Stillness

By: Sarah Remelius

February 18, 2018

Sunshine to sunset, passenger to passenger, the No. 1 bus was rolling silence.

Besides the driver, there were seven people total on the bus, each separated by a few seats that they used to place their overflowing bags or put up their mud-covered shoes. The day was warmer than the almost freezing temperatures of the week before, but everyone was still bundled up in big jackets, beanies and jeans.

The rows and rows of cars waiting in the heavy traffic just outside the windows made the absolute stillness of the bus seem almost strange.

With the many people who take the No. 1 bus, from University of Texas students, to people who may be struggling on the streets, one might avoid the bus thinking it could be loud or unruly. This ride toward South Congress could not be any more opposite.

As the bus creaked up to the next stop, a group carrying large plastic bags overflowing with clothes, cups and toiletries quickly swiped their old bus cards and each found the closest lone seat. A middle-aged Latino limped onto the bus, pulled a few crumpled dollars out of his pockets and took a seat. All of this done with only the sound of his feet shuffling down the trash-littered aisles.

When the bus arrived to the expensive and crowded South Congress shops, everyone remained in their seats, and waited for it to take off once again, toward the apartments and homes of South Austin.

A tall, white man, who barely woke up in enough time to make his stop, finally broke up the silence as he marched off the bus. “Hold up, I need to grab my bike from the front,” he said. But then a stillness instantly fell over the bus once again.

Tangled headphones pressed into ears and lit screens were a common sight as passengers clicked and scrolled on their phones. A white woman balanced a bag full of clothes partly on her lap and partly in the seat next to her. She pushed her long, blond curly hair out of her face with one hand, and determinedly edited photos to post on her Facebook in her other hand. All without making a single sound.

The darkness of the night creeped onto the bus as new passengers stepped in. They were greeted by the young, black driver, who slightly turned to give them a welcoming smile and head nod, without any words being exchanged. As the bus took off toward the next stop and the lights were flicked off once again, the quiet engulfed everyone in the bus.

A break in the silence seemed almost refreshing when a Latina answered her phone and spoke in Spanish, but her conversation lasted all of about two minutes before the quiet was back. A few moments later, every head turned as an older man using a cane to help guide him toward the front almost landed face forward when the bus sped off before he could get off. Again, only a second of commotion before the only noise that could be heard was of the passing cars.

The ride went on and diverse new passengers of different races, ages and genders got on board, but still, the silence stayed.