I walk through the glass revolving doors, dragging my wet squeaking sneakers across the marble floor and into the carpeted atrium. I've always encountered strange individuals in this library. The exccentric young man with his shopping cart, or the petite old lady who comments histrionically on young couples.
But what i was about to see, I had not been prepared for.
I browsed for my research book, skimming across the shelf, when i accidentally bumped into him. Before sight could justify contact, I sniffed his presence. A sweaty, used smell. "Oh I'm sorry" I muttered.
But as this middle age man looked up, crows feet hugging his eyes, all I could see was defeat. This individual had given up.
At his hands was a single page of paper, neatly divided into various columns, and there it read: "Please help me...Please Help me...Please Help me...Please Help me...Please Help me...Please help me...Please Help me..." . It went on and on, covering the entire page.
I abruptly skipped away, trying to find my book and escape that aura of pain.
After scouring every shelf, acceptance of its absence was my only choice. I walked towards the glass exit doors, only to be halted by a hiss... "Hey! take this, it will help". The man handed me a paper with library information explaining how I could attain my research information online. He waddled back to his desk, collapsing his head between his hands in an expression of exhaustion.
I stood there, holding the paper in awe. A
Someone, somehow destroyed by life, decided to make mine a little easier. Someone cared. I'm not alone after all.
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