He sat on a bench and watched all the office ladies window shopping. They were looking for cosmetics and accessories, or books and clothes. They all looked so pretty and smelled so pretty. So close, but a million miles away. Watching young women was his greatest pleasure. There was something special about young women, he thought. Perhaps it was their hopefulness.
Another of his favourite pastimes was watching the birds in the park first thing in the morning, before anyone else was awake. The birds were his friends and their singing filled him with joy. Of course, the beautiful trees and flowers were also a source of much happiness. How could anyone be unhappy in such a beautiful world.
Above all, the thing that made him most happy was his dog Stella. They had lived together for many years on the streets. They looked after each other and kept each other warm. Stella never complained about his drinking, and wasn't scared of him like other people were. She didn't mind that he had a deformed arm and bad teeth. She loved him anyway.
In many ways, he thought he was a lucky man. It was all the other people who were the unlucky ones. Sometimes he missed his wife and family, but it was best that he stayed away from them. Although he loved them, his drinking was a problem. He stood up from the bench, picked up his bags, and he and Stella walked slowly towards the park. It was a lovely day and he wanted to sleep in the warm sunshine.
A few weeks later, two office workers were having lunch in the
park when they saw a dog running around on its own.
"Hey, that's the homeless man's dog, isn't it?" said one woman to her
friend.
"Yes. You're right. I wonder what happened to the man?" Said the other.
"Who
cares! It's not our problem," the first woman said, "Let's
go and get some lunch."
"Good idea. That homeless guy was creepy
anyway."