written By
We rode the subway to the Eaton Centre,
exited the turnstiles, and saw a homeless
woman extending her paper cup. I walked
by. Then stopped and walked back. I had
two toonies in my pocket and gave her one.
She was grateful. When I caught up to Jean,
I said, Why didn’t I give her both? Is $4
going to kill me? I looked in my wallet
and found a ten-dollar bill. I curled it up
and walked back again, stooped, really
looked at her. She was starving, pale skin
stretched over her skull. Her thin legs
twisted beneath her awkwardly. I placed
the ten in her hand and said, This is a
ten-dollar bill as if she had never seen one.
She clung to it, then pinched the toonie
from the cup. She struggled to stand,
weeping. I wondered if she was in pain
until she said Thank you, then limped to
the brightly lit food court. It hit me hard –
a starving woman in a city of 6 million.
We went where we had to go. I had a fifty
in my wallet. It was all I could think about.
