Ana was working in a mall, and as she traveled to that mall every day situated just in front of Sydney station. That day when she came out of the station, she was surprised when she saw a man sitting on the footpath on her way to the mall. She said nothing but walked to her work, but she was saddened watching his eyes full of sorrow.

  
She saw him again when she came back from her work that evening. Ana could see this sad and tired-looking man on the pavement playing a guitar and a few coins lying in front of him. Ana was a little surprised because she felt that man had no interest in those coins. She went to a nearby food truck and brought a sandwich and gave it to him.

Picture I took at Sydney station

It wasn’t that the man showed much interest, but he took it from her, said thanks, and took a bite. Ana left, but she saw the same battered figure every day sitting in the same spot. His clothes were worn out; his eyes held a depth of sorrow that looked like he had seen thousands of sad stories in his life. Ana had made it a point to bring a sandwich for him every evening as she felt a mix of curiosity and concern for him.

Ana has now noticed this man for weeks at the same spot, as he was always sitting there”.

She always thought, “I wonder what brought him to this point of being homeless.” Ana always felt compelled to understand his story and even tried to ask a few questions. The man would look at her but never answer, his hands resting on his chest, or he held his guitar, looking in front with a blank stare and then quietly leaning against the wall of the station.

“Excuse me,” one day Ana could not stop herself, “Can I ask you something?”

He did not look surprised but nodded his head slowly, “What do you want to know?” His voice was slow but steady.

Ana hesitated for a moment but asked, “Why do you sit here every day?”

The man looked into her eyes for the first time and then said in a sound filled with sorrow, “This is where I feel most alive; I have nowhere else to go,” he replied.

Then he looked toward the street and said further, “I can see people pass by, like my loved ones passed as I lost them all within a few weeks. Heck with the Corona, that snatched all my loved ones in a single stroke. But here, I can watch life unfold.”

Ana felt a wave of sorrow. She could see how he found peace watching others while sitting here playing his guitar.

“So you have no family?” she asked gently.

He shook his head. “Not anymore. They're all sleeping in the graveyard across the park, leaving me alone in this world. Ana could feel his voice tremble slightly as he continued, “I used to have a job and a family, but now my life has nothing that I can say is mine.”

Ana tried to hide her emotions as she had nothing to say, but finally she said, “What’s your name?”

“David,” he replied quietly.

As they spoke further, David shared a few chapters of his past life once filled with laughter and love that was a matter of the past. He recalled stories of how he lost his loved ones after that pandemic and then how he lost his interest in his job. How he failed to pay his bills, and soon he found himself living on the streets.

“I never thought I’d end up like this,” he confessed, as his eyes were reflecting his sadness.

Ana felt for him as she realized that David was not just an ordinary homeless man but was a person who had lost his interest in life. She sat with him for a while longer, sharing her own stories that she had lost her parents in the pandemic too, but she was giving her life a new start.

As she stood up to leave, a thought came to Ana's mind, so she asked if he would like to come and stay with her because that would fill the emptiness in both their lives. She would find a parent in him, and maybe he will regain his interest in his life.

David looked at her with love and affection as she took out some food she had bought earlier, a sandwich and a chocolate.

“Here,” she said, offering it to David. “You should eat something and then pack up.”

His eyes widened in disbelief as he accepted the food with trembling hands. “Thank you,” his voice was different and full of gratitude.

A little while later, as Ana and David walking together towards the platform, Ana held one of David's bag in her hand. Ana looked at him and felt that maybe behind every sad face there's a hidden story because life is not as simple as it looks like on its face value. Maybe we can find untold truths with little of our efforts.

That very moment, Ana realized that sometimes all it takes is a little effort and kindness to make someone feel better and bring them out of the troubles of life.

@josepha, @simonnwigwe and @solperez

Join this contest by @suboohi

Beneficiary @maira27

For her post