-
I met a homeless lady today
She was strolling around a cart. I encountered her the other day too. She has a cat. Her face exuded a tiredness and I could feel her misery as she asked if I could spare anything for her and her hungry cat. Unfortunately I only had a nickle at the time, but despite the small amount, I could tell she was grateful. After that quick incident the other day, we met formally today. It was actually very exciting to see her because it was so unexpected. As I was waiting to be picked up, observing my surroundings, I turn my head to the street corner right as I see the same homeless lady appear. We looked right at each other, and I smiled at the fact that we met again on the same location at the same time. I could feel the comfort and warmth emitting from her smile as she stopped steadily in the middle of the sidewalk afar. She said to me “it’s you again!” with a wonderful subtle and genuine laugh. It made me happy to see her again. Though she did not ask for anything, I told her I had more to offer this time; a quarter. She stumbled for words as I handed her the quarter and she said to me, “you don’t have to give me anything”. But I insisted.
When she inquired that I work on this block, I clarified that I was an art student. This caught her by surprise as she sounded so astonished and baffled by the fact I was an “artist”. I asked her how her cat was, and she grew concerned fairly quickly and mentioned how hungry she was with an emphasis on the word “hungry”. This time we met, she asked me what my name was. I gave her my name, and she gave me hers; Connie. She was at a loss of words again as she stumbled to form a sentence. Her next question made me feel very hesitant because I was waiting to be picked up: she asked if she could use my phone. I could see the desperateness in her eyes and the way her voice chocked up when she said “I want to call my dad…” I wanted to say yes, but I didn’t want to cut her short on time or have the chance of receiving calls from someone I didn’t know hoping to contact their daughter. I was confused on what to do. But I politely turned her down. I said I was sorry, and she collectively, “it’s okay. I’ll just see if I can find a payphone”, and she slowly walked away.
I wish I could have been more helpful to this woman. It hurts to see someone in misery… Maybe next time if we met, I’ll have some food to give her. She was a nice lady…-
milagroelstak likes this
-
hakmeetstak likes this
-
laurenceiv posted this
-
