On her walk to Seven Leven, Naomi passed the bus stop. She caught a glimpse of someone from the corner of her eye — a young man, seemingly in his early twenties.
He sat at the bus stop across from the store. Naomi didn't get a good look at his face, though. Not that it mattered. The guy looked beat; she could tell he didn’t want any company. And she was just passing through.
Naomi went inside the convenience store and grabbed two big packs of flavoured chips, chocolate biscuits, a Coke, and some muffins.
Come Alive Youth, the group she was a member of, was meeting at her house, and she was the host this time. Naomi was just buying a few snacks for their fellowship tonight.
The nineteen-year-old was excited — they were going to do a little Bible study too! Something in her mind kept prodding her about the guy she saw at the bus stop. He looked like a young, hard-working man, weighed down by life — or maybe he was just tired. Naomi tried not to dwell on it.
Talk to him. Tell him there’s someone who can carry his burdens, came the whisper, a soft nudge.
Naomi shook her head and walked over to the cashier to pay for her items. I don’t know. Doesn’t seem like he’d care to listen… What would Jesus do?
“Thank you,” Naomi said with a smile, taking the plastic bag as she exited the store.
She paused for a moment, staring toward the bus stop — her thoughts pulling her back there.
Naomi saw the same guy from a few minutes ago. He still looked tired — wearing blue strained work pants and a slightly greasy old T-shirt. She slowly made her way over to where he was and almost faltered. Naomi didn’t want to bother him, but she could at least try to start a casual conversation.
That would be fine. Hopefully. My hope is in the Lord!
She could pretend to wait for the bus and take it from there. But the first step was making it there without chickening out.
Naomi took a deep breath to steady herself.
She said a silent prayer in her heart: Lord Jesus, please give me the boldness to speak, guidance, and peace. Amen.
Was he a mechanic? she wondered as she approached him.
His appearance became clearer.
A black Nike backpack was tucked between his legs. His head leaned on the bus shelter. He had messy brown hair, a sharp jawline, and full lips, chapped. His eyes looked drained—tired, with dark circles underneath. He was so distracted by his phone he didn’t even notice her.
“Hi there. I’m Naomi,” she said, taking a seat beside him on the bench.
Her heart pounded.
The man looked up for a second with a curt nod and hummed in acknowledgment. Then he went back to scrolling on his phone.
She took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. The brightness of the day was fading, the birds of the sky were making their way home. The clouds were mostly gone, and a cool breeze brushed her face. A few cars drove passed them as they sat.
“You look tired. Had a long day?”
“Yeah,” he replied flatly, keeping his eyes on the screen. He was playing a game, but she didn’t get a good peek at it.
Naomi was going to ask for his name, but then she her eye caught his name tag. Judah Lovette — it felt like confirmation.
That's a biblical name! How could he just happen to be named Judah? Was she looking too deeply into it? Naomi took a moment to stop overthinking.
“Did you know your name means ‘praise’?”
“No. I didn’t know.”
This time he looked up, and their eyes met.
If she’d felt nervous before, now her stomach was twirling and twisting. Her mouth went dry, and she blinked a few times. Wild green eyes — a forestry of depth and a hint of darkness. And intense, as he glared.
He's handsome, she thought.
Naomi could already tell by looking at him that he was hard-working, or that he had been working today. Not just his attire but even his hands still had some kind of grime on it, like oil or something.
Judah looked just a few years older than her yet he had to carry some heavy burdens. Such if life, but she knew of One who could take that weight off his shoulders if Judah was willing to believe.
“My mom wasn’t exactly around to tell me about it. I don’t really care either.”
“Sorry about that,” Naomi grimaced internally.
He just sighed and went back to messing with his phone. She blinked a few times. The silence was almost oppressive.
“I know this is random but do you wanna hear a story? The origin of your name, Judah. It's from the Bible, I could tell you about it?”
“Just call me Jude,” he grumbled, eyes narrow as he straightened his back a little and scooted away from her. “I’m not really interested in religious stuff.”
“It’s not like that — ah, the bus will be here in a few minutes. I think it’s a great way to pass the time. What’s the harm?” she gave a hesitant smile, looking at him with hopeful eyes.
