But what are the chances you have to meet a complete stranger twice in a day? Very high if you were going back from work taking the same bus that will go the same way no matter how many times you ride it. And my chances to see the sad family were positive, but in a strange way.
On the way back, the bus stoped at the same red light where I spoted the mother and her child earlier that morning. They were both there, waiting for all the cars to stop. At first sight, I Thought she wanted to cross the road but slowly and carefully she came near the bus door, checking every now and then the road, maybe to make sure that no motocycle is coming her way. She knocked on the bus door with her very thin fingers and with signs begged the driver to open for her, and he did. She started walking slowly holding her baby and asking for charity from passengers telling them she has nothing to feed the baby in this cold weather. Some of them showed mercy and discretely gave her some money while others turned their faces toward the windows pretending not to hear. The bus started moving and suddenly the woman ran to the driver begging him again to open the door... he was shocked! She didn't ask all the passengers and there were others in the back. Seeing how she was insisting he pulled over again and openned the door but he wasn't very happy because, for him and thanks to her, he was blocking the way.
That evening at home, I had to clean up a little bit and I kept the image of the woman in my head. I started wondering : Is she still there? I think there will be rain this night ! I hope she is going home with enough money today...
While cleaning I tried to gather some clothes I don't use. There wasn't much but some of them seemed okay and warmer than what she was wearing. So the next morning I took the clothes with me and hoped she will be coming again.
I waited half an hour but no one showed up. Not too far I saw a concierge sitting peacefully next to a door so I went to ask him about the woman and her child. At first sight he denied knowing any woman. I can imagine that getting a question about a mysterious woman by a stranger first thing in the morning isn't something reassuring but I ended up showing him the bag and the clothes and he changed his looks. As a normal person, I was expecting him to encourage the idea of helping someone in need but that wasn't the case. He said that many beggars try to "work" in this spot because the red light takes too much time but they never stand more than a day... It seems that to ask charity in a spot one needs to have some kind of a permit from a mysterious authority that control the area in this matter. In the middle of the talk, I got very confused because the man in front of me assumed deliberatly that the woman from the day before wasn't a mother "for sure"....
Those little images we encounter almost everyday become normal as days go on. This is what I was thinking all the time since the previous morning until I understood that those same little images we don't pay attention to can hide a bigger truth, not a good one.
Assuming that the talk was of no interest to me, I left the bag with the clothes in his hand begging him to give it to someone in need and walked away.