He Can See Them All

 

            Jeremiah lay in his backyard enjoying a few moments of silence and peace, staring into the vast, open blue sky above him, punctuated by the occasional fluffy white cloud. Never one to have nothing going on in his mind, his thoughts raced from one field of thought to the next, always looking for solutions and also from one social setting to the next, considering why he never really connected with anyone in any of his social circles.

              “So much distraction, so much emptiness, so much vanity and pursuit of comfort,” he said to himself. His logical and analytical mind working overtime to understand how anyone could be content with such inanity and childishness. His neighbors, his co-workers, the people he would meet on the street or in stores all seemed blissfully unaware of their vacuous lives that actually accomplished nothing of value.

              Now in his late thirties, he lived alone, he never stopped filling his head and heart with as much information as he could find, in every possible field that would allow him to be well rounded and informed, in his struggle to be a comprehensive, educated, and thoughtful person.

              “Wow, it is warm out here,” he grumbled. He stood to his feet, brushed the remnants of grass from his back and bare legs, to re-enter his home for something to drink. “Juice, I really need some juice,” he muttered. Mixing together his favorite cool drink, a combination of one hundred percent fruit juice and a large scoop of chia seeds.

              “Bleh, time for a quick shower,” he said out loud to no one in particular as he was standing alone in the kitchen. Standing in cooler than tepid water, he could feel his body temperature slowly decreasing and when he reached the point where he was actually comfortable, he turned off the water, dried his body, combed his hair and returned to his glass of juice.

              “Phew, my feet are cold,” he complained. He drained his glass of juice, rinsed it out, and wandered into his bedroom to find a pair of socks. “Too warm for clothes,” he said, “boxers and socks are good enough.” Like a small alarm going off in his mind, he sat down at his laptop to jot down several ideas for his plans for this coming week. Completely lost in his thoughts, he finished his documentation, and feeling a bit peckish, rummaged through his fridge to find a snack.

              Tempted to scroll through social media while he ate, he resisted the temptation and instead found a book to continue filling his head and heart with content of value. “Ugh, so many people, so much confusion among them all, there must be something I can do to help, to offer advice or direction. I guess then that means that I have to get out there and interact. Sitting alone in my little house actually offers no valuable interaction for these lost souls.”

              Having been distracted so long about so many different topics, he was surprised to see that it was already five in the afternoon. “Wow, look at that,” he said, “maybe I’ll go out for sushi tonight. It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed that meal.” Feeling slightly satiated from his snack, he also felt rather stiff and overly warm. “Alright, time to get dressed, spend a few minutes walking among the general populace and find a good restaurant.”

              He stepped into his bedroom, worked through his usual stretching routine and then dressed in his usual office casual outfit, feeling accomplished and driven toward accomplishing two goals this evening. “Okay, several people, I need to find people to talk to, interact with and hopefully encourage. Who they’ll be, I have no idea. I guess we’ll see who happens across my path.”

              In search of his car keys, he caught a glimpse of his bottle of Black Balsam, stirring within him the urge to consume a single shot of the grassy, earthy, alcohol. “Just one shot,” he said, “too much will mess me up for driving. Okay, here we go, ah there are my keys. Time for the thirty-minute drive into downtown. The silence of that time will be greatly enjoyed.”

              He turned down his heat, turned off the lights, closed the blinds, and locked both front and back doors before beginning his journey for social interaction and dinner. The drive north was relatively inconsequential as he weaved through his small town, passed through a long stretch of wilderness before entering the edges of the next largest city north. He deliberately parked several blocks away from the restaurant to then weave through the relatively busy sidewalks and visit a few stores.

              He made an intentional attempt to make eye contact with as many people as possible, and in most cases always saw the same empty, mindless, clueless dead look in most of them. He stopped himself and began to pay better attention, he realized that some of these people literally carried a black aura around them, which stirred up concern in his heart, knowing that the darkness certainly meant something.

              He made eye contact with a young woman who carried this darkness around her to introduce himself, inquire of her wellbeing, and patiently listened to her describe her sorry state and feelings of depression. Her name was Amber and Jeremiah introduced himself, to then ask her if she would like to sit with him for a coffee so he could have a friendly conversation with her.

              He and she sat down at the coffee shop next door, and he listened to her describe the horrific abuse she endured from her husband of three years, both verbal and physical. Hearing stories like this stirred up anger with him, causing his heart and mind to swirl, knowing that words of consolation and kindness were necessary.

