IS IT SAFE TO LOOK AT THE MOON?

Is There A Heart That Doesn't Cry?

Today I saw him again: a young man, awfully looking thin in his black shirt and pants, begging by the side of the road.

I hated myself for not stopping to talk to him. I cried because I didn't go near him, thinking it might not be "safe" for me. I despised my reaction because I was plain selfish and a hypocrite.

The first time I saw him I thought of my grandson. How terrible it was for me if that young man was my grandson. How did this young boy get to that situation? Why was he begging? Why wasn't he in school? Why? Why? Did he run away from home? Did he have a mother? Did he have a family? Where were they, why did they let this young boy beg and go hungry?

"Are you all right?" asked my husband when I got home.

My emotions got hold of me, and I just flopped down and gave in to tears. Flabbergasted, my husband stood in silence, listening to my "bubble". Many minutes later I calmed down, and I told him what happened on my drive home.

"I understand your frustration," he said. "Remember, though, that young boy may prefer to beg."

"How can you say that? He looked as if he had no "meat" on, so thin and gangly, as if he had had no food for such a long time."

"He probably had an argument with his family, and decided to prove to them he can live without them."

"That was not like him at all, the way he looked. His eyes were expressionless; he didn't smile when someone handed him money, just nodded at the guy in the car. He didn't look aggressive because he merely sat by the side of the road, looking lost and forlorn."

"Maybe he is all alone in the world," added my husband, as he tried to give reason to the young boy's situation.

"But surely, there must be agencies that are able to find such people and take them in and give them help?"

"There are lots and lots of reasons that he ended up begging. But I'm sure you cannot blame yourself for what happened to him."

"I'm not, I felt so guilty for not stopping, for not strong enough to talk to him, for not giving him a chance to tell me all about him."

"Would you like me to drive you back where he is, so you can talk to him?"

When we got to the place, the young man was no longer there. I asked the shop owner if he noticed the young boy, begging in front of his shop. But the shop owner said he did notice him, however, he got rather busy with his customers he didn't see him leave.

I looked for him at the side of road every day since, but I never saw him again.

elephantsealer