certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise." ~ Luke 10:30-37 ~

The busy city awoke to Monday morning, ready to face another hectic week of work and life. Like most city dwellers on such a weekday, Hannah Anderson started off on her daily trek to the office. Hannah had spent the weekend with her parents in the country, something she always did, for she was never so happy as when she returned home. The love she felt from her parents, would tide her over to the next weekend. Unlike most people, Hannah never disliked Mondays. It just meant she was one day closer to Saturday, and her parents. It was with these thoughts, that she walked down the sidewalk, on her way to work.

However, when Hannah came to the stoplight, her thoughts changed course. This day had started like most others, but somehow, something felt different. Then it came to her. Hannah looked around for the panhandler who had chosen that place as his spot. She had grown accustomed to his silent presence at the stoplight. She would greet him with a smile and drop lose change into his cup. The man would nod and look down, never saying a word. Hannah had observed his long, unkempt brown hair. She had noticed his beard reached the top of his faded blue jacket. She saw he always wore the same pair of worn sneakers - ones with duct tape wound about them, to keep the soles in place. To her horror, she had even observed he never wore socks, no matter how cold it was outside. Ever since Hannah had moved to the busy city five months ago, her pity grew for the panhandler at the stoplight.

But today, the spot where he always occupied, stood empty. Every day, without fail, he had always been there. Hannah looked at the other people that waited at the stoplight. Most of them she recognized, for they too, made the same route to work, every day. As the light turned green, Hannah saw none of them had noticed the missing member of their daily gathering. She looked at her watch. Yes, she had a little time before work. For the first time in months, Hannah did not cross the street with the others when the light turned green. Instead, she searched the side walk on either side of the stoplight. It was then, she saw a dark alley separating two tall buildings near the panhandler's spot.

By nature, Hannah was not intrepid. However, her concern for the stoplight panhandler, and her desire to not be late for work, propelled her forward in action not typical of a generally, thoughtful young woman. In her haste, though, she remembered to pray before entering.

"Safety is of the Lord," she reminded herself. She wrinkled her nose, for everything smelled of foul odors, and rotting trash. Cardboard boxes were piled up high against trash cans; a small stream of water ran down the black asphalt. Hannah slowly walked to the end of the alley.

As she turned to leave, Hannah noticed a huddled form crouched between two trash cans. She gave a sudden start, but the form did not move. It did not seem to be aware of her presence at all. Hannah took a step closer, careful not to make any noise. As dark clouds softly parted overhead, a ray of light fell upon the huddled form's face, revealing the stoplight panhandler. His eyes were closed, and his arms were wrapped around his torso. The faded jacket was no longer blue, but soaked in a dark red substance. Alarmed, Hannah knelt down beside him on the damp asphalt. Hannah bent down and put her ear up to his chest. His heart was beating, but it was very faint. This man was dying. Hannah jumped to her feet, and dashed out of the dark alley. She had to find a telephone, quickly.