Peter was accustomed to skipping meals. At this point, it was more rare for him to actually eat than it was to skip a meal. That was what being jobless turned him into. A poor, starving shell of a person. It had almost gotten to the point that he could count his ribs and feel bones protruding that should not be. Peter’s struggle for survival was a constant effort, and his parents (unable to provide for him anymore) were forced to cut Peter off. His electricity had already been cut off, and the landlord of his tiny apartment was threatening to evict. Times were very hard for Peter.
The incident happened when he was waiting to be interviewed for a job. After many rejected applications, Peter finally got an interview, the first he had since his trials had begun. It was a simple job, a cashier at a local fast food restaurant, but Peter did not know what he would do if it did not work out.
Peter had grown used to the pang of hunger when around others’ food, but nothing prepared him for the lush, greasy bit of heaven when he arrived. He audibly cried out for food, and covered his mouth, hoping no one had heard. Someone had heard, however. An old man, easily in his eighties, wearing starched khakis, a pressed white shirt and baby blue fedora heard, and gave Peter a look of empathy. Peter nodded to the man, not acknowledging the hunger that they were both aware of, and the man smiled sadly.
The interview was not a huge success, but by some miracle Peter got the job, effective the next day. As Peter sat in the booth where the interview had taken place in awe of his new job, one of the cashiers, now a coworker of Peter’s, handed him a tray. On it was a hamburger, two orders of fries, a soda, and a milkshake. There was also a piece of paper. The cashier just shrugged, and gestured toward the table the old man was sitting in. But the old man was not there anymore.
Peter enjoyed the meal slowly, with humbleness and gratitude. After he had finished his food, Peter turned his attention to the paper, which turned out to be an envelope. On the outside it read, “I’ve been where you are. I hope this will help until your first check. God bless.” Inside the envelope there contained five fresh one hundred dollar bills. Peter was amazed at the generosity of the old man, someone whose name he didn’t even know. There, in the booth, Peter wept with joy, and for the first time in a long time, there was hope and goodness in Peter’s life.
