The Stranger Who Stayed in My Heart for 14 Years | by brown girl talks | Aug, 2025

Some people pass through your life like passing clouds —
Here for a moment, gone the next.
But their words, their kindness… they stay.
Even when you forget their face.

I was just 8 years old when I met a stranger on a bus.
We spoke for only a few hours.
I never saw him again.
But 14 years later, I still remember what he told me.

I was traveling with my mom and baby sister to my hometown.
They sat together, so I ended up next to a young man. I’ll call him anna (big brother).

He smiled.
“Hi, what’s your name?”
“Sinorita.”
“How old?”
“Eight.”

A few minutes later, I gathered courage and asked, “Can I take the window seat?”
He laughed and said, “Of course.”

He asked the classic Indian question:
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

I panicked.
“Lawyer… no, engineer!”

He grinned.
“Which engineer?”

Me: “…I don’t know.”

For some reason, I started explaining the water cycle, the parts of a plant, and the solar system — none of which he had asked for.
But he listened patiently, smiling the whole time.

He was going to Guntur — my hometown too.
When I asked why, he said softly,
“To meet my girlfriend.”

I was shocked.
At 8, this was the first time I’d heard about love outside of movies.
He showed me her photo and said,

“Someday I’ll marry her… after we get jobs. I still have to convince her family.”

At that age, I didn’t understand much.
I just said, “Sweet.”

Before the journey ended, he said something I didn’t fully understand then — but I do now:

“Whatever you do in life, be kind to yourself.
Work hard, but don’t lose the joy of living.
Be good to people, even when the world isn’t.
And don’t follow the crowd —
choose your own path, even if it’s different.”

At that time, it felt like simple advice from a friendly stranger.
Today, I think maybe he was speaking from his own struggles.

I don’t remember his name or face.
We never met again.

But sometimes, when I’m overthinking life, his words come back to me — like a little reminder from a stranger I once met on a bus.

And even now, I silently wish him well.

We meet hundreds of people in life.
Some we forget instantly.
Some, we remember forever.

Maybe you’ve met your own “bus stranger” too — someone who came and left, but left you with something priceless.