I shouldn’t have been scared of him just because he’s homeless… but I was. I had just gone for my morning run around Central Park and had sat down on the bench to rest.

“This seat taken?” he asked.

“No.” I said awkwardly and moved over.

“Beautiful day, huh?” he said.

“Yeah.” I responded bluntly.

“Say, have you ever been to the Rockies?” he asked.

I was hesitant to give him any information about myself but I said,“Yes.”

“My daughter moved out there last year,” he said.

“Ah." I was scared to give him more than one word answers but somehow he forced me to without saying a word. “Why did she move out there?”

He seemed surprised to hear me actually respond but tried to hide it. "Moved out there with her mom,” he said, “Left me all alone.”

“Oh, I’m sorry."

“You come here often?” he said.

“Yeah. I run here every morning.” I said.

“Ever been to Papa Joe's diner-next block over?” he said.

I should have left, I thought. Right when he walked towards me I should have walked away. In fact I should go right now. Pick up my water bottle and walk far away from this park and the creepy man sitting beside me. This. This is why they tell you not to talk to strangers. There’s something wrong with this man. The endless line of random questions strung together to get me to talk. What does he want to know? I looked over at him. Suddenly there was an overwhelming feeling of guilt. The sadness in his eyes, the way his shoulders sagged in grief. I couldn’t leave. “Once or twice.” I said.

“Those sliders with fries were delicious,” he said.

I thought of the old diner. It wasn’t in the best part of the city so I normally tried to stay away but I had been there a few times and passed by on my way to work. The building could use some work but the restaurant was definitely still open “Were? I don’t think it’s closed. I just passed by there last night.” I said.

“Well yeah, you’re right. It’s just I haven’t been back there since Sophie left,” he said.

“Sophie… your daughter?”

“Yes,” he said sadly.

“Why did they leave? Your wife and daughter?” I asked.

“Well… you know… I… ” he said.

“You don’t have-” I said.

“I want to,” he said, cutting me off, “Three years ago I lost my job. Money was tight and my wife, Lily, had to go back to work. It was in those days when Lily was at work that me Sophie would come here or go to Papa Joe’s. Her coloring on the menu, me with my paper. We’d get sliders and fries and even though we didn’t have much, we were happy.” he said.

“So what changed?” I asked. I was now captivated by this stranger’s life story and couldn't wait to see how he got to his position today.

“Well it worked for a few months but then things got worse. Lily’s paycheck wasn’t enough so I tried to bring some money in. No one wanted to hire me so I found this other guy. He had me doing his dirty work, getting into trouble. Lily didn’t know. She thought I had a nice job down the street but had no idea what I was selling on the streets,” he said. “Then one day she did. I came home bruised and mumbling, not making any sense. She figured it out pretty quickly. No job that I could get would pay that much.”

“Then what?” I said.

“I went down a bad path so she said she didn’t trust me with Sophie anymore. Wouldn’t let me see her unless she was watching the whole time. No more lunches at Papa Joe’s. No more days in the park. I saw them less and less until one day she said they were moving. I said my last goodbyes to Sophie and they were gone.”

“So that’s it?” I asked. “You never saw them again?”

“Nope,” he said

I thought of my own relationship with my father. It wasn’t great but I couldn’t imagine not seeing him again. This poor man had such a deep relationship with her and then suddenly she was ripped from his arms. “I’m sorry,” I said, “It will get better.”

I knew then it was time for me to go. This man was on a journey and I was not the end destination but a pit stop pointing him in the right direction. I hope he found a spark in me that would lead him to rekindle the fire that is his deep connection with his daughter.

As I got up to leave he yelled, “Don’t leave!”

“I don’t even know your name! How? How do you know it will get better?” he stammered.

“Hope.”