Man on The bench

A rugged man holding a sign that read “need food or money” lies on a bench in the park wearing torn jeans, a high vis yellow shirt and boots all caked in dirt. A hat next to the sign is open with not a cent in it. He has nothing but a backpack and a blanket with him. The backpack substituted as the worst pillow. Staring off into the distance the man on the bench sees a young woman pass by who drops a few dollars into his makeshift wallet. He nods at her and smiles, she avoids eye contact and continues on as if he were not there. With a sigh the man sits up and grabs his bag. Unzipping it and shuffling through the few things in it he hears someone running towards him. An unknown teenager. He reaches for his wallet to put the few bucks he has now In it. As he reaches his wallet the teenager is next to him and grabs the hat and runs with all his money. Before the man could even utter a word after his initial disbelief the boy is gone, and so is his food money.

Tears run down his face as his stomach aches and rumbles. Covering his face with his hands he wipes the tears off and starts to pack up. Before he could put his sign away a young man stands in front of him, smiles, nods and pulls out his wallet.Handing a $50 bill to the man, he then walks away before any thanks could be given. Hurrying up and shoving the money into his pocket before anyone else sees it, he finishes cleaning up and starts to walk out of the park towards the business district across the street. Walking into the first cafe he sees, he sits down ready to order his first hot and ready meal in a long time. As the server takes the man's order the young man who had given him the money walks in and sits down a few tables away. The older man sits and waits, while reading a magazine that was left at the host stand that read “read me”. While the older man waits for his food the younger man orders his and sits and waits as well, noticing the older man again. He pulls out a notepad and pencil. He starts writing something down and hands it to the server, pointing to the older man who takes no notice of this.

The server then walks to the older man handing him this note smiling and nodding before he takes his last bites of food. The man reads the note. “ This meal is on me, use the money to buy clothes and your next meal.” The man wipes his tears and looks around, no one to be seen other than the workers. He smiles, leaves and walks towards the thrift store. Buying some nice clothing he then goes to the nearest truck stop for a shower. After this he walks from place to place looking for a job, eventually walking into a huge building. He stops to talk to the receptionist, asking about the “hiring now” sign he points towards it. The lady at the reception desk grabs the sign and throws it in the trash, she grins and shrugs. When the young man from earlier steps out from an office that reads “CEO” and hands him an employment form, he smiles, nods, and then points towards an area with tables and chairs. He then Points towards the door of the building while talking to the young lady, while taking her name tag from her hands.