June 27, 2023: A woman pays me a compliment

27th June 2023. I hurried out of the house to the bus stop, but the 200 bus had just left. Instead of waiting, I strolled along the route to Lilienstraße. A girl and a woman, around mid-forties, were sitting there. Perhaps mother and daughter. I stopped at the bus stop, looking in the direction the bus was expected to come from. The woman approached the trash can, our eyes met. I smiled. She smiled back. She wore a striking belt with a skull. Otherwise, her style was quite normal: jeans, black top. Perhaps a passionate biker who couldn't leave the house without her distinctive accessory?

The bus arrived. The two said goodbye, the woman boarded through the middle door after me. In the bicycle and stroller section, I leaned against the window, she stood to the left of me. Another man stood to my right.

Nothing happened, except that she occasionally glanced at me, which I noticed from the side. Just before Kopernikusstraße, she said something unexpected.

»You have an intense aura, you know that?«

I was slightly surprised and didn't know what to say at first.

»Oh, thank you! How do you figure?«, I grinned.

»I don't know. You just radiate so much positivity«, she explained, moving closer to the door, presumably before getting off.

»Wow, I've never received such a compliment. Thank you!«, I was still perplexed. She smiled and exited at Kopernikusstraße.

»Ciao«, I said before she left the bus.

»Goodbye«, she replied.

Honestly, I didn't feel particularly energized or positive today. I felt just like usual lately. But this compliment stayed with me the whole day. I beamed and smiled at everyone I encountered. A small compliment with a big impact!