Been on a blogging hiatus for more than a month but too lazy to think of anything new; I suppose this will have to do for now... x.x
One
day, a man seemingly in his late twenties walked into Subway. His
sordid appearance combined with the confidence in his strides caused
the immediate acknowledgement of his presence. He was poorly dressed
- wearing filthy, tattered clothing, and had a mess of knotted brown
hair which had evidently been uncombed for days. Disregarding his
filthiness and gruff demeanour, he was quite a handsome man with
kindness shining from his eyes. He approached the server assuredly,
nodded in greeting, and said without hesitation,
“I'd
like a foot long BLT, please. Extra cheese.”
Behind
the counter, a girl quickly glanced up from a crossword puzzle in the
daily newspaper she was in the midst of solving, stood up, and
promptly adjusted her uniform. The server, with a sudden look of
discomfort crossing her face, was undoubtedly alarmed by the homeless
man's sudden request. She tentatively made the sandwich and placed
the wrapped meal in front of the man.
“That'd
be twelve ninety-five, please.”
“I
have no money,” was the dishevelled man's certain reply.
“I'm
afraid I can't give customers food without payment, sir,” she
replied graciously.
Unaffected
by the girl's dismissal, the man continued to persist.
“Even
so, could you be so kind as to spare me a meal?”
In
her mind, she knew she could do no such thing without receiving a
thorough lecture as well as possibly being discharged. Nevertheless,
the server was quite intrigued by the stranger's boldness. She
looked him up and down, slowly examining his attire and estimating
his level of intellect. Her coworker appeared from the back room,
and after pushing a breakfast tray for a customer onto the counter,
sauntered up to the man and scoffed,
“Stop
pestering the girl for free food. If you want the sandwich, take
these eggs and hatch them into chickens for me,” he chortled,
gesturing to the sunny-side up eggs on the plate in front of him,
then glancing at his coworker haughtily.
“Alright,”
responded the man as he unzipped a pocket of his backpack and pulled
out a can of baked beans.
“Only
once you plant these beans in that pile dirt and grow them into
plants for me,” he replied, as he pointed to the pile of overcooked
hash browns on the breakfast plate and looked up into the server's
eyes. He
grasped the sandwich on the counter and walked out of the store
without another word, leaving the server with his mouth wide open.
The
next day, the homeless man returned to the store at the very minute
he had the day before. Behind the cash register was the male server,
working alongside the girl he had met previously.
“Thank
you, miss. The sandwich was delicious,” the man began simply as he
nodded his head.
“However,
could the kindness in your heart afford to spare me some breakfast?”
The
girl's coworker sauntered up to the counter once again, carrying a
tray of toast and eggs, presently displaying his annoyance towards
the man's wild requests.
“Excuse
me, but one does not simply get free meals around here,” he huffed.
“If
you want breakfast, take these slice of flax bread and make me a coat
out of it. Once you're done, show me and I'll give you this entire
plate,” he said cockily, handing the homeless man two pieces of
bread.
The
man left the store without a word, then returned holding what
appeared to be a frail, fallen tree branch. He approached the male
server and handed him the branch. The ragged man spoke in a quite
voice, without missing a beat.
“Certainly,
but first, you need to build me the proper sewing tools from this
wood. How do you expect me to make a decent coat without tools?”
As
the two servers stood wordless, the man picked up the plate of hot
breakfast and calmly pushed open the store doors and departed once
again.
The
day after, the two servers nodded their heads in greeting from behind
the counter the very moment the homeless man entered the store.
“Good
morning, sir. Perhaps you'd fancy another meal today?” the male
server enquired loudly, attempting to hide his sly grin.
The
tattered man gave the server a small smile.
“Why,
yes. I'm unusually thirsty today, so I'd like a drink. Perhaps a
small coke?” he reciprocated, leaning onto the clean counter.
The
server chuckled, as he handed the man an empty soft drink cup and
lid.
“But,
of course,” he muttered, smirking at the homeless man. “I'm
impressed by your cleverness; who'd expect that from a beggar?” he
retorted, watching as the man's smile faded.
“Take
this cup and remove all the polluted water in the ocean. My uncle's
going for a ride in his boat, and I'd hate for all the garbage to get
in the way of his enjoyment,” the server discoursed sweetly.
The
homeless man snatched the paper cup from the server's hand and left
the store once again. He returned a few minutes later, holding a paper plate which had been obviously retrieved from a
nearby trash can. He thrust the plate towards the man behind the
counter, and spoke monotonously.
“Absolutely,
but you must dam up all the neigbouring rivers with this plate in
order for me to do so. Otherwise, the polluted water in them would
contaminate the ocean I just cleaned, no?”
As
the male server was at a loss for words once again, the girl behind
the counter rushed up to the homeless man.
“You're
a very intelligent man,” she squeaked. “Why are you are
unemployed?”
The
homeless man remained expressionless.
“I'd
very much like a job, however, I am an orphan and was left on the
streets for as long as I can recall,” he asserted faintly, staring
into the girl's bright eyes.
The
girl looked intently into the man's eyes, then finally reached for
her newspaper and leaned close to his ear.
“Here's
the deal. I'm extremely close to finishing this crossword puzzle; I
only need to figure out the answer to this one question. My uncle's
the CEO of this company, so if you want me to get you a job here,
help me solve it,” the girl murmured, as she began to read aloud
from the paper.
“Greater
than God and more evil than the devil. The poor have it, the rich
need it and if you eat it you'll die. What is it?”
She
watched the man attentively for a few seconds until he opened his
mouth to speak.
“Nothing,”
he responded monotonously.
The
girl leaned forward on the counter, her brain in the midst of
processing the man's answer. She began fill the empty boxes of the
crossword with letters, and of course, as predicted, he was correct.
The
homeless man was introduced to the girl's uncle, who recognized the
man's intelligence and potential, and was offered a job as a server
at the Subway store.
The
man thanked the CEO's niece several times, and said,
“I
have no home or any money at all, but I am extremely hardworking.
So, if I am ever laid off or fired by your uncle and am forced to
leave, may I take from this place the thing I love most?”
The
girl smiled up at him.
“But,
of course.”
After
many, many years, the diligent man eventually worked his way from a
server to a manager, to becoming a CEO of the company. Soon after,
he married the girl who had worked alongside him for so many years
and they remained in a happy marriage for nearly a decade. However,
one day, when the man discovered his wife had been cheating on him,
he applied for a divorce. He began to pack his bags, and when he was
done, he entered the Subway store he had once worked for in order to
say one last farewell.
When
his wife entered, he stared at her with a vacant expression.
“You
promised me before that you'd let me take the thing I loved most,
correct?” he stated coldly, glancing away quickly to break the
uncomfortable eye contact between them.
His
wife clasped her hands together, then tugged at her husband's jacket,
her voice cracking.
“Correct,
but I never meant for things to end this way. Forgive me please, and
take me back. You're the one I love.”
The
man gave his wife a quick nod and broke away from her grip. He
reached from behind the counter, unhooked the coffee maker worth ten
grand he had purchased for the store several years ago, tipped his
hat and bid the woman farewell before he pushed open the store door
without another word.
