The last minute idea to travel through the night was scary in a manner of speaking. For one, it was his first time in the city and he had no contact person there. Also, judging by the time the bus had left his home station, it would be a few hours before the sun rose on the city. He’d heard a lot of stories about the city. Ranging from how beautiful it was with tree-lined streets straight to the stories on crime rates there and ladies who dealt in the trade of flesh.
The bus was hurtling on the tarmac really fast in the dark. Flashbacks of an earlier midnight crash he’d been involved in months earlier. Everyone had walked away with slight bumps but, it had scarred his mind deeper than he could admit to anyone. He really prayed that all would go well. It wasn’t his will to be another traffic incident statistic.
Somewhere in the middle of the night, they had a break to relieve themselves and stretch a bit. The night was so cold. Even the heavy jacket he had on couldn’t help him from shivering to the point of his teeth clattering. It wasn’t long before they were back on the road. Sleeping was hard. The shaking and sudden acceleration and speeding was in no way allowing him to be at ease.
His family had sent him to the city for further studies. But deep down, he was going there to conquer it. Yes school would matter, but not to him. At least not much. He knew of the infinite possibilities it held. It would take a lot of hard work, a lot of tries and initial failures. He was prepared for night when he’d have little sleep. At least that’s what he thought.
The bus finally made it into the city stop. It was about two hours to first light and another two before he’d be allowed into the campus grounds. The air was cold. There was a strange vibe to it though. Like someone had pressed pause on a track with an upbeat tempo. He would have to position himself accordingly when the city finally danced back to life. But first, a meal for his rumbling tummy as he waited…
