gentle, flapping sound through her lips.
“Life is a symphony,” he chuckled, “Of whistles and kazoos.”
“Ma’am,” he whispered.
She didn’t move.
She kept right on sleeping and snoring.
“Ma’am,” he said a little louder.
Still only whistles and kazoos.
“Ma’am,” he said a little louder still.
This time he reached out and patted her weathered hand.
She opened her tired, brown eyes and smiled a small smile at him.
“Thanks for a lettin’ me use yo shoulda as my pilla,” she said with a gravelly voice.
“First time I woked up beside a man in a long time.
Hope my snorin’ didn’t bother you none,” she giggled.
“No ma’am,” he said with a giggle of his own.
That was music to my ears.”
His knees and back snapped and popped as he stood up slowly and smoothed out the wrinkles in his pants.
“My goodness,” said the old woman, “You make music, too.”
He placed his hand gently on her bony shoulder.
“We could start a band called The Human Experience,” he laughed.
“People would come from all over to hear us whistle, flap, snap and pop.
What do you think?”
“Yep, they’d pay us a bundle to hear that.”
He pulled on his jacket and waved his hand to her.
“Goodbye, my friend,” he said.
“Thanks for the song.”
She waved back.
“Thank you,” she said.
“And do me a favor.
Lean on down here and let me tell you somethin’.”
He leaned down and was surprised.
She kissed him on his forehead with a light, tender kiss.
“That’s the kiss of a guardian angel,” she whispered.
“Listen to life, and do not be afraid.”
- trevor scott barton, stories for a brown-eyed girl, 2020
