I plugged a quarter into the meter. Twenty minutes. That's all the time I had. I couldn't afford another ticket, unless this job interview went well. I turned, and noticed a woman sitting at the bus stop. She was crying. Part of me was saying to leave it alone, like the other people walking by, pointedly ignoring her. But I couldn't. To really make this world better, I thought, we had to do it one person at a time. Time to put that to the test. &quot;Excuse me,&quot; I said. She looked at me. She was a little younger than me, pretty, but not beautiful. &quot;Are you okay?&quot; I felt like an idiot. She's sitting at a bus stop crying. Yeah, she's just fine. &quot;No, no, I'm not. Actually, I'm a $200 bus ticket away from okay. I got into an argument with my 'friends' I was travelling with, and they dumped me here. No money, nothing.&quot; I looked up. &quot;Can't help with the ticket, but there's a coffee shop across the street if you want to talk.&quot; &quot;It's a long story,&quot; she said. I looked at the meter. 17 minutes. &quot;I have lots of time.&quot; 2008-02-29T19:16:43Z http://ficlets.com/feed/story/22553 <p>17 minutes can really make someone&#8217;s day, just that small bit of attention might be all someone needs.</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/22553?basename=44627 2008-02-29T19:16:43Z Saint Chuck http://ficlets.com/authors/chuck_thelove <p>good use of 17 minutes.</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/22553?basename=44188 2008-02-27T21:10:10Z SKermitgorf http://ficlets.com/authors/kermitgorf <p>Wonderful! It made me smile. Many don&#8217;t realize just how <em>long</em> 17 minutes really is. ;)</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/22553?basename=43910 2008-02-26T11:34:40Z Jenunique http://ficlets.com/authors/jenunique