THE HOMELESS day centres were either closed or their books were full – my options had run out hours ago. Now it was raining again and I was pissing wet through. The hunger was excruciating.
Rock bottom could not be any lower than this. Too weak to venture any further, I located the nearest available park bench and lay down my weary head, seduced by the very notion of drifting into a deep slumber from which I could never return.
Just as my eyes were half shut, a blur appeared out of nowhere. A tiny bird. Perching itself on the back of the seat, its demeanour was curious, expectant.
“Cheep.”
Sitting up, I replied “Sorry pal. Nothing today.”
“Cheep.” It strutted about then flew off.
Moments later, it landed beside me, this time with a morsel of bread in its beak. Insisting on full eye contact, it dipped its gaze only to deposit it. Then it eyeballed me again, as if just to make sure I knew what to do.
Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, I pretended to put the bread in my mouth then snuck it into my coat pocket.
“Mmmm. Yummy.”
Then my wee benefactor was gone.
Infused with just enough hope to drag myself to my feet, my day just went from bad to better.
Copyright (c) M K MacInnes 2017
