冬天的晚上，我下班走出公司，天已经黑了。
Dōngtiān de wǎnshang, wǒ xiàbān zǒu chū gōngsī, tiān yǐjīng hēi le.
On a winter evening I walked out of the office after work, and the sky was already dark.
风很大，站台上排着长长的队。
Fēng hěn dà, zhàntái shàng pái zhe cháng cháng de duì.
The wind was strong, and a long line had formed at the bus stop.
我在手机上看地图，车还有八分钟到。
Wǒ zài shǒujī shàng kàn dìtú, chē hái yǒu bā fēnzhōng dào.
I checked the map on my phone: the bus would arrive in eight minutes.
八分钟过去了，车没有来。
Bā fēnzhōng guòqù le, chē méiyǒu lái.
Eight minutes passed, and the bus did not come.
地图上的小车一会儿走，一会儿停。
Dìtú shàng de xiǎo chē yíhuìr zǒu, yíhuìr tíng.
The little bus on the map moved a bit, then stopped, again and again.
队伍越来越长，大家开始小声说话。
Duìwu yuè lái yuè cháng, dàjiā kāishǐ xiǎo shēng shuōhuà.
The line grew longer and longer, and people began to talk in low voices.
我旁边的一位阿姨往我这边看了一下。
Wǒ pángbiān de yí wèi āyí wǎng wǒ zhèbiān kàn le yíxià.
The auntie next to me glanced my way.
她问我：小伙子，地图上说还要多久？
Tā wèn wǒ: xiǎohuǒzi, dìtú shàng shuō hái yào duō jiǔ?
She asked me: young man, how much longer does the map say?
我给她看了看地图，说还得等十多分钟。
Wǒ gěi tā kàn le kàn dìtú, shuō hái de děng shí duō fēnzhōng.
I showed her the map and said we still had to wait ten more minutes or so.
她看着我，说家里还有晚饭要做。
Tā kàn zhe wǒ, shuō jiā lǐ hái yǒu wǎnfàn yào zuò.
She looked at me and said she still had dinner to cook at home.
我说我也是，回去晚了，饭馆都要关了。
Wǒ shuō wǒ yě shì, huíqù wǎn le, fànguǎn dōu yào guān le.
I said me too: if I got back late, even the restaurants would be closed.
她笑了，说小伙子怎么不学做饭。
Tā xiào le, shuō xiǎohuǒzi zěnme bù xué zuò fàn.
She laughed and asked why a young man like me did not learn to cook.
就这样，我们说了很久。
Jiù zhèyàng, wǒmen shuō le hěn jiǔ.
Just like that, we talked for a long while.
原来她住在十二号楼，我在九号楼。
Yuánlái tā zhù zài shí èr hào lóu, wǒ zài jiǔ hào lóu.
It turned out she lived in Building 12, and I lived in Building 9.
我们在同一个小区住了两年，从来没有见过面。
Wǒmen zài tóngyī gè xiǎoqū zhù le liǎng nián, cónglái méiyǒu jiàn guò miàn.
We had lived in the same neighborhood for two years and had never met.
车终于来了，比平时晚了半个小时。
Chē zhōngyú lái le, bǐ píngshí wǎn le bàn gè xiǎoshí.
The bus finally came, half an hour later than usual.
司机大声说对不起，前面堵车堵得很。
Sījī dà shēng shuō duìbuqǐ, qiánmiàn dǔchē dǔ de hěn.
The driver said sorry loudly: the traffic jam ahead had been really bad.
车上很满，我们两个人只好站着。
Chē shàng hěn mǎn, wǒmen liǎng gèrén zhǐhǎo zhàn zhe.
The bus was full, and the two of us had to stand.
阿姨说，坐这么多次车，今天最晚。
Āyí shuō, zuò zhème duō cì chē, jīntiān zuì wǎn.
The auntie said she had taken this bus so many times, and today was the latest.
可是她一点也不生气，还给了我一块热热的糖。
Kěshì tā yì diǎn yě bù shēngqì, hái gěi le wǒ yí kuài rè rè de táng.
But she was not angry at all, and she even gave me a warm piece of candy.
下车的时候，她跟我说了再见。
Xià chē de shíhou, tā gēn wǒ shuō le zàijiàn.
When we got off, she said goodbye to me.
现在，我常常在站台看到她。
Xiànzài, wǒ chángcháng zài zhàntái kàn dào tā.
Now I often see her at the bus stop.
等车的时候有人说说话，冬天好像也短了一些。
Děng chē de shíhou yǒu rén shuō shuōhuà, dōngtiān hǎoxiàng yě duǎn le yìxiē.
With someone to talk to while waiting, winter somehow feels a bit shorter.
HearMandarin