She believed she could not be saved. The hollow cheeks that made her appear decades older, the chapped lips that spoke of nights spent outside in the bitter air, and the bruised shadows beneath her eyes that told stories she never dared to tell out loud were all brutally honest confirmations of this every morning. She felt as though her spirit was a flickering flame that was just hanging on, and her body was an empty shell. She was no longer perceived as a human being, but rather as an awful object on the sidewalk, something to avoid, something that caused people to turn away and walk more quickly. In a way that only the forgotten are capable of, she had vanished. Then, one day, a stranger performed an amazing deed. She paused. She caught sight of her. She paid attention. “Let me take care of you today,” she said, reaching for Rita’s shaking hands. Her words were so soft they seemed impossible. Continue reading…
