2025-08-22
This is a rewrite of an old story I wrote back in 2020 and was initially published on Substack. This isn't a major rewrite—just some revisions to make it flow better and have a bit more logic to it. I hope you enjoy!
“Go into the woods to lose sight and memory of the crimes of your contemporaries” —Jean-Jacques Rousseau
This walk home from work is a drag.
Sometimes I ask myself whether or not this job is worth it, but it pays six bucks an hour more than the old one so I’m fine with it for now. The walk isn’t too terrible. Hell, at least I always see something interesting. I guess that’s what happens when you walk through the part of the city that's been siphoned off for the homeless.
Homeless folks usually aren’t that bad. The worst thing they’ll do is ask you for some money but if I gave some to every homeless person I saw, then I wouldn’t have any for myself. I know—I worked for it and they didn’t—but I don’t think anyone becomes homeless just because they stopped working. Either way, as long as I mind my business and don’t cause trouble I always get home just fine. I usually try to be as nice as I can. I’ve also learned that you can be nice, but you have to be firm too. Certain parts of town always feel like they’re a lawless prison yard. I’m fine with that just because sometimes their prison yard rules feel simpler.
The commute from work is usually at night. Night time can feel a bit scarier just because it’s quiet and you can’t see as much, but the homeless folks don’t act differently. A lot of them are awake because they’re high on speed, but they usually keep to themselves.
The street feels a bit more anxious tonight. It's probably because of some big sports game or something. Folks down here can get antsy because of all the activity from the bars and whatnot.
"Ey, yah got sumthin fer meh?"
I turn around to see an older fella. He looks crusty and smells like pure dog shit. His voice sounded like a pirate gone redneck. He was walking towards me, but he wasn't walking right; it was something between a limp and having his underwear stuck up his ass. He was holding something but it was too dark to see.
"I know yah heer me motherfucker what have yah got?"
He picks up his pace and I see he’s got some kind of metal thing in his hand. I can’t tell what it is but he’s got it pointed my way. He grabs me by the collar and sticks what looks to be an old box cutter in my face.
"I want all the money in yer wallet you fuck," he snarls.
"Well I can’t grab my wallet if you keep holding on to my collar like that. Let go and I’ll see what I can do," I reply.
He lets go and keeps it pointed at me.
I reach into my pocket to grab my wallet and then it dawns on me. If we went toe to toe right now, even with that thing in his hand, I’d probably beat the fuck out of him. He’s small, old and frail while I’m young and strong.
"So what? Are you gonna give me yer wallet? I’ll fuckin’ stab ya!"
"Alright then, go ahead, but just know that if you try you’ll probably be the one needing to go to the emergency room, not me. So go ahead, try me," I say to him while staring into his eyes.
His look loses its intensity. He shrinks into himself and realizes that he can’t beat me. He walks away.
"Aw well fuck ya then."
My heart is still beating in my chest. I feel like I succeeded, but I don’t feel like I won. I genuinely do feel bad for that guy. He probably just wanted my money so he could buy more speed to rob people. Should I call the police? Maybe, but what would that do?
I go about my business and finish my walk home. Just around the corner from my apartment I see a homeless fella sleeping under a stop sign. He has a cap laying next to him flipped upwards. I reach for my wallet and put twenty bucks in there for him.
Finally I pull up to my apartment and head inside. I think from now on I’ll need something to defend myself but I can’t think of what. Guns are pretty frowned upon. Tasers are a bit inhumane. I don’t know, I guess I’ll just have to look around.
I take off my work clothes, get a shower going, and think about the incident. Should I tell people? I don’t know. I just hope there’s a day when this shit will stop.