Lost in a crowd of busy people

by Fatima Grieser (Ireland)

Making a local connection Spain

Hesitantly I looked down the small flight of stairs outside the Seville bus station. I was unsure about what to do. Having missed my bus, I had an hour to wait for the next one. I longed to take a walk, to find my way back into to the center and to watch the brightest city I had ever seen change color in the fading light, but with my phone dead and no watch on me, I feared I might lose track of time. My considerations were interrupted, when a man appeared beside me. The remaining wisps of grey hair were neatly combed over his balding head and his olive skin was dotted with age spots. Smiling gently, he said something to me in Spanish. “No entiendo Español”, I said, a phrase I had perfected throughout my trip. The man didn’t seem to mind and held his hand out for mine. Looking down the stairs, I was sure I understood and took it. Gingerly taking every step, we made our way down to the tree lined street. To my surprise, the man didn’t let go when we arrived. Instead he began to lead me along the street, telling me something in Spanish. “No entiendo”, I repeated, but he kept walking with his hand in mine. My mind was fishing for familiar words in the rapid sea of his Spanish to figure out what he wanted. Somehow I was convinced he needed my help. Maybe he wanted me to take him home. I approached a young woman who was walking by. “Do you speak English?”, I asked, “Can you translate what he is saying?” She gave me a puzzled look. We must have made a curious picture, holding hands as if we had known each other forever and yet unable to communicate. After exchanging a couple of words with the man she turned to me. There was pity in her eyes. It was directed at me, not at the man. “He is confused”, she said, “Just leave him.” I looked at him helplessly. He still had that benevolent smile on his face. For a moment, my grip around his hand tightened. Then I let go. I didn’t know what else to do. Back in the shaded waiting area, I sat down on a bench and replayed everything that had just happened. The man was confused. How could I have left him? I had just jumped up to look for him, when I found him in the crowd. The people around us were busy preparing for their journeys, counting coins and checking schedules. Even the ones that were just waiting were not paying attention to what was happening. Some of them were staring at their phones, while others hid their faces behind rustling newspapers. The passengers arriving in Seville all seemed to be in a hurry. None of them even looked at the man who was reaching out his hand to them as they got off the bus. They took it, they said “gracias” and they went their ways. None of them had registered him. Only I knew that he was confused. Desperately I looked around for someone who could help. I spotted a police officer and stopped him breathlessly. “Excuse me, do you speak English?”, I asked again. When he nodded, I tried to explain what had happened. “That man is confused. I think he needs help getting home”, I said flustered and pointed at the man. The police man smiled softly. “He is okay”, he replied, “He comes every day. He likes to help the people.” I felt tears pooling up in my eyes. Quickly I blinked them away. I didn’t fully understand why I was so shaken. Something about that man had touched me in an unexpected way. Maybe it was the fact that his kindness was going unnoticed in the midst of the hectic movements of travelers and commuters. I felt like I was the only person here who had noticed him. He had also been the only person here who had noticed me. Maybe that was what touched me so, that we had noticed each other in this crowd of busy people.