To the Woman I Met at the Mall on Friday

You don't know who I am, and we will probably never meet again, but I hope that you are able to get the help that you need. I met you on Friday afternoon at the entrance to Conestoga Mall near the bus terminal. I had just gotten off a bus to do some shopping. You were obviously in distress as you reached out to take my arm and asked me for help. You were staggering and stumbling and I tried to do the best I could to support you.

Outwardly, you seemed to be a kind, older woman, and at first I feared that you were having some sort of physical attack. As we walked down the main hallway, I realized that you had been drinking a lot. That is not the kind of thing I expected to find 5 o'clock on a Friday afternoon at a busy shopping centre. As we walked, your talking was mostly incoherent, but it seemed that you were going through some sort of crisis; I surmised that you had been drinking as a means of coping, but I can't really pass judgement. We arrived at Guest Services safely, and Security was able to help you to contact a family member.

Even though I'm sure you'll never read this, I hope that you were able to make it home alright on that day, and I hope that you are able to deal with whatever problems you are going through. I'm glad that I was able to help you in some way that day.