This time the words on her cardboard changed:
" Two men stole my purse. I believe in Karma."
Usually when I saw these words I won't take it too serious.After all it is not difficult to make up a story. But I believed her this time. She did had a purse from the last time. And her purse was not with her at the moment. My almost excessive compassion made me buy her a $5 chicken rice.
Inconsistent story
From what she had told me last time, she was abandoned by her ex-husband.The husband left four kids to her. And she needed to raise these kids.
But this time she told me that the ex-husband don't let her to see the kids. The ex-husband kept the kids from her! Now she had a fiance who is trying to steal to make their life better, but ended up in jail. I wonder who is the real victim and who had betrayed first in their relationship. My eyes frowned and there were a lot of skepticism in my mind.
She described her bag was stolen by two men last night. "Where did they steal your bag?" I asked: She recalled her memory: "Well...it's on 23rd street...two men grabbed my bag and go away..." Question in my mind: " Why on earth were you not going back to shelter but in some bar area on 23rd street? It is a place for people to drink and get entertainment. I pity her but it seem she is more than I think.
Misery Spray
In the morning I had prepared a notebook at home. I have written some suggestions for her:
- Get a library card and access to computer
- Search jobs with computers in library (e.g. try McDonalds)
- Get a letter box for letters replied from jobs applications
While she was eating rice, I headed to toilet before I gave her the notebook. I was shocked when I returned. Her head buried in her coat. Follow by some sound of leaking gas I heard. She was sucking some suspicious compressed gases from a bottle. Blew my mind.
Her eyes closed. I poked to wake her up. Again she sank heavily and didn't feel anything. Her awareness is extraordinarily low and unclear. I guessed I know why she has been so unconscious. Being awoken by me poking, she looked at me with half-opened eyes.
I asked her, "What was that?"
"Um...something...I sprayed on the people if they come to harm me." spoke in half-drunk.
So she had some spray for offenders but she now is spraying into her mouth! I stopped asking.
不想承認，可是Bria口齒不清、看起來像喝醉、失去知覺、口鼻附近出疹，這些癥狀與吸入劑用者極為吻合。
Don't be silly in the city
Stop fancying of being a saint for a moment. Being compassionate is good, but be aware of who and what you are getting into. Indeed the society now need a counter-force to meritocracy , meaning the unsuccessful ones can be understood for their unfortunate. But still people have to take account for what happen in their lives.
Interestingly, there are barely Chinese beggars or homeless on the street. The Chinese says 人離鄉賤. When you are out of your home country, you are nobody. Even if you knee down and beg, no one would give a shit.
Chinese people, 華人, I refer to, is strong spirit ethnicity. You can see this from food and beverage industry. Chinese restaurant always close the latest at night. Americans restaurant generally respect personal free time and prone to work life balance, they closed at around 9p.m and off at 6p.m on Friday. Indians work hard too and probably is the only competitor to Chinese in terms of diligence. Most of them close lately at 10 p.m. But many more Chinese restaurants close everyday at 11p.m., sometimes 11:30p.m. if the business is good.
At the end of the day, I still pity her. I tell her :"Bria, you got to be strong. No one is going to help you forever." I gave the note book and instruct her the steps to find jobs. She nodded her head, repeatedly. I hope she really understood what it means by "You can count on nobody but yourself"
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