(Fiction) "Something New Was Beginning!" by Regan Kim

Christmas this year was harsh. I lost my job in August due to the second Covid-19 lockdown. 

On Christmas Day, I had nowhere to go, so I was wandering the city centre alone. Late at night, I took a bus to go back home.

Had It been about half an hour? I was desperate for a smoke. There seemed to be no other passengers. 

I sneaked an e-cigarette out of my pants pocket and started vaping. The vapour was floating in the air, forming a cloud.

Then a woman's scream echoed on the bus. "Oh, no! He's smoking! I'm pregnant!" The bus driver freaked out and stopped the bus at the next stop. 

The woman was sitting in the far back seat. The driver asked me, "Did you smoke?" I didn't answer. He told me to apologize to her.

'What? Apologize? Who apologized to me when I lost my job?' I yelled silently. Despite myself, I burst into tears.

I couldn't stay on the bus anymore. I hopped off and walked a while. Loneliness in the dark turned my heart back to smoking. 

I took the vape out of my pocket, but it slipped from my hand and rolled into the road.

The moment I jumped off the sidewalk to pick it up, I found a car rushing towards me. It was too late to avoid a collision with the vehicle. 

Then I saw a weird thing. The shadow of a cross in the middle of the car's headlight turned up! Simultaneously, the vehicle hit me head-on. Bang!

The big noise caused my eyes to open. Am I dead? But I found the bus driver standing before me. Seeing my confusion, the driver explained what had happened. 

I was still asleep when we arrived at the last stop. When the driver failed to wake me up by shouting, he clapped his hands loudly and, finally, I woke up.

As I got up, I noticed a cross necklace hanging from the driver's neck. I asked him, "Are you Christian?" He smiled and answered, "Yes. Merry Christmas!"

As soon as I got off the bus, I took the vaporizer out of my pocket and threw it into the rubbish bin. I was humming as I made my way home on foot. 

I was still unemployed, and things didn't change at all. Nevertheless, I felt something new was beginning.

I was born again!