              “Just know that there are many people who love you and would miss you terribly if you were gone,” he said. “Everyone has something they can offer to those around them, to their families and to their friends. I would really like to help you in any way that I can. Here is my number. The world is a better place with you in it.”

              He could see tears welling up in her eyes as she squeezed his hand and thanked him. “Thank you so much, Jeremiah,” she said. “I don’t really know what else to say. I have nowhere to go as my husband is a horrible, controlling monster who would do anything terrible or violent to continue controlling me. I promise I will call you if my situation becomes any worse. Thank you again, I really need to be going.”

              Jeremiah watched Amber walk away with her black aura growing larger and darker. Fifteen minutes after she disappeared from sight, his phone dinged to see Amber’s number appear on his screen. He immediately answered, greeted her warmly, and again offered any help she needed.

              “Jeremiah, thank goodness you answered,” she said. “My husband is terribly angry with me for being gone so long. Can I meet you at the little drug store on the corner of Maple and 4^th streets? I really need to get away from him before he hurts me again. I don’t think I can take any more of this.”

              “Yes, of course,” Jeremiah answered. “I can be there in ten minutes. We’ll figure something out to keep you safe. I know some people who help with situations like this. See you soon.” He glanced at his watch, began walking in the direction she had indicated in her call and continued to see more and more people with black auras, wishing he could be more help to more people. As he walked he placed a call to an older woman in his neighborhood to explain Amber’s terrible situation, hoping that she would offer a room in her home into which Amber could escape.

              Thankfully, she offered a room, and Jeremiah thanked her for understanding, asking if they could stop by in about an hour. He slipped into the drug store, caught sight of Amber in the far corner of the store and casually walked in her direction to make brief eye contact. “Good news, Amber,” he said, “I have an elderly woman in my neighborhood who has offered you a room in her home. I can take you there now if you’d like.”

“Hello Jeremiah,” she said, “my husband followed me here, so if we can both slip out of the store without interacting with him it would be better for all of us. I greatly appreciate your help. So yes, I would love to get away and stay with someone like that. We cannot leave together so you leave first, and I’ll follow you in a few seconds and follow you to your car. Thank you so much for doing this.”

Jeremiah slipped out of the store, waited a few yards down the block and watched Amber leave the store as well. When they made eye contact, he began walking and she followed a few paces behind him, occasionally glancing behind her, she was relieved to see that her husband was not following her. Jeremiah unlocked his vehicle, sat in the driver’s seat, and felt a wave of joy pass over him as Amber climbed in beside him.

“I am so glad to see that your husband isn’t following you,” he said. “It will be about a thirty-minute drive to her home. Do you need to stop by your house and pick up anything? It would be good idea for you to have your clothes, your personal belongings and anything else.” The drive to her house was quick and close. He parked in the alley behind her home, remained at the back door, and helped her load her things into his trunk.

They made the remaining drive back to Jeremiah’s small town, to stop in front of Mrs. Abercrombie’s home and be greeted at the door by the kind, old woman. Jeremiah and Amber carried her things inside; he thanked Mrs. Abercrombie for her kindness and willingness to help. He returned to his car, waited a few minutes to see the two of them sit down in the living room to have what looked like a passionate and loving conversation.

“Okay, back to the city,” he said. “I am starving for dinner but honestly that is what life is all about. There are bad people out there and doing this is one small thing is something I can contribute to make someone else’s life better.”

He drove back to Amber’s house to see her husband pull up in front, park his car, and storm into the house. “Man, I wish I could be a fly on the wall inside that house right now,” he said. “Thank God, that she escaped from someone so horrible. There is no way he will find her. So here is the first step to a new start for Amber. I’ll need to check in on her every few days to see if there is anything else I can do to help. Socially, financially, or otherwise. Let’s hope for the best.”

Driving away from a clearly angry ex-husband, Jeremiah returned downtown, parked his car, made eye contact with a young man on the sidewalk who was carrying the same black aura as Amber, to invite him inside for a sushi dinner. He and Walter enjoyed a meal together, talked, and Jeremiah learned that Walter was suffering from the same type of depression as Amber. They exchanged numbers, agreed to stay in contact and he hoped that Walter would take his offer of help to avoid doing something foolish.

“The world needs you Walter,” he said. “There are people who love you and would miss you if you were gone. Call me anytime if you need help in any way.” The two men shook hands and went their separate ways. He watched Walter walk away still carrying his dark cloud, now smaller and less intense. “Phew, that was good and right,” Jeremiah said to himself as he returned to his car. “Come on Walter, call me when you need me.”