Just three minutes after the long-distance bus pulled out of the station, a blood-curdling scream came from the row of seats near the back door:

— “Uncle! Please let me off! Someone told me I have to get off right now! Let me off!!!”

Everyone on the bus turned around. A boy, around 7 or 8 years old, his face drained of all color, was trembling as he clutched the sleeve of the assistant driver standing nearby. His mother, clearly embarrassed, tried to pull him back and mumbled:

— “He’s just imagining things, sir. Please just keep going.”

The driver glanced in the rearview mirror and replied:

— “We’ve already left the station. I can’t just stop anywhere!”

Then he stepped on the gas and continued driving.

But the boy screamed again:

— “No! I have to get off! The man said if I don’t, it’ll be too late!”

The atmosphere on the bus grew heavy. A few passengers began whispering:

— “Kids can be really sensitive to things sometimes…”

— “Why not just stop and let him off?”

The driver gritted his teeth and snapped:

— “I’m not superstitious! If I stop in the middle of the road, this bus will be in chaos!”

The bus kept rolling forward, tension quietly filling the air. The boy went silent, curled up in his seat, eyes wide open, staring out the window.

Exactly 18 minutes later, as the bus was descending a quiet mountain pass, a deafening bang rang out. The front right tire suddenly exploded, the bus swerved violently, leaning toward the cliffside…

People screamed in panic. The driver frantically tried to steer in the critical final moment.

Fortunately, the bus crashed into the dirt wall on the roadside, skidded for several meters, and came to a stop just inches from the edge of the ravine. No one was killed—only minor injuries—but every passenger was pale-faced, shaken as if they’d just returned from the brink of death.

Amid the chaos, the boy’s mother burst into tears, hugging her son:

— “How did you know?”

The boy answered softly:

— “There was an old man in a gray coat with a long beard. He was standing right by the window earlier… He looked at me and said, ‘Son, get off now. The tire’s about to blow.’ But the driver didn’t listen…”

The next day, when the bus was brought in for inspection, the mechanic found signs that the brake lines and tire had been cut—deliberately.

And then came a chilling revelation that shook everyone:

The old man in the gray coat with the long white beard, just as the boy had described… was the former owner of the bus company, who had died four years ago in a tragic accident—on that very same mountain curve.