Story.

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.