When Kindness Entered In

When Kindness Entered In

By Lux

Chapter 1 – The Calm in the Storm

There are some who would consider me cynical about a year ago. Not mean mind you. I was never a mean person except for maybe being mean spirited. Funny how hindsight is how we can look back on the moments of our lives and see all the rights and wrongs that we did as well as the things we could have, would have, and should have done at a given moment. Sometimes I wish I knew back then what I knew now, how life would be different.

Anyway, being cynical wasn’t something I just woke up one morning and decided to do. There isn’t some DNA that makes a person happy or depressed or mean. We are made that way by the people we meet and the encounters we have. That’s not to say that my life has been bad. My life has had its ups and downs like many do, and thankfully the ups were higher and more frequent than the downs. It’s hard though not to be a cynic in this world we live in, one where we turn on the TV and we see either news channels spouting gloom and doom in all corners of the globe while at the same time watching the so-called “reality television” shows that are anything but real and glorify the excess and the extremes of life. Then you have those who seek artificial happiness by buying something, a quick fix to the situation that is fleeting, causing one to buy more for the same chance at joy. And then you think that things aren’t the way they are in your neighborhood like they are on that glass rectangle but then when you walk outside you see the crime, poverty, and decay around you. Eventually you ignore it where apathy is often worse than the negativity around you, do something about it, or join in on the misery. Me I guess I just joined in the misery.

Now there were times I looked for the silver linings in the otherwise dark clouds of life and were able to find them. Children especially lifted my spirits with their innocence and their imagination. Theirs is a blissful ignorance where they are in their own little world separate from ours. I think that was one of my key reasons why I became so cynical that I lost that childhood wonder and the kindness they have.

Kindness…

That reminds me of the moment when things did change in my life. Sometimes when you can’t see a problem you need others to help you. I knew that there was more to life than what I was seeing, but before that moment I kept doing the same thing over and over again, never able to break the cycle. And that was when I met… her, the one who changed my life in ways that I could never imagine and whom I will never forget.

It all began on a seemingly normal day. Then again do we ever truly think a day is going to be either very wonderful or very bad? We sometimes say what we assume the day will be after a few events, but even this doesn’t decide what a day would be like. The way that we assume a day will be does influence our outlook though making the bright moments brighter and the dark moments darker. As for me, I may have been cynical but I at least wanted to start the day on a neutral ground.

The day started fairly normal: get up, get dressed, had breakfast and went to work. Yep, pretty ordinary. As I walked to my car, the sky was blue and cloudless, for a moment lifting my spirit a little and giving me the boost I needed. As I drove through the city that I lived and worked in though, my view quickly darkened. The city was like an old decaying hulk of a bygone era of greatness. The storefronts that once housed little mom and pop shops now lay vacant, giving a glimpse into what once was. Around these places were cracked sidewalks, unkempt open lots where other buildings once stood but now had become overgrown and neglected, and graffiti on walls as a cry to be noticed. There was the gas station that was robbed the night before and the house where the cops raided. Again there were the silver linings, new businesses that cropped up and new or nice houses sticking out like a sore thumb that brought hope to the city. But when you looked at these shining examples and everything else wrong around it, you couldn’t help but feel sad even angry for the way the city, no more like humanity, had got this way.

That day work started like any other work day, an endless parade of data entered and calls made. It wasn’t that I hated my job. I was happy to help people and for the most part it was easy to do. I guess that I just felt that I could be doing more with my job and my life than where I was at that time. It’s funny how you can wonder what made you what you are at a given time, looking back and sifting through each of life’s moments like grains of sand to find what brought you to this stage. You look at the good and the bad and the endless “what ifs” of what would have, could have, and should have been. I remember on that day wishing for a change in my life, and little did I know that it would come unexpectedly that very same day.

I remember and the end of the work day working on my computer and looking out at the windows that gave a view of the vast cityscape, trying to find something of interest to take my mind off of work if only or a while. The outside, no matter how dreary it seemed, was at least something to look forward to while leaving for the day, better than the white sanitized world of the office building. Suddenly the once blue cloudless skies began to darken as thick storm clouds appeared as if out of nowhere.

“Looks like a storm is coming,” my co-worker sitting next to me said, obviously noticing the darkening skies.

“Yeah, I didn’t think it was supposed to storm today,” I remarked as I stared mesmerized at what happened. Soon thunder began to rattle the windows as lightning streaked across the sky in the distance. The street lights that were once off during the day now one by one began to sense the now night like scene and flickered to life. Then came the rain, not just starting as a light one and increasing but this time pouring down in full force! It rained so much that I could now barely see the view off the city through the window save for the lights in the windows and on the streets and the lightning that lit up the sky.

“Hey, the shift’s over,” my co-worker said jarring me out of the terrible wonder happening outside, “Hope you get home safe.”

“Yeah, you too,” I said as I went back to the daily end of the work day routine of wrapping up and logging off my computer. As I headed towards the door though, I realized that the storm scene that played out before me while at work wasn’t like a movie or TV show where you’d get up and leave and the outside world would be different. No, this storm was real and I would have to face it to get home from work. For the moment I stood in the lobby area, debating whether I should stay for a little while to see if it passes, but that wasn’t a sure thing as this freak storm could last just a few more minutes or hours at a time! More importantly I felt the need to be home where I was comfortable. I guess it takes a storm to make you think about the safety and comfort that one takes for granted. With a sigh I opened the doors and with keys in hand and neither a jacket nor an umbrella to protect me broke out into a run across to the now emptying parking lot towards my car.

