It's been too long since my last Wildwood post, but I'm back and ready with more. Today, we re-introduce Colleen...
||Colleen:||
The heat is unbearable, so I climb out of my makeshift shelter to get a bit to drink. I freshen up; wiping my face and arms with baby wipes, and applying Vaseline to my lips and hands. As I walk into Wildwood, I can feel the stares from the shoppers. I smile at no one in particular, and hang my purse loosely on my arm as I walk. I belong here just as much as anyone else does. I browse the drink section slowly, searching for the coldest one. A big Arizona will quench my thirst. I collected a few dollars today - why not a sandwich, too?
The clerk is extra sweet to me today. I pay for my food - apologizing for all the quarters and dimes in her hand. She slides me the receipt, and places an envelope in my hand. "I was told to deliver this to you. Be very careful with it." Confused, I head back to my shelter space to eat my sandwich - I'm starving. I toss the envelope in my bag; it's probably another invitation to a women's shelter. I usually toss them out - my shelter space is just fine, but there may be a food voucher in there. I'll look at it later. For now, this food gets top priority.
||Customer B - Emeline||
The holistic medicine I've been taking really has improved my mood. For the first time in months, I feel well enough to go outside. I love to enjoy the New York summers; the cool breezes, the tourists. I pull on some clothes, fix my hair, and call my aide, Maria to bring the car from underground parking. Let's go to Wildwood. Today is going to be a beautiful day.
The cancer has kept me indoors for so long - I forgot how pretty the produce looks on a sunny day. The hues of red, green and yellow make me feel so alive and blessed. I pick up a bunch of kale, and I notice a homeless woman shopping nearby, and a feeling comes over me. I've been wanting to do something drastic for so long - and now I know what it is. I send Maria back home for my safety deposit key. with specific instructions in her hand - my plan was put in place. This feels - exhilarating!
Doctor Korbin told me my prognosis is two months. The cancer is degenerating my body quickly; he says that soon I will be bedridden. After eighty-eight years on this earth, my children are all married, rich and gone - leaving just Maria and I. She doesn't know it, but fifty percent of my fortune will go to her. Twenty percent will go to my grandchildren, twenty to charity, and five to the community I was born in. Now - what to do with the last five? As I watch this young woman, tattered clothes and all - I want nothing else but to make her life better. She could be out robbing, stealing or prostituting - but she's here. Too much dignity to ask for money, I often watch patrons insisting on buying her food. She deserves this.
As soon as Maria gets back, I bring the envelope to the Customer Service clerk. Five hundred neatly bound one thousand dollar bills, placed in an unmarked envelope. As I slipped the girl a hundred dollars for her troubles, I told her I would appreciate her discretion. Maria and I watched as she handed off the envelope, but to my dismay - she doesn't look inside! She simply puts it in her bag. I fear she may lose it - what should I do now?
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