A TRUE STORY :-A PREGNANT TEENAGE GIRL BEGGING OUTSIDE COLES AT CHRISTMAS TIME SHOULD PROVIDE THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY FOR GIVING AND LOVING (So why wasn't it ?)

In the early hours of the evening as I approached our local supermarket I saw her ; no more than 15 and thin to the point of always wanting.....she held up one hand in a supplicating gesture as the other rested limply on her enormous belly not in a protective gesture , nor one in recognition of her unborn baby, but in resignation of her fate and its . As each person passed she whispered "Can you help me ? " ...her voice sounded like the rustling leaves of Autumn ending...

People pushed past her, their faces wreathed with annoyance , exasperation and at times anger and not just any anger ; a fury rising up like a sepent ,each coil filled contempt leaving in the surrounding air an almost audible poison . I watched as she teetered ever so slightly at each rejection as if the lack of compassion buffeted her like a wave ...as if she was lost in some vast human river that eddied around her, eroding her will and sense of self....she flinched and flinched again as she stood there on bare ,burnt feet . She was wearing tiny faded pyjama shorts that revealed her thin, unshowered, dusty legs. She tugged at the grimy singlet that draped across her ribs and stretched over a belly that burst like a ripe pink fruit ,proclaiming her shame. She bowed her head against the judgement of others in vain ; she struggled against the added burden of its weight. There was no relief....

As I approached her she held out her hand and then startled like a deer when I clasped both my hands around hers...ever so gently I compelled her to move forward until her head came to rest on my shoulder and I wrapped my arms around her and stroked her hair...I felt her thin , ragged ,wire- tight body let go and she leaned against me as if I was a tree. Finally , reluctantly she wearily pulled away. I opened my purse and gave her my money and she startled again...."Are you sure ?" she muttered ....I nodded ..... " I feel bad bludging and begging but you know...." She gestured towards her belly...."I understand " I replied and we continued to talk

Suddenly she gave a small dry laugh..."You haven't asked me..." and her voice trailed away like the promise of rain; the question of her age hovering between us. ...I smiled back holding her hand again "We women have to stick together" ...She laughed again ; a sharp splinter of sound " It's just you and me then..." and her eyes looked up at me hopelessly ; eyes that had run dry of dreams ....I took out my pen and I wrote down my number " You can call me any time ; any time at all . For your whole life ,I will be here for you if you need me ".....she swayed as she twirled the paper into a little twist and spun it around in her fingers and I suddenly knew she would never ring me...."

This means more to me than you will ever know" She whispered....and as she looked down again at the paper between her fingers , I felt her thoughts flickering at the edges of my mind ..... she wouldn't ring me, ever... because she could hold onto this paper, these numbers, this moment and know that someone cared....if she rang me, she was afraid that she would risk finding out that I didn't really care (even though I did) and she would never dare take that risk ...She stepped forward into my arms again " I care very much" I whispered into her ear ......"Thanks love ; you are a treasure " she muttered abruptly with a sigh,suddenly seeming impossibly old and tired ...

As I watched her walk away I couldn't help thinking that regardless of your religion or your belief , at the heart of Christmas is the story of another young, pregnant woman thousands of years ago who had need help and was turned away many many times before finding sanctuary..... and it seemed so sad that at Christmas time , that theme , that very human story had played out here in front of Cole's as if nobody had remembered.....