Is This Still the Same Five Minutes?

Arthur had always believed he was a patient person, the kind who stood calmly at pedestrian crossings even when no cars were coming and who never refreshed a page more than twice, but the bus stop on Linden Street tested that belief with quiet determination. He arrived at 8:12, checked the display, and saw five minutes glowing back at him with confidence. He smiled, leaned against the glass wall, and enjoyed the rare feeling of having nowhere else to be. At 8:17 the sign still read five minutes. Arthur frowned slightly but dismissed it as a technical quirk. At 8:22 he noticed something stranger, which was that the woman beside him, the one with the large scarf and the habit of tapping her foot, was no longer there. He had not seen her leave. She had simply ceased to exist within the boundaries of the bus stop. Arthur checked the bench, the sidewalk, the street, then returned his attention to the sign, which still insisted on five minutes. A teenager wearing headphones disappeared next, followed by a man who had been smiling nervously at everyone without ever making eye contact. Arthur felt a flicker of concern and wondered if he was misunderstanding the concept of waiting entirely. An older man sat down next to him without sound and said calmly that this stop had rules of its own. Arthur asked what kind of rules and the man said it depended on how badly you wanted to go somewhere. Arthur admitted that he did want to go somewhere, although the urgency was mostly theoretical. The man nodded as if that explained everything and suggested Arthur try wanting less. Arthur closed his eyes and imagined missing his destination entirely, imagined his day dissolving into nothing important at all. When he opened his eyes the sign read four minutes. The man smiled approvingly and vanished like the others. When the bus finally arrived it did so without noise, without passengers, and without any sense of triumph. The driver looked at Arthur kindly and asked if he was certain. Arthur hesitated, surprised by the question, and then realized he was not certain of anything anymore. He declined politely. The bus drove away. The display returned to five minutes. Arthur sat down and waited.