There's this woman always on Yonge Street
She's probably in her 40s
She has brown hair
She's less than 5 feet tall
She has a plastic cup full of pens that she sells for 25 cents each
The other day I saw her - she always has this permanent, reluctant smile
and I said, "She probably puts on a brave face to keep from crying"
Today, I saw her walking up Yonge Street
Crying.
My heart sunk to my stomach
it was terrible
I can barely write about it
I didn't know what to do - I couldn't exactly approach her - it is Toronto, after all
it looked like she had lost everything
(she had her cup of pens, that was somehow reassuring)
It was like hopelessness, emptiness, with a little bit of fear, and the added intensity of not wanting it to show
as I passed her, I saw her take one of those deep, tearful inhales of the crisp Toronto air
like when you're crying and you can't get enough in your lungs
It was awful.
-
I don't normally like to get preachy or sentimental, but this sad moment stood out as a reality check moment.
Be thankful, everyday, for what you have. Because there's always someone who has it worse than you.
Have a great weekend.
CR
