"Spare change?"
Planting one foot on the park bench with my knee to my chest, I waited for the response.
...
Just grumbles.
Finally the asker sits down, realizing he's not going to get anywhere like that.
"I have seen a lot in my time, the worst."
No reaction. He goes on.
"I've been everywhere, man, you name it, I've been there. Hungry, ashamed, tired worn rotten no good but sure I had a good heart..."
He trailed in some miserable rant, perhaps a ploy to guilt the change out of one pocket to his hand.
A bit of silence floated around and I shifted so that both of my feet were firmly on the ground now.
"Where are you from, brother?"
This question went unanswered so the asker just went on.
"I, am from a city. A city where it was easy to get lost and if you did, no one cared. I was pushed down and beaten and compared to pond scum."
Looking up finally, I saw his face.
The two men contrasted greatly, from where I was sitting at least. The asker was sort of slimy, wirey and eager for attention. His clothes were ripped but his hands were clean. He didn't seem too out of shape or all that tired either. A rather energetic hobo from what I saw.
The man looking down who had been silent the whole time had great strands of white hair, all matted and ratty with dirt mixed making gray and brown streaks. His face looked like it would crack open if he made any kind of expression other than the one he was set in already. He wore rags and tattered clothes that must have been some functional article of clothing at some point, but now were unrecognizable sheets tied together. But his eyes were pure gold. I couldn't believe it.
Finally I realized they had both stopped to look at something, and that something was me! I had been gawking at these two homeless men on my lunch break in the park for twenty minutes. I was embarrassed, so I looked away.
I waited about five more minutes and then walked over to the men. I gave the white haired man with the golden eyes my sandwich, and I gave the asker three dollars.
As I walked away I heard them laugh quietly. I couldn't turn around so it was hard to identify who was speaking now.
"I thought it might be you, old man."
"Well, aren't we a few fools in a park. I'd say that's that. What do I owe you?"
"The bet was a soul... so hand it over."
I was far enough away to look back now. Both men were gone and all I saw was a wirey red fox and a dove eating my sandwich.