The Stranger and the Samaritan

Chapter One

Chapter One

 

            Tom Hallow was a man of great complexity—few ever took on the dangerous, yet precious task of figuring him out. If you’re not often among the simple, this should not surprise you, but Tom was not the least bit bothered by not getting the time of day. He’d long ago made conspiratorial judgments on himself that he was not worth one second of anyone’s time. Despite this, Tom was a man of pride (this is the stubby beginning of a great complexity) and would not let his inner insecurities show. This would be a disgrace to his masculinity.

            Tom was independent, too. He left his family at age sixteen, living off of minimum wage, Ramen noodles, an abandoned shed behind Wal-Mart, and occasional hitchhiking when he couldn’t afford a taxi, until he could afford his own place. Don’t pick his family out of the lineup of evil ones, though—Tom had a laid-back father and a strict but loving mother (despite her criminal record). He was not an only child, but his twin brother was an unspeakable subject that Tom preferred to share with no one, even those he loved most. If there was evil in the family, it was that brother, Cal. But in Tom’s mind, Cal was nonexistent, and memories of him were simply nightmares.

            Though neither Cal nor the rest of the Hallow family was treacherous, Tom was set in his ways about them. He wasn’t completely independent, though. Tom was a gentleman when it came to love. For five years of his life he had loved a steady-handed uptown woman named Michelle Bordman. The mere thought of someone giving a second thought to him, as Miss Bordman did at one time, was enough to make Tom tumble head over heels.

            Tom and Michelle seemed to have a storybook relationship. It was something that only movies could portray. Michelle lost many good friends over their jealousy of such a fairytale. Alas, as you and I both know, happy endings do not exist in this imperfect world. The book was too flawless not to have a “The End” around the corner. Michelle had been aware of this from the moment she set her eyes on Tom. On the other hand, Tom had expected a different turnout.

            However, this is another aspect of his life that Tom would rather not share, and who am I to disrupt his privacy? You will learn about his so-called dreadful family and raging ex-girlfriend in time. At the moment I am on a tight schedule and we must continue on.

 

As Tom was lying in a half-dead state of mind in his raggedy living room, another heart whose light was fading was wandering out alone on the darkened streets, alley after alley in the snow, hoping to find just that kind heart to take her in. Her skin was blending into the snow—yes, she had not but a single thin and short layer and a coat that only reached her thighs to cover her in the freezing snow. You must see this in an optimistic way, though, the cold distracted and befuddled her into forgetting the real task she had set out to fulfill—ending her life. Instead, she was stumbling along, banging on frosted doors, begging for only a moment inside. Two hours she repeated a routine of rejection, an impossible time to survive in such cold, unless, as she did, you had a miracle on your side. The impression she’s made on you thus far may not depict her as one of strong faith, but deep down, she was, or at least she used to be.

            She was beginning to weep tears that froze at her cheekbones, and tried to scream but had lost her breath. By now this stranger was on the fourth floor of a low-rent apartment complex, room 4B. The last of her strength was used up to slam her knocking knees into the door. She had little force left within her, it had made about as much sound as if she had dropped an acorn on the window, but the man inside was friendly, desperate for company, an intent listener, and perhaps a tad paranoid.

            When he threw the door ajar, she had propped herself up against the doorstep, and fell headfirst into the rabbit hole that its tenant called a home. Aghast at her victory in finding warmth, the girl fainted on the spot. Tom chuckled, lifted her cradle-style and placed her on his couch. Never had he seen the girl, but as he twisted up the knob on the heater to eighty-five and covered her in his thickest quilt, he noticed some light about her that instantaneously made her one of his favorite people. This was not a common feeling for him. He loved helping people, but he always preferred to help from a safe distance. Something was different about her, though.