Sifting through symbols

It was a cold, windy night as dark, ominous clouds started to gather around a bright full moon. I was standing at a lonely bus stop in the far eastern reaches of Chaoyang district waiting for my ride home. As I berated myself for not wearing an extra layer, I heard a bus grinding its gears in the distance, I turned to look, hoping it was the one I needed. Instead, to my horror, as a flash of lightening tore a bright gash in the night, I saw the numbers 666 on the bus slowly lumbering my way.

Childhood memories of Sunday school and apocalyptic movies filled my mind, all of which confirmed one thing; the number 666 is evil! "It's the bus to hell," I thought as I fled. I wasn't going to wait around to find out. I hailed a passing cab, jumped in and hightailed it out of there.

Granted, my story is slightly exaggerated but there really is bus 666 in Beijing and even today I haven't mustered the courage, well maybe the time, to see where it goes. It's probably not the bus to hell, but I just can't seem to shake that connotation and the imagery associated with the number 666 in the West. Sure it's silly, but then again symbolism affects us more than we might think and can led to awkward situations.