“Excuse me, has the 12:15 bus come yet?”

I look up from my phone. In front of me stands a girl, maybe 7 or 8 years old. She is out of breath, apparently she had to run to catch this bus. I take a quick look at the clock on my phone: 2:37pm. “It’s probably already been here, but I can’t be sure. I’ve only been waiting for about 5 minutes or so...” Maybe she forgot the time or overslept. I have heard of people who could sleep until way after noon. But she doesn’t seem satisfied with my answer. She comes closer and tiptoes to be able to look me directly into the eyes. Her face only a few inches from mine doesn’t show any discomfort. Bewildered I jump back, holding my hands in front of me like a shield to guarantee some distance in case she follows. Still holding my phone I activate the display so she can see the clock. “Look, it’s already half past 2. Though the next bus should be here any minute now.” The eyes of the girl move down to look at the phone. But immediately after, she restores eye contact. “Which bus are you waiting for?” This conversation starts to feel extremely uncomfortable. I look to the side. “2:40... the 2:40pm bus.” The girl moves back into my field of vision. “Isn’t it a bit late for that?” This question confuses me. I just looked at the clock. “Of cause not, I just showed you the time!” She doesn’t say anything in return, just continuing to look at me directly with her more and more discomforting eyes. Just to break eye contact again, I once again look at my phone to see what time it is. 4:48pm. Astonished I look up. How was this possible? I could swear that just a few seconds ago it was way earlier. To make sure my eyes didn’t play a trick on me I once again look at my phone. This time I not only notice the time, but also the date. November 14th. November? I look up again. And yes. The girl is wearing a warm looking winter jacket. I start to shake, not sure if it is because of my inappropriately light summer clothes or this situation that feels so surreal. “Wha...” I begin to say when the girl suddenly turns around and exclaims exited “Ah! The bus is coming!”