Free Hug

GO AWAY!!! GO AWAY!!! She shouted.
If only he could hear the anguish in her tone, he would have fled. Nature had made him deaf.
If only he could see the hatred in her eyes, he would have left. Nature had made him almost blind.
Situations had made him what he was. It was never a choice left to him.
I would never know whether it was anger or love or desperation or expectation that I saw in his eyes. Two cold blue marbles staring through vacant street corner as the woman he approached for alms paced across the street to a perceived distance of safety.
That was when the old woman walked to him. She gave him a note and just hugged him.
As the old woman continued her walk down the street, I thought I heard a subtle sound, but couldn’t place whether it was from a silent sob or a smile from within.
One thing was for sure as I walked up to that man and hugged him. I was in need of the hug as much as him.