Time Travel

To my dismay, I’ve found I have no copy of Jane Eyre
at home. I’d wanted to reread it after all these years,
hard to do it if you don’t even have a copy, have no idea
where it might be. The closest Hawai’i public library
is just a small jaunt from my house. If it weren’t so hot,
I’d walk, but today’s not a walking day in Hawai‘i ne’i.
The blast of air-conditioning welcomes me inside, so much
so that I have the urge not to leave. Checking the number
I’d looked up online, I find the book with ease. To make sure
I won’t be grossed out by something I might find inside, I fan
through the pages with the book turned upside down. A card,
business-size, falls out. I kneel, pick it up, and stand. I look
at the card. It’s not; a business card. It’s a very old bus pass.
A former student of mine worked for TheBus (City & County)
as a graphic designer. The monthly passes she produced, her
meticulous attention to detail, her crafting of these miniature
artworks became famous, and they made her famous as well.
They became collector’s items. But not this one. This one
got away to find me today. It’s in mint condition. I’ve not
thought about her for a while. The last time I saw her was at
the Border’s Books coffee nook at Ward Warehouse, maybe
20 years ago. She’d left TheBus by then, struck out on her own,
and was forging ahead with great success at her own graphic
design business. My mind wanders. It’s as if I’ve traveled back
in time. I can see her so clearly standing in front of me, feel I
could almost have a conversation with my vivid vision of her.