The charity has always been put into practice in numerous ways throughout all cultures and all historical moments, whether for religious or philanthropic purposes, sometimes voluntarily or involuntarily, but how involuntarily? be used as an example of this.
For a time I was attending an Evangelical Church, made up of missionaries from South Korea, from them I learned the guidelines of the Christian faith, the Bible readings, worship every Sunday, to pray and pray. In that place, I had the opportunity to make numerous friendships, among them with Rómulo, a friend who studied arts and did theater. Since we met we became good friends and soon we began to spend it together at the university, local events, the university cafeteria, etc ...
It happened one day that we were both talking in the parking lot of the Hospital Clínico Universitario (University Clinical Hospital)[1], the legendary medical center of the university, characterized by its large size and terrible condition. Due to its public nature, it was not surprising that many poor people swarmed there requesting medical assistance of some kind and also the occasional peddler or tramp.
It was noon, Romulo and I had been talking animatedly about church affairs and studies, when I looked towards the emergency entrance of the hospital, spotting a character who caught my attention. He couldn't tell if it was a patient or a beggar. The man was missing both legs, he was half-naked, the only thing that had a kind of bandage that covered the lower part of his torso, like a kind of improvised loincloth, made of hospital gauze. The man had a scrawny physical constitution, he gave the impression of having spent several days without eating, his skin was brown perhaps from being exposed to the sun for a long time, he had an expression of fatigue, weakness, and boredom.
It was the first time I had seen a homeless man in that state, I had seen raggedy before, but this was different, perhaps it was a patient discharged due to some administrative inconvenience, something frequent in Venezuelan hospitals, which had ended in the parking lot, waiting for attention.
At that moment Rómulo asked me to stop by the pharmacy school because he wanted to find out something about the dental service, I agreed and we both headed there. For some reason I could not remove the image of that tramp, I was thinking about what that person had to have gone through to end up in that state, the image had simply moved me, a strange heat began to invade my chest, that produced a sensation As if my heart increased in size pressing against my chest, I had felt this sensation before, sometimes when I prayed or did meditation.
Little by little it began to increase, I felt palpitations, my breathing became agitated, the heat in my chest began to flood my whole body and in my mind, the only thing that appeared was the image of that tramp, it was as if some kind of force was pushing me to relate to him, to get closer. Anyone would think that it was some kind of allergic reaction, heart problem, or that I was just driving myself crazy, although deep down I knew the answer.
Like all practitioners of the Christian faith, this was taken as a divine call, as a revelation, a magnanimous event that occurs rarely, an event that evokes a special call for something, a mission, all the great characters of the Christian faith have been through that.
We went to the Faculty of Pharmacy to find out the information Romulo needed, but the thing is that I couldn't help but stop thinking about that homeless man, about the loneliness in which he found himself and then I made the decision to do something for him, some kind of special gesture, but what could it be? Rómulo did his errand and as we left we stopped by the college cafeteria, there the light bulb went on... food! That was the answer, he was going to give that bum a sandwich.
--- Hey, Romulo, are you ready? --- I asked my friend.
--- Yes because? --- I wonder.
--- Okay, wait for me a moment here... --- I concluded, and then went to the cafeteria, I asked for a little piece and an orange juice to take away, I wanted to go to the hospital, I wanted to give it to that man, inside me there was an imperious necessity that made me do it.
We left the faculty and headed towards the hospital, my friend did not object, which I found a bit strange. I continued with that kind of divine revelation, I had to fulfill it, I had to be obedient to it, although doubt also assailed me.
We arrived at the Hospital and I stood a couple of meters from the tramp, before doing anything I wanted to see him well first, I wanted to be sure if what I was going to do was the right thing to do. Romulus stood by my side and remained silent as if waiting for some kind of instruction from me, doubt assailed me for a moment. Bad thoughts assailed me, what if the guy is drunk or drugged? What if he does not accept what I want to give him? Or much worse, what if he attacked me? Well, I thought it was difficult for a man with malnutrition to do it, but there was that possibility...
Do it, just do it… I told myself mentally, I forced myself to do it.
Advance directly to the character, was still in the same place, in the same state. I got closer, the sensation in my chest grew stronger, it was as if an internal voice told me not to be afraid, that everything was in order.
