I haven’t slept in three days. The thrill of moving to the city, escaped me after a mere five hours of officially residing in New York City. “How do these people live here?” I yelled at three o’clock in the morning, the fifth time a siren woke me up in one night.
I opened my phone to record a video, “Remember when I used to brag to you, about never having sleeping issues? I officially take that back.” I send the video to Jake, my best friend from back home in Oklahoma.
After tossing and turning in bed for forty-five minutes, I jumped up and threw on a hoodie and a pair of sweatpants. I decided to go on a night walk, I wouldn’t fall asleep anyway.
As I stepped on the sidewalk, the amount of people casually strolling the streets at four in the morning amazed me. Walking further, I’ve realized that some of the people walking around or sitting on the cold sidewalk didn’t have a warm place to call home. I couldn’t help but imagine living on the dirty, freezing, noisy streets! I felt guilty. How could I complain about the beautiful, clean, apartment that I own?
I continued slowly pacing the street, watching the cars zoom by reminded me of my small-town church in Oklahoma. I remember the pastor saying, “Jesus had one special rule, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’, remember these words next time you see someone in need…”
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
I entered the nearest convenience store and bought a thick blanket, warm sweater, and a hot cup of tea with a bag full of whatever food they had. As I was grabbing the items of the shelf, I kept asking the same question, “What else would I want to receive, if I was the man without a home?”
Walking out of the store, I saw a man sitting near the train station. In front of him was a small, dirty coffee cup with a sign that reads ‘Please Help’ and a couple coins inside. I placed the items in front of him. “Good Luck” I told the man before walking away. I could never forget the look of silent gratitude and pain in his eyes. Walking away, my mind was tasked with figuring out how he got there.
I keep coming back to the same place every night that I can’t sleep, hoping to see him again.
