There is a man who rides his bicycle around the city about a half an hour from here. He looks.. far away,
very far away. I'd not heard anything of him until one day, as we drove down a street just off of main, and there he was, seemingly
oblivious to everything and everyone,
avoiding any sort of confrontation, physical, or otherwise.
I saw him and.. I wondered. I was curious as to why.. I mean, he was fairly old and it's not so uncommon for people to ride around like that, but he had a way about him, an aging man of
dark skin that looked so terribly..
lost?
My mother was with me at the time, and it turned out that the man was someone she was remotely familiar with, through
word of mouth, of course. His family was killed in a house fire some time ago, and I suppose that he's been riding around, perhaps homeless, since. It would seem he is very
withdrawn, distant.
He looked so
achingly sad.. and, of all the strangers I've come across wandering around in this universe, he is the most memorable. I'm quite sure that I'd have remembered that face, those old clothes, even having not known
the story behind his person.
I also recall a young man, some time this year, he was
walking along the street and looked troubled. He was wearing a trench coat. He reminded me greatly of someone I know, but have never actually
seen. I remember wanting to request that my father stop the car so I might go and give him a hug, though
I couldn't say precisely why.