Bloom Book: 002 The Origins of Night Bus

On April 15, 2026, I visited my nephew’s grave. He passed away in 2021.

I was there with his mom, and we were there to remember him. It is something we have done every year, usually twice a year. I’m not sure how often his mom visits outside of those days, but I’m pretty sure she visits more often than I do. There may have been one time when I wasn’t able to make it. Technically, I did make it, but I arrived too late, and the cemetery was already closed.

But this year, on this particular day, I was there.

While we were visiting, I noticed two women standing some distance away from us. They were crying and clearly experiencing the pain of a loss they were still dealing with. They were pouring out what appeared to be liquor and hugging each other.

Something about it captured my attention.

Then I started noticing how quiet everything was. In this very large space, it was just us and them. We were all there doing the same thing. We were visiting.

Everyone who comes to a cemetery has come to visit someone.

Then a train passed, and I noticed it. I looked around again and realized just how big the cemetery was.

I started wondering: What happens if you don’t have a car? What happens if you cannot easily navigate the cemetery?

That was when the idea of a bus shuttling people around the cemetery presented itself.

Then the idea shifted. It stopped being just a bus that transported visitors around the cemetery and became something more.

What if this bus was more than just a bus?

That was when Night Bus popped into my head.

Since April, I have been writing the story in my mind. I finally decided to put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, and actually write it.

I don’t know if I have fully explained why I call these entries my Bloom Book. The Bloom Book is my way of documenting my ideas out loud. It holds the ideas I want to pursue and the things I am actively working on, sometimes before I completely understand what they will become.

Later, I get to return to these entries and reference the bloom. I get to see where an idea began before it grew into something else.

You will eventually see other kinds of entries here. There will be traditional journal entries and essays, Bloom Book entries, DMU entries, and Side Quest entries. I’ll explain each one when it is time.

But for right now, this is a Bloom Book entry. It is an idea that bloomed inside a cemetery and became something I am actively working on.

Because everything is now something to write about.