Eidolon
I have no idea where this came from. I think it might be a Doctor Who fanfic, if you tilt your head and squint.
I met him once. A long time ago. He was standing at the bus stop, a discomforting sight, to be sure. He was wearing a nice enough suit, and looked well enough off - clean shaven, well dressed, and wearing glasses - that I couldn't imagine what he was doing in that dingy place, surrounded by dirt, disease and graffiti.
I hadn't realized who he was, not back then. That day...That day he had just been another man, out in the bad part of town for no discernable reason.
After a moment I realized he was staring across the street, watching one of the many homeless men beg for money. It wasn't an unusual sight, not by a long shot. I saw many such men everyday, and women and children as well. This world had long since fallen into a state of disrepair, and there wasn't much anyone could do about it. And I imagine, now that I think on it, that I wouldn't have even noticed that man, desensitized as I was. Not if this strange fellow hadn't been staring across the street.
And so, because I was curious and bored - my bus would not be there for some time - I asked him what he was doing. And I noticed, as I was closer now, that he was frowning. He was wearing the old, tired frown of one who had seen too much, and lived too long. I'd seen it often here, on the sort of man he was watching.
"Times like these," That strange man said, sparing me a short glance, "I feel ashamed of this world." And here, I determined he was bizarrely british. The picture just got stranger and stranger.
"I think we all feel like that, my friend," I sighed, watching the man across the street with him. Someone pushed the old man into the building behind him, and I cringed. That was so unneccesary.
"I suppose," he replied, sighing. "But when I think of all that humanity's been through, and all they've managed to survive, seeing the world like this...." Here he sighed again, running a hand through his hair in agitation. I couldn't blame him. "Everything's falling apart and no one can be bothered to spare a moment or a few coins for someone else. No one's even trying to help - they're just sucking the world dry and leaving the fallen in their path. Even the few attempts to put the world right are just companies vying for business."
I shrugged. "Human nature," I told him, glancing at my watch. Still several minutes before the bus would show. If it did. They were unreliable out here. "The strong crush the weak, you know? What's that saying? The road to success is paved with the bodies of your foes? Something like that."
And he smiled. A small, sad, unhappy smile. "No," He disagreed, and somehow I knew I couldn't question that. "No, I've seen human nature, and it's better than this," He sighed, glancing at me and offering a slightly more real smile. "That's why I can still hope. That's why I can still justify the things I do. Because if I believed that was all people were..." He trailed off, shaking his head slightly.
I tared at him for a moment, wondering just who in the world I was talking to. This wasn't the sort of conversation I usual had at the bus stop. Still.
"Hope is nice," I said, smiling slightly. This fellow seemed a bit mad, but I found I wanted to agree with him. Even if I didn't really understand half of what he said.
"Indeed it is," He agreed, smiling lightly back. We passed a moment or two in companionable silence, before I saw the bus coming up the street. "And I believe that is your bus," He informed me, smiling far more genuinely now. I smiled back. "I bid you adieu, madame, and I hope things get better from here," He said with a slight bow as the bus pulled up.
I smiled, said a farewell, and climbed aboard the metal monstrosity. I watched him walk across the street as I settled into a seat. And as the bus pulled away from the curb I saw him helping that old homeless man to his feet, handing him a handful of cash. And I smiled wider as I lost sight of him.
Maybe there was hope, after all.