There were around four or five people crossing the road with me at the junction near the mosque at Mount Road(opposite Hotel Buhari). I waited for an unending five minutes, at a time when evening traffic had reached a crescendo and hordes of people were speeding away to get back home early. It is at these times, when you mentally establish a kind of kinship with fellow people waiting to cross the road.My heart leapt lightly when the signal turned green and I scurried fast, fearing the demoniac drivers who looked anxious to start moving again. I walked briskly ahead, joyfully embracing the fact I'd be home in an hour.
That's when I saw him. He stood utterly unfazed, totally oblivious to the goings-on around him. I didn't notice him when I walked past him initially, but as I was waiting, I turned around to scrutinize objects of interest to occupy my waiting time. He was dressed in old and worn clothes, a baggy shirt that had seen better days and a white simple veshti. He did not beg, he was silent. There was a quiet dignity about him that protested vehemently yet there was a profound sadness that disturbed me. His right hand was slightly outstretched, but failed to attract any attention as he was not very assertive. The teeming crowds that were hustling back home had no time for a poor person like him. I stood there looking at him, I wanted to help him, but I didn't know how to. The problem was that I had only a five hundred rupee note and there were no shops nearby to get any change. I couldn't give away that money because I needed it to go home and yet I couldn't move without helping that man that nobody seemed to care about. He stood there, staring into space, perhaps thinking of how nobody heeded him or a family that gave him up or a family that was not even there, I don't know. As I watched him, I felt myself rooted to the spot as I contemplated what to do.
Slowly, he shuffled his feet and started walking away. I stood there wondering what to do, as I watched him move. There was something unsettling about the whole thing, I struggled to move fast, I had to at least buy him some food, God knows when he had eaten a meal last, a fresh crowd of commuters had joined the road and as I was jostled forward, I caught a fleeting glimpse of my simple man, and then not! By the time the place had cleared up, there was no trace of him.
My eyes welled up as I reprimanded myself for not having enough change to give him or buy him food. I wondered how he was going to eat that night.
That's when I saw him. He stood utterly unfazed, totally oblivious to the goings-on around him. I didn't notice him when I walked past him initially, but as I was waiting, I turned around to scrutinize objects of interest to occupy my waiting time. He was dressed in old and worn clothes, a baggy shirt that had seen better days and a white simple veshti. He did not beg, he was silent. There was a quiet dignity about him that protested vehemently yet there was a profound sadness that disturbed me. His right hand was slightly outstretched, but failed to attract any attention as he was not very assertive. The teeming crowds that were hustling back home had no time for a poor person like him. I stood there looking at him, I wanted to help him, but I didn't know how to. The problem was that I had only a five hundred rupee note and there were no shops nearby to get any change. I couldn't give away that money because I needed it to go home and yet I couldn't move without helping that man that nobody seemed to care about. He stood there, staring into space, perhaps thinking of how nobody heeded him or a family that gave him up or a family that was not even there, I don't know. As I watched him, I felt myself rooted to the spot as I contemplated what to do.
Slowly, he shuffled his feet and started walking away. I stood there wondering what to do, as I watched him move. There was something unsettling about the whole thing, I struggled to move fast, I had to at least buy him some food, God knows when he had eaten a meal last, a fresh crowd of commuters had joined the road and as I was jostled forward, I caught a fleeting glimpse of my simple man, and then not! By the time the place had cleared up, there was no trace of him.
My eyes welled up as I reprimanded myself for not having enough change to give him or buy him food. I wondered how he was going to eat that night.
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