“Fine, you can tell me,” Jude sighed, putting his phone in his pocket. He looked at her. “I’ll stop you if I don’t wanna hear anymore.”
“Okay.” Naomi was excited and nervous at the same time. “I’ll cut to the chase. The story start's with Jacob. He works for Laban for seven years and, in return, he wants to marry Rachel. She’s the one he’s in love with — and Laban’s daughter, at that. So when the seven years are up, guess what Rachel’s dad does?”
Judah's eyes were blank, he blinked at her and gave her a questioning look. He motioned for her to continue.
“Laban tricks Jacob. He’s done with his seven years of work and gets the girl — but not the one he thinks. It’s nighttime — dark — and they’re celebrating Jacob’s wedding. But he doesn’t know the woman he’s about to marry isn’t Rachel.”
Naomi paused for a second. Judah almost looked at her in anticipation — except he yawned.
“Jacob got drunk that night. The next morning, he wakes up next to Leah — Rachel’s older sister.”
His eyes lit up with suprise and his brows furrowed in interest. “That’s crazy. What happened next?”
She laughed. “I know, right? The Bible has some interesting stuff. So Rachel’s dad says it’s in their culture to marry the eldest daughter first — that’s why he did it. He told Jacob he’d give him Rachel, if he worked seven more years.”
“Old man sounds like a jerk—still better than mine,” Judah whispered the last part. He then pulled out his phone to check the time: 6:48 PM. “Few more minutes till the bus comes but wrap it up.”
Judah had glared at Naomi at first, and his tone was snappy, but now he was interested in what she had to say — he at least wanted to hear her out till the end.
“Got it! So Jacob marries Rachel. Leah’s miserable. She feels unloved. She’s technically the other woman — the unwanted one, a mistake. Jacob didn’t love her. God gave her a son, as a comfort, a blessing. She thinks her husband will love her—Rachel couldn’t have kids, you see.”
Naomi pulled hood of her pink hoodie over her head. Her ears were starting to grow cold. The wind was starting to pick up and the sky was getting hazy.
“Even though she gave Jacob three children, he didn’t see her any differently. Nothing she did made him love her.” Naomi paused again, looking to see if the bus was on the way.
A heavy kind of silence fell between them. Judah was even quieter now, seemingly lost in thought.
She continued the last part of the story, hoping to plant a seed in his heart — that when he heard his name after this, it would have a different tune. “Leah realized God had always loved her. God was there when she was all alone in her misery — when she was unloved, He loved her. And she didn’t have to do anything. He just loved her unconditionally.
So with her fourth child, instead of hoping to get her husband’s love or attention, she praised God. She named the baby Judah — giving thanks to God.”
Naomi swiftly got up from the bench and dusted off invisible specks from her hoodie. She clutched the plastic bag in her hand and breathed out. Her heart was calm. She was done. The story was over — and the bus finally came into view.
“There you have it, Jude. Your name was an act of thankfulness to God,” she smiled softly.
Something flickered in his eyes, his lips twitched as if he wanted to say something. For a brief moment, Judah showed a different expression — confusion, then concern.
It was getting dark out, and Naomi was alone at the bus stop, aside from him and a few people passing by — coming from work, or going to Seven Leven.
“Here, you can use this,” he offered, pulling a spare ticket from his pocket.
She declined with a polite smile.“Thank you, but I’m not actually taking the bus. God will protect me.” Her voice was light with gratitude. “It was really nice talking to you. Have a safe trip!”
Judah raised a brow, and stared at her as if she were odd—then he nodded and went into the bus.
He probably wondered why she’d sat beside him — even though she wasn’t going anywhere.
Just to tell him a story.
All she knew was God worked in mysterious ways.
“Thank you, Jesus! I couldn’t have done it without You!” The nineteen-year-old brunette bounced on the empty sidewalk. This was her very first time attempting to talk about God to someone like that.
“Wait — I have to hurry. I’m late!” She hoped to see Judah again someday — to know whether he changed or not. Naomi would definitely keep him in her prayers.
~
Author's Note: Hi there! It's my first time posting on this app. Thanks for clicking on my story. I have no idea how this app works lol.
What's next for Naomi, and Judah? Will they ever meet again? Stay to find out! This is part 1, next part will be the final, spinning it off. This is a one-shot type story, a short story.
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