the indelible words of a stranger

 

I met a certain woman once. She left a non-erasable impression on my heart.
I wonder where she is now. I wish I had taken her number or address or something. If you'd seen her from a distance you'd think she was some old woman just exhausted with life...but the lines on her face were not an indication of age. They resembled pain, deep agony she had had to deal with in her young life. We were walking on the same path from the local town, in the same direction. "Life's hard," she initiated the conversation. I turned to her and smiled by reflex. "I have 3 kids at home," she said. I wouldn't have guessed. I thought she was weird. Who says that straight-up to a stranger?

Twenty-five years, three kids, no husband, late parents, estranged to relatives and beat-down broke- those were her life's details in summary. They had me mute.
"You see my sister..." she began, as if we actually knew each other. "I had been going out everyday looking for a job to feed my kids. I dont have any academic qualifications coz i had to leave school at 14 as there was no money for me to continue my education. I had my first child soon after leaving school, with a man who promised to take care of my every need. We had two more kids together, and I thought we'd be a happy, stable family. I love my children so much, they are my light. That man left us to 'get a job' about 5 years ago and we've never seen or heard from him ever since. I don't even want to talk about him. Anyway, I committed my life to taking care of my children to the best of my ability. It's been indescribably hard." She took a deep gasp.
"You wouldn't believe it if I told you i'm living in a shelter i built with my own two hands. I cant afford to rent even half a room. And I owe almost everyone i know, they have all written me off. I can't count the number of times i've felt like i've reached rock bottom. But last week was the worst. My daughter came to me crying, hungry and frustrated that she could not enjoy playing with her friends because her stomach was empty. I had given the kids the last of the food we had the previous night and had not eaten myself for two whole days. I wiped my daughter's tears as i tried to hide mine. Then i made the decision to go out and try one more time to find a job. Although I had been searching everyday to no avail, that day I was willing to stoop down to the level of begging if it meant I would have something to feed my kids." I was silently listening to all this, astonished. She didn't seem to care about my reaction, she just wanted to let the words out.

"I took my kids and we left together because I was afraid they might collapse if I leave them alone. We headed for the surbub where the rich people in this city live. I was hoping inside that someone would at least give us some food to get through the day. Food my sister...money would have been nice but my kids were crying of hunger and all I needed at that moment was food." She wiped a tear. I didn't know what to do.
" Well, we knocked on so many gates; those huge metal gates for those big compounds of rich people. On some gates, we got responses from servants, mostly rude and saying they were not offering any charity things to strangers. Some politely told us they had no job to offer, or food to spare.My knuckles were hurting and almost swollen from all the knocking. My entire body just wanted to retreat and fall to the ground and bring to an end this miserable life. But I had to be strong just for my dear kids. Then my young son fainted. My heart broke. I fell to the ground to inspect his frail frame. All I could do was scream with the last of the energy remaining in my body. I was willing to be the one to die as long as no harm came to my kids. And then out of the blue, i felt a hand tapping me from behind and i turned my head. There stood an elegantly dressed elderly lady and her maid. She instructed the maid to help carry my child inside her house. We were on the road right opposite her gate.
"What happened?" she asked, gently, as the maid disappeared through the gate with my son. I could not reply.
"Come on, stand up, let's go inside, " she said, her hand stretched forth to me. I stood up with her assistance and held the hands of my other two kids as we followed her into her compound." She paused...as if she was reliving that moment in her head. Then she wiped another tear and sighed deeply.
" I believe in angels," she said. And that was the last thing she said. A car abruptly stopped in front of us and she got in and left, smiling and waving at me. I remained standing by the road, perplexed. I must have stood there for quite long, just reminiscing all that woman had said. I assumed the car was driven by the nice lady's driver and that that woman was now living or working with her or somerhing. I dont know really, but from the way her face had lit up when she said she believed in angels, I'm pretty sure her life has not been the same since she met the nice lady. Her story made me wanna turn back and go back to all the beggars i'd met on the way and give them even the little that was in my wallet and not assume they'd smoke it or whatever. I just wanted to show love. God touched me through her. I absolutely admire her strength and courage. You never know what the people you see are going through. Be kind. Always.