Forget this act of kindness, please. Just look the other way and pretend I wasn’t there to pick you up. Don’t turn and give me some bewildered look due to my uncoerced attention. I’d rather we just part ways and keep in my mind the feeling of picking you off the pavement before the traffic deemed you expendable. There isn’t much room in my heart for another person as I’ve been told too many times in the past that it’s much too small.

You see? This is for me – not for you – that I aid you in your moment of need. This is the first of one of my redeeming acts that I will herald as the savior of my soul. I’ve already lost my love as the result of my recent transgressions; I will not lose myself.

So please, in all earnest, ignore me and accept this for what it truly is: a chance encounter with someone who just needs to be a decent human being for his own damned sake.

Please.