I walked into the underground parking garage of my apartment building one morning, and noticed a well-dressed elderly woman lifting the lid on one of two large metal garbage containers located just behind my car. She caught my eye because she was dressed in a soft pink two-piece outfit, her hair was immaculate, and she was wearing pearls. I had never seen her before.
My underground parking garage wasn’t gated and lots of people wandered through. Some even stayed awhile. Like the man who popped his head out of the large garbage container one day when a friend and I walked down to my car.
*
“Hello!” crowed the bare-chested man as he lifted the lid and stood up inside the container to greet us. I jumped back, surprised by this human Jack-in-the-box. My friend was so unnerved by the sight of the shirtless man in the garbage container that he rushed to the passenger side of my car, jiggled the door nervously, and croaked, ‘Get in the car! He could have a gun!’ I clicked my electronic door opener to let him inside then turned back to continue my conversation with the man.
*
‘What are you doing in there?’ I asked. “I live here,’ he told me. ‘This has been my home for 31 years.” I smiled. ‘ Really? Well, I have lived in this apartment building for several years and I have never seen you before.’ His eyes flashed with pleasure and he said, ‘Well, I haven’t moved. Would you like me to show you my driver’s license?’ He was quite lucid even though the entire situation was quite obviously ludicrous. I just laughed, bid him a good day, and got into my car.
*
The woman in pearls was a different story. I was in a rush the day I found her there. I planned to get into my car and drive away but something compelled me to stay. For a few seconds, we stared at each other. She was much smaller than me. She looked up at me and began to speak in a foreign language I could not understand. There was something soft yet urgent in her words. She gestured with her hands. I could see her eyes filling with tears. I wondered if she wanted money. I searched my pockets but I had nothing to give her.
*
‘I am sorry I don’t understand ‘ I said to her, touching my heart apologizing for not being able to communicate with her. ‘I am sorry’. The words ‘I am sorry’ just kept falling out of my mouth. She surprised me completely by taking my hands in hers and lifting them to her face. Then she stepped closer to me and wrapped her arms around my waist and placed her head gently on my stomach. I was so amazed by this little exchange that I didn’t know what to do. My arms hung like cooked lasagna noodles, useless by my side. I was afraid to hold this woman, afraid to show tenderness to a stranger. My mind chattered on and on with reasons why-not. Finally, my heart stepped in. My arms folded themselves around her. She stayed there for a few seconds, pressed like a flower against me. Then, she stepped back.
*
I flashed on my mother’s face and one of our last conversations. She told me she wanted so much to visit me before her illness made her wish impossible.
*
As the elderly woman looked up at me, I was crying. She took my hands in hers, and kissed them. ~ Christiane Schull
@2004-2026