When I was close enough to be noticed, he turned to look at me, I could see his dull and reddened eyes, his brown skin covered with dirt and soot, it was obvious that he had not bathed for weeks, his hair was short but dirty and full From what seemed to be lice, his mouth was ajar and huge yellowish and misshapen teeth were coming out of it, I couldn't think of how that character was going to have his breath and frankly I didn't want to find out, he looked at me with his wide eyes showing curiosity.
I gulped, looked directly at him, and decided to speak to him:
--- Eeeehhh… good morning… --- I said awkwardly. --- ...You know, I and my friend were passing by and we saw it... and... Well. --- The tramp stared at me, his gaze was lost, probably drugged, he probably didn't understand anything I was saying, he was just sitting. --- We saw him and we thought he might be hungry, so we bought him this little piece for him to eat, well... if he has no problems.
What happened at that moment was something unexpected, suddenly the tramp's eyes immediately came to life, he opened them with force, his face changed to an expression of astonishment, his mouth parted:
--- I mean... that's for me. --- He said with a cracked, tired voice as if making an effort to speak.
--- Yes, that's right... --- I commented.
The homeless man stepped forward and extended his bony hand slowly, his fingernails covered in grime. I handed him the food and the drink, he took them and then looked at me again, this time his face showed an expression of satisfaction, his mouth extended showing a weak and cold smile:
--- Hey, my friend... thanks. --- He said in a canine voice. --- In truth I was grossly hungry; I go for several days without eating.
He took my gift and carefully put it aside, as if it were some kind of treasure, as something special, after that he extended his hand, a polite gesture, a formal greeting.
The very idea of shaking a hand in that state would disgust anyone and it was truly understandable, but I couldn't afford that luxury, all I was doing was a gesture that came as a result of a call that had a meaning, I had to express to that man that God had sent me to do that gesture, I couldn't leave it incomplete.
I gently shook his hand, I felt as if I was holding the hand of a skeleton-like the ones seen in medical school, I felt that I had to take it gently so as not to break it.
--- God bless you. --- said my friend Romulo.
--- Yes, God bless you. --- I added that it was another important thing to add that final signature so special for all Christians, a symbol of love and acceptance.
--- Thank you, my friend, anyway ... --- replied the man with a brittle and weak voice.
Romulus shook his hand too, and we withdrew slowly as if it were a complex and profound ritual, like the conclusion of a lavish ceremony. We stepped back a couple of meters, when the homeless man raised his hand and greeted us from a distance, we both returned the greeting shyly, turned around, and continued on our way.
The sensation of a fire that I had in my chest, was slowly extinguished, being replaced by a feeling of peace, like a kind of relief, I felt good, happy, relaxed. We walked away from the hospital in silence.
Romulus spoke:
--- I knew you were going to do that...
--- I replied a little surprised.
--- Yes, I knew it from the way you looked at him… --- he said.
--- Yes, it was an act of charity, suddenly I felt a call, it was something strange. --- I replied.
--- Do not see it as something strange, you felt the call of God to do something and you did it, that's all and nothing more... --- he concluded.
--- True, very true…
We continued on our way, we were in a good mood, which had been something that had brightened our day, which brought a light of hope to our lives.
Two days later I went back to the university hospital hoping to find him and talk to him, I could not find him, the man had no legs and was in a wheelchair so, in theory, he could not be very far. I skirted the hospital, entered, and walked through its crowded corridors without being able to find him, after a while, I gave up and left. In the days that followed, I tried to find him unsuccessfully, apparently, he had withdrawn from the place, and would he have died? Would he have gone elsewhere? Did the police kick him out of the place? He had gone and I didn't hear from him anymore.
This curious episode would always remain in my memory as a special event that brightened the lives of two people for an instant, me and that legless and semi-nude character that I ran into that sunny day.
[1] The University Hospital of Caracas of the UCV (also called Hospital Clínico Universitario (Univesity Clinical Hospital) or simply El Clínico (The Clinical)) is a publicly owned hospital located in the spaces of the University City of Caracas, it is part of the Central University of Venezuela (Universidad Central de Venezuela) (U.C.V). It was inaugurated in 1956 by Marcos Pérez Jiménez, it is the largest specialized medical center in Caracas and as part of the Central University, its structure has been a World Heritage Site since 2000.