A few minutes later and my clothes sopping wet and clinging uncomfortably to me as I sat in my car, I drove back through the city streets, hoping that I would make it home alive and not get hit but some falling tree or crash into something along the way. To my surprise or perhaps not the streets were largely without cars, making the journey easier. Lucky for me I had no place to stop after work like the grocery store or a gas station, which meant that facing this freak storm getting in and out of my car was at a minimum. Funny, now that I look back at this time I realized that it was almost as if there was something telling me to go straight home. Before I thought it was just my drive to get out of the storm as quickly as possible, but even now I wonder if there was something else.

The journey home was a short one, no more than ten minutes, but in the pouring rain and booming thunder time appeared to lengthen to forever. I don’t get afraid of storms much, but this way this one was so sudden and violent and that I felt caught in limbo between work and home made things a little tense. At home and at work things made sense. There was a rhythm of things, an order and a safety in what went through. But outside that when the world, which was already grim and gritty, was thrown into chaos, and I wished I could get from one safe place to the next as soon as possible.

Finally I made it home, ironically just as the storm reduced down to just a drizzle. I wasn’t going to take any chances though as I got out of my car, having all intentions to get to the door the apartment building as quickly as possible. I was about ready to make my final journey home when I heard a nearby noise. At first I thought it was the still howling wind, but then it grew louder with each step away from the car I took. The closer I reached it the more it sounded like a dog whimpering, probably caught in the storm. Stray dogs and cats were common in the city, either left to run around or worse abandoned by their owners. This one though was different, the sad pleading noise having notes of someone crying like they were scared or in pain.

I’m no hero but when someone is hurt I try to see what I can do to help. After all, if we all could help at least one person maybe the world wouldn’t be so dark. The louder the sound became the closer I felt I was getting closer to the goal. I realized that I wasn’t walking towards the apartment building but a fenced in corner of the lot that acted as the building’s garbage area. There were two massive dumpsters there dominating the area, but around it was all manner of things. Trash bags, damaged furniture, and discarded boxes all spread out like some ruined landscape, waiting for the trash truck to come. Whatever the thing was making noise, it came from somewhere in the trash. As I passed by an old discarded refrigerator box, long devoid of the appliance it once held and now soaked and sagging from the rain, I saw the box shake slightly as if something was inside. As I prepared myself and peered into the box, I was in for the shock of my life.

There laying inside the box was not a pet as I imagined but a rather unusual creature. It looked horse like, but definitely not like the horses I’ve ever seen. It was about the size of a large dog with big eyes that were at the moment closed that took up half of its face, a yellow coat that looked like it belonged to more of a bird than a horse, and bubblegum pink mane and tail that appeared to be styled like a human’s hair. The most interesting features was the pair of wings that remained folded along the creature’s sides and some kind of marking on its back side. This creature clearly looked like it belonged in a cartoon rather than in the real world.

As I stared at the figure who by the look of its mane was female, I couldn’t help but realize that this horse thing wasn’t doing very well. From what I could tell her coat was soaking and caked in mud and debris, some places even scratched up. Her one wing looked out of joint like something happened to it. The saddest thing was the constant whimpering and shivering that this mare did as tears flowed from the corner of its eyes. I knew I had to help her, but the question was how.

There was no use helping her unless I was able to communicate with the horse thing that is if it could understand. If it was something destined for a cartoon, then maybe it could talk. There was only one way to find out.

“Um… are you alright?”

The mare opened her eyes, revealing the biggest blue eyes I had ever seen. Upon seeing me though the horse creature let out a squeak as she backed up as far as she could before pinning herself to the bottom of the box. I could tell that she was terrified, maybe that I was the first human she ever saw. Somehow I had to get her to trust me.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” I said holding out my hand, “I’m here to help you.”

The mare first recoiled at my hand approaching her, but then she paused and stared at it for some time. After that she put out a hoof and tapped the palm of my hand carefully before drawing it back.

“See, I’m here to help. Now how about you come out of that box you’re in?”

The female horse, sensing that things were ok began to walk out, but as she applied pressure to her back leg she cried out in pain and immediately collapsed. I knew that her leg was hurt, maybe even broken, adding to her misery.

“Ok, I’m going to get you somewhere safe, but since it looks like you can’t fly or walk I need to carry you. Can you trust me that I’ll get you safe into my home?”

The horse creature nervously pondered whether it was best to stay where she was and hope for the best or allow a complete alien creature to help her. Finally she gave a nod of understanding, putting her faith in me. Nearby I found an old painting drop cloth, not the cleanest thing in the world but it would have to do. I set it down and motioned the horse creature to crawl on top of it. Once there, I wrapped the shivering mare up in the rest of the cloth and picked her up. Although I didn’t exactly know at the time what I was going to do, I knew that she needed my help and I was the only one to do so. Little did I know that this act of kindness would change my life forever.