Strangers

Have you ever felt isolated?

People pass us all the time in the streets never once taking a second to look at who they pass. I’ve been told people are born to be good but what happens to them? Why do we start to care less and less for humans the older we get? What happens if we just stop and look out for another human being? I stop and look at the girl sitting down by herself. I walk towards her not knowing what will happen. What she will say or do. However, it’s worth it because we humans need to take time to talk to one another. She looks sad and depressed. I wonder what she’s going through.

“What's wrong?” I asked her caringly.

The girl looks at me with her puffy red eyes. We stare at each other for a few seconds. Then she opens her mouth to speak.

“I’m tired,” she said to me in a somber tone.

“Tired?”

“Yeah, I’m just tired,” she said in a defeatist tone

“But you don’t look sleepy.”

“Not that type of exhausted,” she said with a slight annoyance in her tone as if she’s heard people tell her this multiple time.

She speaks with no energy. As if her soul isn’t there or at least her soul is trying to leave.

“Oh…”

I sit down next to her. As I do, a waft of sadness penetrates my very essence. You ever had that moment in which a person enters a room and the moment they do you can sense their despair. Yeah, that’s what’s happening right now. Except this girl doesn’t exude that energy.

“Are you tired of feeling isolated?”

She nods. I’ve been there before. I remember when I was going through some rough times with my ex.

“Why?”

“Society has picked on me for being different. Why is it such a dreadful thing to be different from everyone else?”

“Well, it’s not really bad to be different from everyone else. We humans like to pretend to fit in and be the same as everyone else. But deep down we crave to stand out.

Looking at her, I see her eyes open wide up like a little child in a candy store."

“I’m glad to finally talk to someone who thinks the same,” she said with a slight break in her voice as if she’s holding back her tears.

“What makes you different?”

The girl closes her eyes and takes a second to say anything.

“Sorry I don’t mean to get personal. It was just a few minutes ago I was walking and thinking why life so hard, why must people always be such dicks towards other human beings? I just had to take a moment to stop and just look around me and just take it all in. I’m not sure if you get what I mean."

“A little,” she said so daintily.

“I feel like sometimes we as humans just pass one another in the street never taking a second to look at each other and see how we are doing. It’s strange that we care more about our technology than we do of humans.”

“True…”

“How about I tell you a bit about myself first that way you’ll feel more comfortable talking to me.”

She nods again.

“I’ve always been raised by my father. My mother is a strange case I must admit. She says she cares about me but sometimes I don’t know if she really does. While I was still in her womb she would drink and smoke cigarettes and sometimes do drugs. Then after I had been born, she didn’t really take such great care of me. She let me fall off the bed when I was small and created a dent in my head.”

I push my hair to the side and show it to the girl.

“See?” I said with a slight sense of amusement.

She reaches for my head and as she does I feel her cold fragile fingers run through my hair. With each finger, it’s as if she’s etching all the details of my head into her brain as if she never wants to forget this moment.

I pull away slowly as to not surprise her.

“Hahaha, it tickles. But yeah after that one day she left with females of the nights. And you know the funny thing is those things don’t really bother me at all. I mean for years I would think it was bothering me but no it wasn't. What really bothered me was when suddenly, she would appear out of nowhere, and she would try to fit right back in. She would stay for a night or two maybe if I was lucky she would stay for a week. Yet it will always end the same way. She would come up to me and say I’ll be right back I just must go outside and get some things. She would never come back. Imagine how I felt as a child waiting for my mother to come back from the store. I would sit by my bed just waiting and waiting for hours. Not knowing if she was dead or if she just left. Until my dad would come to me and tell me she left. I didn’t know how to act I would just say oh okay well she’ll be back next time and then I would go play my video games. It would always bother me why didn’t she care about me? Why wouldn’t my own mother not want to spend time with me? Maybe it was me. It always bothered me."

I look over at the girl once again, and she's looking right back at me. It looks like she was holding on to every word I was saying.

“Want to tell me something about you?”

“I’ve always been made to feeling bad by people since I was young just because I have a mental disability. It takes me awhile to process information compare to everyone. Because of this, I haven’t been able to do well in school.”

She starts to tear up while speaking. It’s a sensitive subject for her for sure.

“It’s gotten so bad that my family has given up hope on me.”

My face grimaces at her saying that.

“It makes me think what's the point of life anymore if my own family doesn’t want me? I should just end it all. Society always tells you to be yourself yet the moment you do they put you down. Like what’s the point anymore?”

Wrapping my arms around I give her a hug. Surprised, the girl jerks and looks at me with her red puffy eyes. I can’t just let another human being let them take their own life.

“Don’t take your life. It’s…just not worth it. Trust me on that it’s just not worth it. Nothing gets accomplished out it. Sure, life seems hard sometimes and hell even society can screw you over a couple of times but to end your life is never the answer. You have people always ready to listen to your problems. They may not be your friends or anyone you know. But if you ask for help people will come and help you. Thanks to the internet you can easily find help online and talk to people who have gone through what you think. Sometimes we tend to make problems much bigger than they are just because we over think them. Look I may not know you personally but I do know what you’re going through. Modern society is twisted to make anyone who doesn’t fit society twisted mentality weird. You get pushed down and down until you can’t get up anymore but it’s not the end. It never is.”

I feel her tears dropping on my skin. Warm. So warm like a mother’s love. Yet the reasons for these tears are the opposite of that.

Looking at me, she talks.

“Can you help me?"

“I promise I’ll do my best to help you.”

“Good. I need someone I can rely on. Sometimes I just sit at home crying and crying.”

“Don’t worry I’ll do my best to help you. I know we’re strangers but let’s try to be friends. Here’s my number if you ever need to call me.”

I write it down on a piece of paper inside my pocket and hand it to her. She also gives me her number.

“Thank you, I feel better. I think I’ll head back home and relax.”

“You sure?”

She stands up and smiles at me.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Want to meet here tomorrow?”

“Yeah.”

I give her a hug before she leaves.

“I may be a stranger, but I’m not heartless.”

She hugs me back.

“I’m glad you’re not.”

I wave at her as she leaves. I decided to also head home and relax it’s been a heavy day. When I got home, I lay down quickly on my bed and fall deep asleep.

Birds chirp to welcome me to a new day. Sluggishly I sit up and reach for my phone next to me on the nightstand. Looks like I have one text message.

“It’s the girl from yesterday.”

Now that I noticed we didn’t give each other our names. Well, we’re meeting up today so that’ll be a good chance to get it. I tap the notification on my phone, and I read what she sent me.

“Hi, it’s the girl from yesterday. We never asked for each other's name and I think that’s a good thing. You wouldn’t want to be friends with a girl who you won’t see ever again. It was good talking to you yesterday and I like that you took the time to stop and talk to me. You do care and I like that you do. I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to see you tomorrow or ever again. I don’t think life is worth it anymore because I can’t find the point in it. Who knows maybe I’ll see you again one day.”

Speechless I just sit on my bed as the birds continue to chirp.

…

It’s been a week since I received that message. I’ve been coming back to the same place to wait for her, but she never came. I called her multiple times, but she never picked up. I kept coming back day after day, yet she never came.

…

You have 11 miss calls.