Christian was pissed.
He had explicitly told the guy at the ticket counter he wanted..., no needed a seat at the front of the bus as the space
between two seats weren't enough to fit his long legs.
Anyway he would have to make do with what he had been given. It was the last bus of the night so he had no other choice.
He needed to be back home tonight because tomorrow was his first wedding anniversary.
He climbed into the bus and searched for seat number 21.
It was the aisle seat and to make things worse there was an older lady sitting on seat number 20 who had huge suitcase
which was stuffed under the seat; which meant that he would have to hold his rucksack on his lap, during the hour and a half journey.
He huffed and sat down with the large bag in his lap.
His cell buzzed.
"Yes, Schatz. I'm in the bus, sitting on my seat. But you owe me big time."
"Is that so?" Olli's voice softly purred in his ear
"Just wait till I get home. You are going to get your just deserves." Christian said suggestively. Olli soft laugh warmed his insides.
"Okay I'll see you at the bus station... the bus number? Just a sec I'll ask someone."
He turned to the middle aged gentleman sitting across the aisle.
"Sir do you have any idea what is our bus number."
" LS 65 95-0" the man huffed shortly then went back to reading his business magazine.
Christian repeated the number after a little more banter he bid goodbye to his husband.
The bus started off, the AC on high made Christian feel sleepy.
Soon his eyes drooped and he was in dream land.
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Olli repeated the number out loud a couple of times then slipping his phone back in his pocket he entered the church.
Before he met Christian he hadn't been religious at all.
But now once in a while he entered a church, sat in the last pew and meditated.
He had started visiting this particular church on a regular basis, for the main reason that this was where he had Christian had been married.
Today for some reason after entering he didn't sit at the back but went right to the first one.
As usual he sat down and closed his eyes to meditate. But the image of Christian hurt after his practice match with Alex from that long time ago kept popping up in his mind's eyes. For no apparent reason he burst into tears.
The reverend who had been on his way out of his office noticed the sobbing man and approached him.
Taking a seat beside Olli he gently patted Olli's head and softly asked "Son, what is it that is causing you pain?"
Olli looked up, "Oh! It's you!" he exclaimed.
"Yes, I'm the reverend of this church. Have we met before?" the portly man asked.
"I thought you had been moved to another congregation in Berlin." Olli asked instead of answering.
"Yes, but that was only temporary I returned to my permanent position here a week back."
"I guess you don't remember me." Olli said and gave a watery smile.
"I'm sorry. But I just can't seem to place you."
"You blessed my husband and me exactly a year back."
"Oh! You're the gay couple with the tigress for an aunt. How could I forget?"
"So why are you crying?" the reverend asked with a frown.
"An old memory of when Christian had been hurt suddenly came back to me so..." he couldn't complete what he was saying as fresh tears choked him again.
"Would you like me to say a prayer for his well being." The reverend offered.
"Could you. It'd make me feel better."
The middle aged man clasped both of Olli's hands and started speaking,
"Our Father who art in Heaven,
Bless this son of yours and protect the one he loves, the one who to whom he has promised his loyalty to. Protect the man who completes this son of Your's life and heart. Bless their home and hearth. And may sorrow, gloom and despair never touch them. May Their Union be blessed and happy for a long time to come.
Amen."
Both men crossed themselves.
Opening his eyes Olli's heart felt lighter and he felt not only happier but also felt at peace with himself.
"I'll see you next week then?" the reverend enquired.
"Yes, definitely," Olli promised.
The reverend went on his way.
Olli decided to sit a while longer.
He looked around himself and remembered their ceremony.
Their friends, Charlie and of course the shocking suddenly arrived unexpected guest - his mother.
Finally after half an hour he got up.
He knelt before the image of Christ and crossed himself again.
Then getting back on his feet he slowly walked out of the church into the Autumn night.
In 45 minutes Christian would be home and they could start celebrating their first wedding anniversary.
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The bus violently jerked and he hit his forehead and nose against the headrest of the seat in front of him.
The lights inside the bus had gone off. He heard people shriek and then whimpers emitted as injuries were discovered. Christian checked his forehead, then his nose and finally his lips for sticky wetness but was relieved when his fingers met none. Then he checked his teeth. All seemed to be intact.
There was loud banging as people tried to get the Emergency Exit open but it just refused to budge. He heard a loud cry and realized that the lady sitting beside him had let out the sound.
The lady had forgotten to fasten her seat belt so she had slammed completely into the front seat. Taking out his mobile he used the light from it's display screen to check her injuries.
There was blood all over her face so it was impossible to make out the extent of her injuries.
A call rang out "uninjured people please help the others and can a few able bodied men please try to get this damn Exit open."
"Can you move your legs madam?" Christian asked his companion.
"Yes, I think I can but my knees hurt from hitting the front seat." She assured him then requested, "can you please see where my glasses are, I'm completely blind without them."
Christian felt something poke him in the side of his thigh.
He felt around and gave a soft whoop, it was the lady's spectacles.
In the mean time the lady had wiped her face on her scarf and Christian could make out a gash on her forehead an inch above her left eye brow.
He handed her the specs and asked, "Does anything else hurt?"
"No Other than my forehead I don't think I've hurt anything else." the lady answered.
"I'll go help the others so that we can get outta here as soon as we can." He told her and quickly went to help his co passengers to get the emergency exit open.
But all their efforts proved futile.
Christian had an idea he went to the back of the bus and felt around under the back seat.
His hand touched the metal box he hoped would be there.
He quickly pulled it out and yanked it open.
He pulled out the jack and hurried back to the where the other men were still trying to get the exit open.
"Here maybe this'll help. Please get out of the way." He requested.
