The Photographer/Introductions
One evening after a particularly slow day spent fantasizing about the latest posts of some non nude models I close up shop for the night.
The evening was particularly cool, one of those nights where the day was a nice fall day but the weather turned bitter cold enough to see your breath. I shove off a persistent chill and begin the walk home. It is a short few blocks but the neighborhood is not a place to loiter at night.
I round a corner with a light broken above on particular alert for someone lurking in the darkness waiting to rob me when I happen to hear sobbing near by. Every instinct in my body screams for me to keep walking. A dark corner with long shadows at this time of night is extremely dangerous. This could be a trap, a lure to get a nice person to get access to and surround them to take advantage, or worse it could be someone who is already a victim and may mean I could be next.
'Just keep walking.' I tell myself, 'Safety first.'. Hollow words.
'If you investigate your as good as dead.', 'If you walk away right now you can still get home in time for the masked singer.'
'You know what if I have to work this hard to convince myself not to do it, there really is no point in resisting.'
I agree with my last thought and walk towards the sound while I turn on the torch on my phone.
I arrive at a scene that was not on my list of possibilities. It was not a victim of violence, just a poor little girl in pajamas crying in the dark and cold.
She immedately recoils when she realizes I am approching her and fear sets in quickly. I decide that if I am going to help her I am going to have to be gentle.
I take a seat on the sidewalk at the distance I already was and assessed what I was looking at. The girl looked to be about 10 years old, she is most likely pre pubescant with wild unkempt red curly hair. Her pajamas are torn and dirty and she looks like she has not slept in two days.
"You look like you have had a really hard time lately."
She nods, visibly relaxing slightly at your gentle tones.
"Do you have anything warmer to wear, maybe until you get home?"
She shakes her head and tears start flowing.
"I am sorry to upset you dear, fo you want to warm up somewhere safe before you head on home?"
"I don't have a home anymore."
"Oh my, well how about I take you somewhere warm and we can work out where you want to go from there?"
"I am not supposed to go with strangers."
"Well I don't really feel okay leaving you alone like this in the cold in a dangerous area like this. Someone might come along who will want to hurt you. Ask yourself dear, if I was going to hurt you would I have gone to this much effort to be nice so far."
She shrugs her shoulders.
"Okay, how about this, I am going home, if you want to warm up you can come along and leave whenever you don't feel safe. You can see where I live from here." I point to my apartment building. "This way you are in control at all times and if you are hungry I can get us some take out, I know I am hungry."
The mention of food is enough to get her attention and she nods in accent to come with me.
We return to my apartment and I show her into my tiny one bedroom, that obviously is a mess. It's not like a busy bachelor has a great deal of time to meet people to bring back to their apartment. I am sure it has nothing to do with laziness, of that I am certain, kinda.