Do You See Me? | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: Do You See Me? | Previous Challenge Entry
By Ellen Janson
02/28/24
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES

I must have really overdone it this time, Tina thought. She could feel her heart racing, but she couldn’t move her arms or legs. She couldn’t even make her lips move to cry out for help. Her fellow homeless “friends” were in too bad of shape themselves to notice anything was wrong with Tina.

So many people walked past her on the corner street. Surely someone will see my desperation, she thought. But they were all moving so fast, and she couldn’t miss the looks of disgust as they hurried past. She was disgusted with herself too. How did she sink so low? How did the drugs get such a hold on her?

As a priest approached her direction, she allowed herself to hope “a man of the cloth” would help her. She knew she looked awful and smelled even worse, but she remembered Jesus taking pity on even dirty people in all the stories from Sunday school. She couldn’t catch his eye. He suddenly made a quick change in direction as if to avoid her.

Tina fell asleep with tears making their path down her filthy cheeks, but awoke again to loud shouting up and down the street. People were protesting. They had megaphones and were yelling something about climate control and our planet earth. They’re college students, Tina realized. I was always fighting for justice at that age. Maybe they’ll see me. But they had an agenda, and their cause was much more important to them than Tina or her friends. They marched right past her without even a glance.

Night was falling. The drugs were wearing off, and Tina was coming to her senses, as if out of a very thick fog. She could barely move her limbs, but she could at least now feel them. And what she felt was that she was very cold and very hungry. Her first thought was that she needed more drugs to put her out of her misery, but how would she get them?

A well dressed business man was approaching her corner. Probably rushing home to his beautiful wife and children, Tina thought as a familiar jealousy tugged on her heart. Then another thought occurred to her - sometimes these fancy men sell drugs. They might ask for something in return, but that didn’t phase Tina anymore. As long as she got some relief.

Tina was repulsed by her own guttural voice as she attempted to call out to the handsome man, and was shocked when he stopped and turned toward her. He squatted down to get to her level and looked directly at her. She was shocked again to see sorrow instead of disgust in his brown eyes. And yet again when he didn’t recoil at her odor and appearance.

Instead this man reached out his hand to take hers. She initially thought he was handing her something, but he was actually just touching her. His touch instantly brought tears to her eyes, and he asked how he could help her. He shook his head “no” when Tina indicated a needle to her arm, and then again when she asked for money by rubbing her index finger with her thumb.

Tina became angry, thinking maybe he was mocking her, but then he took off his overcoat, draped it over her and handed her the pizza box he had probably been bringing home to his happy family. Still looking into her eyes, he pointed to the steeple at a church on the corner, and said the most incredible thing - “Jesus loves you.”

For the first time in a very long time, Tina thought maybe, just maybe, these words were actually true.

PREVIOUS ENTRY | NEXT ENTRY
SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY FOR THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE

The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.

Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior Right Now - CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.