AntivirusGy 13: Revelashons in de minibus..

 

 

"Mask, mask.. " the conductor tells the  man coming on the bus. The man had just put out a cigarette. Eyes red. Clean bright red cap. Neat trousers and black shoes.

Conductor and driver are older men, wearing masks. All the passengers wearing masks. First time since Covid come to Guyana that I hear a conductor ask passengers about the mask.

"Yeah yea.. let me sit down" 

I am at the last row, corner near the left wheel , half lying half sitting and face kind of out the window.  

Man comes past me,  says 'hey' in a pleasant knowing way. I wonder if is one of the guys near the market who always calling me doc.

He sits on the corner opposite to me. Pulls out two blue masks from his back pocket and chooses one.  

I know the move. 

I keep a blue mask in my pocket sometimes for the places which would not accept me with the plaid cloth which covers more of my face than the blue mask.

("Vidya , why you don't wear a proper mask, you look like a gangster" my primary school mate tells me in the bank .. )

Blue mask on the man's face but whiff of smokey alcohol coming out. 'We gotta be safe; he says..

And I say.. 'yes yes.. now dey make more variety of de virus, we aint gun done fuh just now'

Man starts preaching.. 'the Bible said this.. only God will save us, is God make everything.. everything is God creation.. and we have to live out... ".

Verses coming with the whiff of cigarette smoke and lil alcohol through the blue mask he had selected from his back pocket.

I turn my nose out of the window and say yes, yes you right.. making conversation while thinking how to reduce chances of Covid passing with the scripture through the blue mask.

'We have to live everything out de book of Revelashons.. ; the ending of the Bible.. everything must come the man says'

I get a lil worried about the end of the world.

"But me brother.". , he says, "trust in God and all will be well'

He holds out his right fist for me. Finger nails got dirt under them. I make a fist with my left hand , trust in God and we bump, touching for a second or so. 

'Salaam ' the man says and he turns away. I kind of hold my hand out in front of me, I not taking out sanitiser but keeping top of hand far away and trusting in God.

I look out the window. Cigarette smoke smell a  bit stronger now.

"Arite baby, i coming, i had lil work, I gun come off by Camp Street'.. I look over.. man is talking on a phone. Mask off his mouth on the chin. 'No baby, I aint want hear duh now..'

I look away..

"Aye man, I am coming for my money. I work hard. I know rich people broken now.. " 

look back and man is still on the phone

I turn my eyes away and leave my ears in his direction... 'You owe me man.. I coming today.. Inshallah'

Conversation over.

Look over and man looks on his phone and laughs at something.

Conductor and driver and man in front seat saying something .. "yeah.. dat phone don't have sim.. he just talking.." and they laugh quietly.. ..

.  .. and they talking about other men they know who talk on phone without sim.

I realise that I had not heard the phone ring or see the man call anybody

I not sure if the man near me hearing them.

 Mask still on his chin. He laughing at something.. maybe in his mind.

I want to say 'mask mask'.. but well.. I feel like I might open a tap of scripture and revelations and cigarette smoke breath..

In the traffic, car jumps ahead. Man shouts .. mask on his chin 'Aye you stupid jackass.." 

and I don't want to show that I leaning far away in case the saliva with the shout blowing on the cloth on my face.

I come out the bus.. .. sanitise my hands. Hoping that in cleaning off the virus, that I not removing the momentary connection.

I don't look back to see if the man is coming out behind me. Trying to keep the story in my  head as I think this will something to blog about.

Salaam.

(AntivirusGy is a collection of ramblings on things which have changed since Covid 19 entered our vocabulary)

Photo edited from one by Jon Tyson on Unsplash