Come as You Are
by Miriam E. Waters
Her boots were thin and the cold seeped through the soles into her numbed feet. She stomped first her left and then her right foot trying to wake them from their icy slumber. She shivered, unable to control her trembling body. She stuffed her chapped and cracked hands deep into the pockets of the filthy fatigue jacket she wore.
Layers of ragged clothing, her armor against the freezing winter wind and snow, provided scant protection. The newspapers she’d tucked into her clothing served as insulation from the wet and the wind. The cold stole the breath from her lungs. Tears formed at the corners of her eyes then leaked onto her sunken cheeks.
Light, voices singing and the blessed aroma of coffee escaped into the night when a man entered a reclaimed storefront. Peering into the space, she could see a small group perched on folding chairs set in neat rows and facing a podium. Her heart beat hard and bruised itself against her ribs.
Someone had painted words upon the expansive windows facing the street. She inched closer, trying to make out the message. Bold strokes of red paint encouraged passersby to “Come as You Are.”
Her stomach constricted in response to the invitation
.
Come as I am? Who’d have me? A drunk, a whore, a broken wreck. Filthy. A stinking pile of rags. Who’d want to be near me? Oh, but the coffee, a warm place, compassion. If only…
The storefront’s door opened again. An older man with greying hair stood on the sidewalk a few feet from her. His brown eyes sought hers and offered a wrapped sandwich in his outstretched hand.
“Sister, come, join us. There’s a place for you here.”
She leaned in and snatched the sandwich with a greedy claw. Backing away from the man she shook her head, denying his invitation. She devoured the sandwich as she kept her eyes on the man.
“Join us. We’re all broken in some way. You found your way to us. This is where you belong. We’re a safe haven for you on a night like tonight.”
The man nodded to her and returned to the warmth and hospitality of the storefront.
A freshet of tears coursed down her cheeks.
Could it be this simple?
She hesitated before turning and wandering away, back into the dark of night.
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