The Ghost & The Guardian

Describe a random encounter with a stranger that stuck out positively to you.

When I was walking in a park near North High Street, there was this guy with a dog, screaming at the top of his lungs at nothing in particular. It wasn’t out of pain or any immediate distress – you could just tell he needed to let something out. As such, everyone just kept walking past him like he was a Ghost. No head turn or anything to acknowledge him. I admit, I walked past him at first, but something kept nagging at me to go back and check on him. So I circled around to go ask him if he was OK.

As I approached, his dog started barking at me, but it was rather small, so I wasn’t fazed by it. However, the guy’s face showed he was confused as to why I was coming up to him, looking at me almost like I was the ghost. He calls out, “Hey weirdo,” and I reply, “Yeah, I’m pretty weird.” That seemed to diffuse a little tension for some reason. I asked him if he was OK, which he replied, “Obviously not.” So I asked if he wanted to talk about it. I knew he didn’t, and I was right. But he did say he appreciated me for asking. And with that, I left.

It’s a weird thing to say, but it felt like I had done my job. I felt like a Guardian Angel. I knew I wasn’t there to talk him through his problems. I was just there to make sure he knew somebody out there was listening and cared.

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