He put his force into the single hit he gave to the stubborn door and it instantly popped open like a champagne cork.
As the people with minor injuries climbed out Christian heard the blare of far off sirens.
Ambulances were on their way.
In the hustle bustle of helping people get out Christian didn't have time to enquire about the cause of the accident. But once all the ambulances had left with the severely injured he finally enquired. And the answer he got shocked him.
An EMT who had been one of the passengers filled him in. Their driver who was now dead had been drunk, "When I leaned forward to check his pulse I could smell it on him," the man informed Christian gravely.
Due to drunkenness the driver had been going at 75 m/hr in a 60 m/hr zone and had crashed into a road train. His death had been instantaneous.
As the EMT finished a couple of the passengers who had torches with them climbed back in to retriev everyone's bags which were quickly handed out and the rightful owners claimed them.
Christian looked the large green ruck sack - a gift from Olli, he hugged it and then kissed it. This thing had most probably save his life.
It had acted like an air bag so he hadn't whiplashed back into his seat. So unlike other who groaned with aching necks and backs he could stand up straight.
The alarm of his wrist watch chimed telling him that it was the 3rd of September.
He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Olli but all he heard was dead air. There was no reception.
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Olli felt the ground shift from underneath his feet when he heard the horrifying but cold and clipped announcement.
"Ladies and Gentlemen we regret to inform those who would be travelling by Bus No. LS 65 95-0 you will have to be face a 2 hr delay as the bus has met with an accident and the replacement will reach here only after 2 hrs."
Olli ran to the counter and fearfully asked, "The bus that met with the accident. Where were the injured taken?"
"I don't know!" the woman at the counter rudely exclaimed then screeched, "get outta the way and let others buy tickets." Olli was jostled out of the way by a large man then hustled back by the other people.
Olli pulled out his cell from his pocket and dialed as he prayed.
But his prayers seemed to be in vain as a sweet voice informed him,
"The number you're trying to reach is currently not reachable. Please try again later."
As tears blinded him he felt a hand on his shoulder, and a cheerful voice greeted, "Hey Olli! What are you doing here?"
Olli turned to find himself face to face with Nico and her fiancé Philip.
His tears alarmed her, "what happened."
"Christian's bus 'ad ... accident ..." was all he was able to choke out before he burst into gasping sobs.
Nico instantly enfolded him in a hug, "He's alright. I'm sure he's alright" she assured him bravely.
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Christian and the other passengers sat by the side of the road in wait of the promised bus that would take them the rest of the way.
He looked up and stared at the clear sky which stretched over the autobahn, he could see the constellations clearly.
He laid back in the grass and indulged in the game he and Gregor would play whenever Papa was in his 'mood'.
Orion,
Cassiopeia,
Pegasus were all that he could figure out . Due to loss of practice he couldn't identify the rest any longer.
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Olli sat on a bench outside the bus station and stared up at the sky.
The stars seemed to look down at him and wink in happiness.
Christian had told him about the game he and Gregor used to play when they were kids.
Thanks to Christian he could now identify some of the constellations, at least the major ones like Orion which was staring down at him right this moment.
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A hand shook him awake and Christian sat up a bit to quickly making his stressed muscles sing. It was his seat companion.
"The bus is here," she informed him.
Christian jumped to his feet, picking up his ruck sack he briskly walked to the bus and quickly climbed in. he sat down in the first available seat. He extracted his mobile from his pocket but was dismayed to find that the reception was still nil.
Dusseldorf was anyway only another half hour away so he wouldn't bother Olli. His husband needed his sleep. He definitely didn't need to know of the accident.
He was uninjuried so even if Olli read about the accident in tomorrow's paper he could feign ignorance and say it wasn't his bus.
Christian settled back in his seat to nap quite forgetting that he had told Olli his bus number.
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The announcements speaker crackled.
"The replacement bus for Bus No. LS 65 95-0 has reached. Passengers who are to travel back to Koln on it please line up at gate number 3 and you will be picked up from there once the passengers have disembarked"
Olli ran to the arrival area and craned his neck to watch as one by one tired bloody clothed passenger slowly got off.
He had started to despair when finally he saw the dark blond mop of unruly hair.
Christian squinted as the bright lights of the bus station hurt his eyes.
He got off and slowly walked towards the parking lot which led to the taxi stand.
As he walked he lifted up his arms to stretch his body and yawned. That when he saw Olli briskly walking towards him.
Christian broke into a run himself.
He met Olli halfway who lifted him up and swung him around.
After exchanging a bone crushing hug Olli pulled back and said softly, "God listened to me." Then kissed him soundly.
"How did you know?"
"Remember you gave me the bus number."
"Oh right! Anyway I'm fine. Can we go home now? I'm hungry." Christian informed Olli.
"Yes, we'll go home but you'll have to bear a slight de tour."
It was 1 in the morning when Olli parked the car.
"Come on, come with me?"
Christian looked around and his eyes widened.
"Isn't this the church where we got married?"
"Yes, it is. Come on lets go in."
"Is it open?" Christian asked
"I don't know. But we can try the door and see."
"It's open" a voice behind them said.
Both men whipped around to see a portly figure in a grey track suit come upto them.
"Reverend what are you doing here? That too at this late hour."
"I had been right behind you when you had finished your call to your husband here and couldn't help but over hear the bus number. Then when I heard the news... I prayed you were fine" he addressed the last part to Christian, "Go in and stay as long as you need."
"What was all that about?" Christian asked in puzzlement.
"I'll tell you some other day. But for now all you need to know is that God loves everyone and everyone is dear to him. So if you need something all you have to do is ask." Olli said these words then clasping Christian's hand he led him into the church.
...
Good Night
God Bless!