she loved me as herself.

last night on my way back from work a met a girl.

she was walking down the sidewalk in front of our house, crying.

i asked her "what's wrong?"
she responded, "i lost a family."

i'm still not sure what she meant.
so, as we walked along, i just replied, "mm."

she looked at me and said, "do you do drugs?"
"no"
"what, did you just get out of jail or something?"
"no, i was just working at the shelter." (though some do get the Haven and jail confused)

this may seem silly, but i was a little thrilled that she thought i might be a drug user and a felon. sometimes i feel hurt when my neighbors tell me that i don't belong in their community, but i should move to the West End. the East side is my home, and i don't like it when people think that i don't fit in, and that i should leave.
but she saw me as one of her neighbors, and not a foreigner! yay!

she didn't ask me for money or anything, she just chatted with me, her neighbor. as she left, i handed her a sweatshirt, and she seemed so confused by the gift. i was unbelievably happy that she was interested in talking with me, not because she was expecting a gift, but because she just wanted to talk.

she walked away and continued crying.
she lost a family. i hope she gets grafted into mine.