学进去

The other day I was doing some shopping and a homeless man, who was untidy and spent most of the time talking to no one, walked toward a group of us at the checkout stand. I overheard him say to the man in front of me, “I don’t want to steal from this store... would you buy me some food?”

The man in front of me pretended not to hear him; it was as if he were not there. I waited patiently for my turn to be questioned, but it never came. So I asked him, “Can I buy you something to eat?” He gladly accepted. The man got a bag and began putting cupcakes in the bag. As my things were being rung up I watched the man put the cupcakes into the bag; 1, 2, 3... He finally stopped and I asked him how many he had got and he replied 6.

The cashier looked at me in surprise and then added them to my order. After I was through, the man was walking around the store; he said he wanted something to drink, too. The cashier seemed to be keeping a close eye on him. I admit I was too, as I didn’t want him to steal anything either! I told the cashier that if he got a drink I’d just pay for it.

In the end, we both ended up leaving the store, but he stood right outside holding the cupcakes and talking to himself. Or maybe he was talking with someone who he thought was there.

This man’s circumstances (处境) made me sad. How many of our homeless also suffer from a mental illness? Maybe that’s even what led him to be homeless. I also thought about the watchful eye the cashier and I kept over him. Maybe for different reasons, I still hope to run into him again someday, and maybe we can sit down and have lunch together.