I needed a hug
Twenty years ago, I worked as a taxi driver to survive. I did it on the night shift and my taxi became a mobile confessional. Passengers would get on, sit behind me in complete anonymity, and tell me about their lives. I found people whose lives amazed me, ennobled me, made me laugh, and depressed me. But none moved me as much as the woman I picked up on an August night.
I answered a call about some small buildings in a quiet part of town. I assumed that he would pick up some people leaving a party or a worker who had to arrive early at a factory in the industrial zone of the city. When I arrived at 2:30 am the building was dark except for a light in the first floor window. Although the situation looked dangerous, I always went towards the door. This passenger must be someone who needs my help, I reasoned to myself.
So I walked to the door and knocked… “one minute” a fragile voice replied. I could hear something being dragged across the floor, after a long pause the door opened.
A petite woman in her eighties stood in front of me. She was wearing a flowery dress, and a hat with a veil, like someone from a 1940s movie. Next to her, a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived there for many years. All the furniture was covered with sheets, there were no clocks on the walls, no trinkets or utensils. In the corner was a cardboard box full of photos and glassware. The lady repeated her thanks for my kindness.
– “It’s nothing,” I told him. “I just try to treat my passengers the way I want my mom to be treated.”
“Oh, I’m sure he’s a good son,” she said. When we got to the taxi she gave me an address, then she asked, “Could you take me through downtown?”
– “That is not the shortest way”, I answered quickly.
“Oh, never mind,” she said, “I’m in no hurry, I’m on my way to the asylum.” I looked at her in the rearview mirror, her eyes were teary.
“I don’t have a family,” she continued, “the doctor says I don’t have much time left.” I calmly stretched out my arm and turned off the meter.
– “Which route would you like me to take?” I asked. For the next two hours, I drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had worked as an elevator operator. I headed toward the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She asked me to stop in front of a furniture store where there was once a ballroom, where she used to dance when she was young. She would sometimes ask me to slowly walk past a particular building or corner and look into the dark, and she wouldn’t say anything. With the first ray of sun appearing on the horizon, she suddenly said:
– “I’m tired, let’s go now.”
I headed quietly towards the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small nursing home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.
Two assistants came to the taxi as quickly as they could. They must have been waiting for her. I opened the trunk and left the small suitcase at the door. The woman was ready to sit in a wheelchair.
“How much do I owe you?” she asked, reaching into her bag.
– “Nothing,” I told him.
– “You have to live on something,” she replied.
– “There will be other passengers”, I replied. Almost without thinking, I bent down and hugged her. She held me tight, and said:
– “I needed a hug!!!”.
I squeezed his hand, then walked into the morning light. Behind me a door closed, it was a sound of a life ended. I didn’t pick up any passengers that shift, I wandered aimlessly for the rest of the day. She couldn’t speak. What if the woman had been picked up by a grumpy driver or one who was impatient to finish her shift? What if she had refused to take the call, or honked once, and I would have gone? . At a quick glance, I don’t think she has done anything more important in my life. We are conditioned to think that our lives are filled with great moments, but the great moments are the ones that catch us beautifully off guard, where other people will think they are just little moments. People may not remember exactly what you did or what you said… but they will always remember how you made them feel.
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