The evening after our presentations

So there I was last night, walking home from the skytrain, carrying a backpack, a box full of jars and candles, a pumpkin and a bag of props and food – and she stops me. After all the presentations on homelessness and isolation and this lady walking past picks me to tell her story too..... She’s been trying to get the cops to listen to her story about her twin sister being one of the ladies killed by Robert Pickton. They won’t listen. She’s going to sue them. Her son and his girlfriend just ganged up on her and kicked her out of her own apartment, told her to find somewhere else to stay for three weeks. After 25 years of taking care of him, and this is how he treats her. She has no food. No money. No job. Only the clothes on her back. She doesn’t want to keep telling her story because she doesn’t want to cry in front of me. And then she asks, “is there anything you can do for me?”

And I pause.

I can’t believe this is happening! Right now. After everything I just felt and saw in that class. The synchronicity of this world!

Is this the first time since I was younger, when my judgements were quieter than my trust, that I really slowed down and listened to someone who I knew would end the story with... “can you help me out... any change on you?”

“Is there anything you can do for me?”

It repeats in my mind..... what can I do? What can I do for this person? This fragile person....

I ask her some questions, she ends up crying, and I tell her about what happened in our class. I tell her we talked all about what people in this city are experiencing....

“I really want to help you, but I have no money on me”.

“Even a twoonie?”

“I have absolutely no money on me” I show her my bare wallet.

What can I do to help her?!!

What can I do to help her?!!

“But I have some food in my bag if you’d like?” I ask this tentatively, not sure she’ll say yes, but she does. She wants the food. So I give her an organic pear, a kiwi, she’s not sure she’ll like the rice crackers, so I offer her one to taste first, but she doesn’t like the seaweed flavour, so I keep those, and then I ask if she likes candy, she loves candy. So I give her the whole bowl of candy I stood with waiting for trick-or-treating kids that never came.

She asks to use my phone. She calls a friend. They’re going to meet at Fraser and 49^th.

I reach into my coat pocket wondering if there is anything else I can give. I pull out a magnet. I pass it to her, “you can have this too.”

“What does it say?”

“Its says -- I’m scared too, but we’ll make it.”

“Thank you”

We hug each other. As she walks away I say to her, “there is a lot of love for you in this world”. And she says, “you get home safe.”

“You too”

She hurries off to the 99 B-line.

I pick up all my bags and boxes, slowly turn and start walking up Cambie. A heavy breath pushes out of me like a cry.