The Homeless Lady

I rode from the 20 Twenty Bike Shop on the Avenue in Hampden like it was my first time ever riding my bike. The cool wind piercing my face and gliding through my wool, Navaho-patterned coat put me in a trance. I was instantly reunited with my love for the natural world. I remembered how being outdoors brings me back to life. I'd been in my bed for days, attempting to read and write lesson plans, barely eating, and wallowing like a whale in my own ocean of tears. I fell into depression and found solace in the confines of the pale periwinkle walls of my room. 

I rode and rode, embracing the speed of my brand new tires, as I glided down the steep hills of Druid and the jagged  pavement of Scisson. 

I never grew tired and probably wouldn't have slowed down if it weren't for the young woman who sat in the middle of the sidewalk with her tattered cardboard boxes and dingy blankets.

I hopped off of my bike to make sure that I didn't accidentally hit her. She looked up, with eyes darker than the night and said...