It was a cool, crisp autumn evening in my small town. The ocean breezes added an extra chill, reminding me that there would be only a few more days when I would be able to enjoy my usual, early evening walk into town from my home down the road. The change from daylight savings to standard time had already taken away precious daylight walking hours, and common sense told me that walking such a distance in the dark was probably not the smartest choice I could make. That time in my life was pre-marriage and pre-dog, so I was walking alone. I knew the risks, but I took them anyway.

I left a little earlier than usual, starting out in the waning afternoon hours, thinking I would beat the sunset. No such luck. As darkness fell across the streets and the wind whipped about, sending a chill through my body, I buried my hands deep into my coat pockets and picked up my pace. Must...get...home...quickly... I huffed to myself, willing my feet to pick up the pace.

As I neared a cross-street, a dark figure darted out from the bushes and raced across the street, putting me immediately on my guard. A fleeting moment of panic hit me - would I be able to remember those moves from that self defense class I had taken months before? The dark figure turned out to be a young man in his 20's, obviously in a hurry to be somewhere that wasn't there. Once he realized he had my attention, he turned toward me, now jogging backward, and said, "Can you wait with him until help arrives? Someone should be here any minute." And just like that, he was gone.

Wait with who? What kind of help? As I scanned the intersecting street, his meaning soon became clear. Lying in a crumpled heap on an exceptionally dark part of the sidewalk was the broken body of an old man. His wild, white hair was long enough to peek out from under a knit cap pulled down firmly on his head. A plaid, padded jacket covered his upper body, and the man's legs appeared to be hidden under the bulk of his body and coat. Quickly catching my breath, I glanced around me to see if anyone else could help, but saw no one. Was this a trick, I wondered? Was it some kind of a scam, where the moment I bent over to help the man, his accomplice would rush at me from behind, conk me on the head, and steal my purse or shove me into a waiting van? I turned to look for the jogger who called out to me, but he was gone.

The lumpy body on the sidewalk began to moan, an aching sound filled with fear, pain and loneliness. Ignoring all my

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