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 Certain
man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves,
which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed,
leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain
priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other
side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and
looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain
Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him,
he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds,
pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought
him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he
departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said
unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when
I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest
thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he
said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and
do thou likewise." ~ Luke 10:30-37 ~
The busy city awoke to Monday morning,
ready to face another hectic week of work and life. Like most city
dwellers on such a weekday, Hannah Anderson started off on her daily
trek to the office. Hannah had spent the weekend with her parents in
the country, something she always did, for she was never so happy as
when she returned home. The love she felt from her parents, would
tide her over to the next weekend. Unlike most people, Hannah never
disliked Mondays. It just meant she was one day closer to Saturday,
and her parents. It was with these thoughts, that she walked down
the sidewalk, on her way to work.
However, when Hannah came to the
stoplight, her thoughts changed course. This day had started like
most others, but somehow, something felt different. Then it came to
her. Hannah looked around for the panhandler who had chosen that
place as his spot. She had grown accustomed to his silent presence
at the stoplight. She would greet him with a smile and drop lose
change into his cup. The man would nod and look down, never saying a
word. Hannah had observed his long, unkempt brown hair. She had
noticed his beard reached the top of his faded blue jacket. She saw
he always wore the same pair of worn sneakers - ones with duct tape
wound about them, to keep the soles in place. To her horror, she had
even observed he never wore socks, no matter how cold it was
outside. Ever since Hannah had moved to the busy city five months
ago, her pity grew for the panhandler at the stoplight.
But today, the spot where he always
occupied, stood empty. Every day, without fail, he had always been
there. Hannah looked at the other people that waited at the
stoplight. Most of them she recognized, for they too, made the same
route to work, every day. As the light turned green, Hannah saw none
of them had noticed the missing member of their daily gathering. She
looked at her watch. Yes, she had a little time before work. For the
first time in months, Hannah did not cross the street with the
others when the light turned green. Instead, she searched the side
walk on either side of the stoplight. It was then, she saw a dark
alley separating two tall buildings near the panhandler's spot.
By nature, Hannah was not intrepid.
However, her concern for the stoplight panhandler, and her desire to
not be late for work, propelled her forward in action not typical of
a generally, thoughtful young woman. In her haste, though, she
remembered to pray before entering.
"Safety is of the Lord," she reminded
herself. She wrinkled her nose, for everything smelled of foul
odors, and rotting trash. Cardboard boxes were piled up high against
trash cans; a small stream of water ran down the black asphalt.
Hannah slowly walked to the end of the alley.
As she turned to leave, Hannah noticed a
huddled form crouched between two trash cans. She gave a sudden
start, but the form did not move. It did not seem to be aware of her
presence at all. Hannah took a step closer, careful not to make any
noise. As dark clouds softly parted overhead, a ray of light fell
upon the huddled form's face, revealing the stoplight panhandler.
His eyes were closed, and his arms were wrapped around his torso.
The faded jacket was no longer blue, but soaked in a dark red
substance. Alarmed, Hannah knelt down beside him on the damp
asphalt. Hannah bent down and put her ear up to his chest. His heart
was beating, but it was very faint. This man was dying. Hannah
jumped to her feet, and dashed out of the dark alley. She had to
find a telephone, quickly.
No one noticed the young woman as she frantically
ran down the streaked gray sidewalk, searching for a pay phone.
Across the street, she spotted a secondhand bookstore. Hannah
quickly crossed the street, forgetting to look before she did so. A
yellow taxi screeched to a halt, narrowly missing Hannah. The driver
stuck his head out and yelled at her in a language she did not
understand.
"Sorry!" Hannah called back. She opened the bookstore door and ran
to the counter. "May I use your phone? It's an emergency!" she
hurriedly asked an old man sitting by the cash register. The old man
looked up sleepily.
"Just so as it's not long distance," he replied grumpily. Hannah
nodded as she grabbed the telephone receiver. Her fingers trembled
as she dialed 911. To her disbelief, the number was busy.
"Please, God, make them answer!" she urgently pleaded. The old man
opened his eyes again, curiously observing her anguish as one would
passively watch television. Hannah's heart pounded loudly in her
ears. The sound reminded her that with every passing moment, the
stoplight panhandler lost more blood. "Don't let him die, God!" she
prayed outloud. After what seemed to Hannah to be an eternity, a
voice answered.
"This is 911 emergency. How may I help you?" asked a woman's voice.
For a moment, Hannah's tongue glued to the roof of her mouth.
"Please get an ambulance to the corner of Jefferson and Madison
right away! There's a man in the alley... he's lost a lot of blood!"
Hannah pleaded frantically.
"Stay calm. An ambulance is on it's way," the woman's voice assured.
"Thank God!" exclaimed Hannah. The emergency dispatcher asked who
she was, and then hung up when the sirens were within hearing
distance. Hannah dashed out of the bookstore, heedless of the
oncoming traffic, and stood at the entrance of the alley. An
ambulance pulled up beside the curb, it's red lights flashing.
"Over here!" she called. Two men jumped out of the ambulance and
followed Hannah down the alley. She watched as they unwound the limp
arms of the stoplight panhandler.
"It's a knife wound," she heard one of the men say. When a policeman
tapped Hannah on the shoulder, she jumped.
"Were you the one who called 911?" he asked.
"Yes, I was," replied Hannah, nervously.
"Did you know him?" the policeman asked, pointing at the limp form
being lifted onto a stretcher.
"No."
"How did you find the body?" he asked. Hannah felt faint. The walls
of the alley began to spin around her.
"I was walking..." she began. Suddenly, everything became black.
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