The Currious Case of Robert M. Paz

So far, so good. He had stayed under the radar for the better part of 25 years, working at the same dead end job, going to the same doctor, keeping no close friends, remaining anonymous on the world wide web. He refused to be any part of mailing lists, book clubs, music clubs. He held no credit cards, bought both his house and his car with cash. His close circle of friends remained only casual acquaintances, and he had very little motivation in life. All in all, he was an amazingly boring character, ever placid, concrete, flat.

Until, the catalyst, the turning point, whatever you would like to call it came.

Screeching to a halt, the city bus pulled up to the cluster of people waiting at the bus stop.

Dorothy, the bus driver, knew the regulars on her route. She knew where they got off. She knew the redhead would get off at the stop for the university, and would wish her a good day every Tuesday and Thursday. She knew that a few stops later, the young man that the young lady sat next too religiously got off, and also wished her a good day. But, not today.

Today was Monday, the beginning of her work week.

She nodded politely to the passengers that entered the bus, their parcels and bags scrunched against the narrow stairway up to the top of the bus, and the particularly overstuffed bag that crashed into the gear lever. Dorothy knew from training that you never stopped with the clutch in, because that would cause the bus to lurch forward. But, did that stop her? Of course it didn't, and as the bus lurched forward, Robert M. Paz lost his footing, and fell from the side of the bus onto the concrete, causing a major panic, splitting his head on the amazingly sharp corner of the curb.

Those who know about head wounds know that they will bleed excessively, no matter how big, or how small, and the pool of blood that quickly formed around Robert's head spilled over the side, causing a little red waterfall onto the white part of the street.

In a flash, fifteen people who saw the whole thing were on their cell phones, calling the emergency response teams, along with Dorothy, pale with fright, calling for an ambulance on her radio. A crowd formed, with the proverbial doctor on the scene calling for everyone to give her some room, and the nurse that also took the bus down to the Valley assisting her. As far as gashes go, it was a pretty big gash, but it wasn't life threatening. Robert didn't realize any of this, as he just lay there, wondering how he got there to begin with. Swirling lights, along with blaring sirens and obnoxious horns, were there just a few moments later, with the trained professionals loading Robert onto a gurney, the doctor and nurse right beside him, following him all the way to the hospital.

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