(An "encounter of the third kind" is an encounter with an unknown flying object and its occupants:-))
The encounter:
On the way to an Interspar near me, almost every day since my time in Vienna, Monday to Saturday, a man sat on a bicycle stand, begging, unkempt, his head bowed - mumbling to himself.
This place seemed to be his home - I sometimes wondered if he slept there too - he was just always there.
I thought I was being friendly to him, giving him a little money here and there - but I noticed that something inside me didn't like him:
His smell, his neglect, this slumped dark figure, the constant chanting of his begging and his "thank you" - the devaluation of his human existence. I didn't really like seeing him.
One day - at the height of the coronavirus crisis - he had disappeared. I wondered and looked out for him. After all, I was worried about him. One day I was sure he would never be found in this place again. He was seriously ill or had died.
And - an astonishment - I was not relieved that the square was now "clean", the bike rack empty, no "obstacle", no visible poverty, no helpless being appealing to me.
I missed him - somehow - there was an empty space where he had always sat. I realized on a deep level that he belonged. Part of my life, part of my experiences. Important, his existence mattered. That he adds awareness about poverty and wealth - and about the equality of us humans. An opportunity for openness and generosity.
I promised myself that if he ever came back, I would give him a special present, cigarettes, beer, money.
And - unbelievable! Three days ago he was back! I was very happy, went up to him, told him how much I had missed him, exchanged a few words - and really smiled at him. I gave him a lot more money than usual - from the bottom of my heart, out of joy.
The openness of his eyes touched me. He interrupted his ritual, his submissiveness for a moment and looked up. I saw him and he saw me. For a moment, I think he thought I had gone mad. An abnormal encounter, an "encounter of the third kind."
And I realized that we "typically" encountered each other as "unknown flying objects", flying past each other, untouched, from other universes - meaning identities.
Title: The "Beggar" and the "Benevolent Wealthy Woman".
And - we met each other for the first time for real.
I don't know this person's story, his fears, his dreams, his injuries. I don't know what made and makes him a beggar.
I only know that he taught me something very beautiful and tender.
That such encounters in the future will be encounters of the same kind - equally human, equally vulnerable, equally fearful, equally encrusted or equally open. Simply human being meets human being. The otherness diversity of the lived form.
The same breathing being at the core. Living life - now.
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