After a rather long day of classes back in high school, I've just exited the train so that I can transfer to the bus that will take me home. The sun is beaming today, so I take a second to switch sides of the street to a more shaded area.
As I walk, I see the silhouette of a figure slumped against a palm tree in the distance. There are homeless people all across the valley, but something seems off about this one, so I reach out to the man once I'm in earshot.
"Hey, are you alright?"
He doesn't respond, and it feels like the world's gone silent.
I start giving him a once-over, but all I'm able to see is that his clothes are a bit ragged. The patch of rocks I step in grind underneath my feet, waking him up. His eyes were large and steel-like in color, but he didn't seem to be completely alert. I repeat my question, and he responds in a quiet voice, as if just remembering what happened to him,
"They left me here..."
Relieved, but also confused, I asked,
"Who are 'they'?"
"...The police. They just...threw me out of the car and left me here."
Now that he's positioned himself in the sun a bit more, I can see multiple contusions and a large knot on the crown of his head. Not yet aware that "falling asleep while concussed" was a myth, I tried to keep him awake while I called 911. The operator had me ask for his name, and it was quite possibly the most ironic thing I've heard in my life:
"Goodluck. Robert Goodluck."
Once paramedics arrived, I flagged them down and left Robert's side for a moment to speak with them about the situation. The first responder shaded his eyes for a moment before yelling,
"Shit, is that Goodluck?"
He explained that they receive multiple calls regarding Robert on a regular basis. From the tone of his voice, they were rather tired of it, but he also assured me that they'd treat his wounds, rehydrate him, and send him on his way.
There wasn't much I could do after that point, so I thanked him, and said my good-byes. He crosses my mind every now and again, and I always wonder if he's alright.