Free Bus Pass

When I was still new on the path, I needed one day to take the crosstown bus east to get to the subway. I walked up to what I thought was the correct bus and, just to make sure, asked the driver if it indeed went crosstown. The bus driver started screaming at me that I was stupid and that it was not the crosstown bus! At that moment I did not say anything back to the horrid man, but I used my imagination and turned the driver's tirade into a beautiful rose. I pictured myself offering the rose to Guru's outstretched hand.
I then walked around the corner to another bus and found out from someone waiting in line that this was the crosstown bus. Just as I was fishing the fare out of my purse, a complete stranger ran up to me, pressed a slip of paper into my hand and said, "Here, take this and don't say anything. It is a free bus pass."
I stepped on the bus, handed the pass to the driver and took my seat in wonder of Guru's grace.

Suradhuni (New York)