So, I called nine one one Phoenix Police Officer Willer arrived and just then, unexpectedly, Stella showed up as well in the pickup with Fella and Bella

She told Officer Willer she would take me to the Greyhound Bus Station, and he gave her directions on how to get there, since the Station was outside his patrol area

Off we went, wandering around Phoenix for about an hour until my torturess finally decided to try and dump me again at a Walgreen Drug Store

Stella and Fella sat in the pickup truck in the Walgreen's parking lot, dumped out my belongings again, and once more would not let me back in the vehicle

I called nine one one again, this time, the same Officer Willer answered the call and gave Stella directions all over again to the Greyhound Station

Stella then carried us off from there and looped the truck around and around Phoenix once more for another couple of hours, passing the same places repeatedly while continuing that haranguing diatribe all the time, with Bella's and Fella's help

It had never ever even gotten close to stopping

And this time hell was worse

It was close to eleven p.m. on that fourteenth of January, with the world cloaked in darkness, when we finally came to a halt at the Phoenix Hospital Emergency Room

Stella, with her unyielding demeanor and no Officer Willer around to limit her, had decided that this was where she would cast me aside for good

The relentless haranguing, the browbeating, the verbal onslaught, it all culminated in this moment

I mustered the courage and all the volume my hoarse throat could manage, to confront her and tell her how hard hearted she had become

The words hung in the air, a fragile thread connecting us

And then, inexplicably, something shifted within her

She relented just enough to thrust two hundred-dollar bills and five twenties into my hand to cover a Greyhound ticket to freedom

But the rest of my precious thousand, which had been to cover a down payment on the Carolina house, remained firmly in her grasp

Finally, a good thing happened

The city lights blurred as I stepped away from Stella, Fella, and Bella, the trio that had tormented my existence

Their voices, like relentless echoes, had haunted me for far too long

But now, they were gone

The first glimmer of hope on this arduous journey had arrived

I could breathe again

That was truly a good thing

Fella, Bella, and Stella had at last evaporated from my life

I thank God I will never have to put up with that kind of constant verbal abuse and incessant nagging again

At least not from that bitch Stella, her dog, or her sycophantic slave Fella, who could only say Stella is right

To whatever the woman said

The second stroke of fortune

In the Emergency Room, a police officer sat watch

His eyes held empathy when he heard my story, and he reacted

He summoned two of his colleagues, and together, they orchestrated a small miracle

My belongings were neatly packed into their vehicle, and together we navigated around the outside of the hospital

Under the chilly night sky, a city bus stop awaited, a lifeline leading to the Greyhound Bus Station

Long night at the bus stop, I settled on the hard bench at the bus stop, my senses alert

Sleep eluded me, the fear of my own vulnerability kept me awake

What if a thief sensed my desperation and attacked me for my money?

But as the hours crawled by, thankfully uneventfully, I clung to the hope that dawn would bring a city bus

Unexpected act of kindness, at four thirty a.m., a Phoenix City Bus finally rumbled up to my stop

The conductor, a stern yet surprisingly compassionate woman, demanded exact change, two dollars for the ride

My pockets held only twenties and hundreds, and this lady conductor was forbidden by the Phoenix Municipal Transit Authority from making change

But, her eyes softened, and she waved me aboard, my fare forgiven

The Greyhound Bus Station beckoned, a sanctuary for this weary sojourner

The last stop and the fourth benefit

At the Greyhound Station, I shed my pair of extra blankets with their translucent plastic tote in the open yard

They were too cumbersome to carry any farther

The yard outside stretched bleak and desolate, the cold seeping through my thin jacket

Inside this bus station, I approached an unattended ticket kiosk and bought a Greyhound Bus ticket for Eugene

The price, two hundred ninety-eight dollars and eighteen cents, stung, but it was still my lifeline

If I had spent that two dollars on the city bus fare, I would have been short by a mere eighteen cents

The automated kiosk of course, devoid of empathy, would have just left me stranded

But instead, my pocket now at least held a dollar and eighty-two cents, a meager sum, but enough to keep hope alive

And then, like a whispered promise, the fourth good thing happened

The station offered a welcome respite, a warm, dry heaven where I could wait all day long for my bus

In fact, my Greyhound had been delayed arriving by two hours due to dangerous weather in Texas on its way to Phoenix

But at three thirty on that Monday, it finally pulled away from the station with me on board, happily lurching toward home

My fifth and final blessing

In the seat beside me sat Lucia, a kind-hearted Latina

She shared her food at various stops, calling me Papi

Her English flowed smoothly, though it was not her native tongue

My limited Spanish bridged the gap, connecting us with Eduardo and Alejandro, Lucia's companeros de viaje who spoke no ingles

Five good things, the station, the warmth, the ticket, Lucia's generosity, and our makeshift camaraderie, had woven a fragile cocoon around me

Now at least I had a soft warm bus seat where I could nap and have something to eat

The end of my streak

That was my fifth, and unfortunately final, good thing

Then my lucky streak ended

As if fate had grown weary of my good fortune, my little lucky streak snapped when the bus stopped in Eugene Oregon at eleven p.m. Monday the fifteenth

There was no actual terminal nor even a shelter of any kind there

All the northbound Greyhound Bus Station in Eugene Oregon consists of is a concrete bench out in the open on a parking lot that on this night was covered with solid ice

I bid Adios to Lucia, Eduardo y Alejandro, who remained on the bus, as they were headed on to Portland