She comes in every day, to get a cup of coffee from the Pay It Forward wall. He comes in with her, and how I wish she could break free from the short rope he has tied to her. He barks at her, “Get my coffee first!” She always complies.
They came in today, wrapped up in thin layers of coats, hoodies. Her red knit gloves were not enough to keep her cold hands warm. She could hardly hold her cup of coffee her hands were shaking from the cold. He was coughing incessantly. The bitter cold temperatures have given them a beating.
She stood there, her skin black from the soot from their campfire. Her hair was matted and wiry. They may take a shower once a week at the Community Kitchen, but today you could tell it had been a very long time they had had one from anywhere. When they left the shop, they left behind a black film where they had been sitting.
He annoys me.
She breaks my heart.
He treats her like dirt.
She lets him.
The two of them are the absolute picture of complete brokenness. If you were to look up “rock bottom” in the dictionary, you might just see their picture.
I’ve told her that if she ever wants out, we will help her. But she chooses to stay. Its the only life she knows. I get the feeling that she thinks this is the life that she deserves. All that she will ever have.
My heart breaks for her.
And him. . . as big of a jerk as he is. . . my heart breaks for him too. He’s lost. I wish I could grab him by the shoulders, and shake him. Hard. Really hard. Scream into his face, “YOU WERE MADE FOR MORE!!!” But I can’t
So tonight I lie awake. Thinking of them. Praying.
For him.
For her.
God please cover them.
Keep them warm in this painful cold.
Show them that there’s more.
I wish I could save them, change them, do something to truly, significantly permanently help them.
I can’t
But you can.
They were made for more.
B E H I N D / T H E / B A R 
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