"Move out of the way!"
She was jolted forward as the Lawyer grabbed her arm and tried unsuccessfully to pull her away from the homeless man. Since she was crouched down with her weight supported on 4 inch stilettos, the momentum of being propelled forward caused her to lose her balance. She felt her ankle twist as she fell towards the ground and landed on her forearms.
As she grimaced in pain, she heard the homeless man's grunting get louder and she felt his hands hitting her back. It was only later when she felt the bruises on her back that she realized how hard he swung at her. The only thing she noticed at the time was the throbbing pain of her ankle that was beginning to swell and turn purple. She wished she didn't ask the Lawyer to sick around, the way she saw things, he made this whole situation worse and as if right on cue, he began shouting,
As she grimaced in pain, she heard the homeless man's grunting get louder and she felt his hands hitting her back. It was only later when she felt the bruises on her back that she realized how hard he swung at her. The only thing she noticed at the time was the throbbing pain of her ankle that was beginning to swell and turn purple. She wished she didn't ask the Lawyer to sick around, the way she saw things, he made this whole situation worse and as if right on cue, he began shouting,
"Help! Help! We need help over here!"
"Stop yelling. No one is around!"
She managed to stand herself up balancing on one foot and saw that the homeless man had settled down and was lying placidly on the floor. She assumed this outburst was because he was startled at being woken up.
"See! This is why I don't get involved! He was about to attack you! Did you see how he hit you?"
"Attack me?! Is that when you swooped in to rescue me?! By pulling me so -"
"Wait just a minute! You're trying to blame me?! It's not my fault you got hurt!"
"Jeez! I'm not blaming you for anything. I'm just saying that he wasn't - you know what forget it."
She was beginning to get extremely frustrated at the situation. She didn't know what she was trying to do anymore. She thought she was trying to help, but it seemed like her efforts combined with the overly anxious Lawyer was creating nothing but problems. She heard some movement behind her and when she turned she saw the homeless man gathering his things and she was sure she heard him mumbling apologies. She immediately felt ashamed. Here was a man for whatever reason down on his luck and probably grateful that he found shelter in the otherwise wet and dreary streets, saying sorry for inconveniencing them. If anything, she should be the one apologizing for disturbing his sleep. If he's not bothering anyone or causing trouble who was she to impose on him? It was her first day at a new job and this wasn't her turf. While she was beating herself up over this, she glanced towards the Lawyer who stood with his hands on his hips glaring at the other man. She felt embarrassed by his behavior and could feel her cheeks starting to turn red. She turned her head away and took deep breaths to calm herself down. When she turned back, the man was walking away.
She was beginning to get extremely frustrated at the situation. She didn't know what she was trying to do anymore. She thought she was trying to help, but it seemed like her efforts combined with the overly anxious Lawyer was creating nothing but problems. She heard some movement behind her and when she turned she saw the homeless man gathering his things and she was sure she heard him mumbling apologies. She immediately felt ashamed. Here was a man for whatever reason down on his luck and probably grateful that he found shelter in the otherwise wet and dreary streets, saying sorry for inconveniencing them. If anything, she should be the one apologizing for disturbing his sleep. If he's not bothering anyone or causing trouble who was she to impose on him? It was her first day at a new job and this wasn't her turf. While she was beating herself up over this, she glanced towards the Lawyer who stood with his hands on his hips glaring at the other man. She felt embarrassed by his behavior and could feel her cheeks starting to turn red. She turned her head away and took deep breaths to calm herself down. When she turned back, the man was walking away.
"Excuse me! Sir!" This time she didn't even think twice about calling him sir as she opened her bag and took out her lunch sack.
"Here, you must be hungry. There's a ham sandwich and an apple." He reached out excitedly and took the food, then lowered his head and shuffled away. He turned back with his head still down and said, "Thank you Miss and God Bless."
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1 comments:
I like this entry--it accurately and eloquently shows the human spirit. People generally want to do good things (at least that's what I'd like to believe), but our misconceptions and preconceived notions sometimes get in our way.
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