The night was pitch black, and the rain poured mercilessly over the desolate city. Jade trudged along the slick sidewalk, her thin, tattered jacket offering little against the biting cold. Her once sleek, jet-black hair was now a tangled mess, and her blue-grey eyes were dim, reflecting the deep despair and hopelessness that had engulfed her.

Just days before, her life had crumbled into pieces. Eric, her cruel ex-boyfriend, had unceremoniously discarded her and her belongings onto the street, showing no mercy. With her family long gone and her own desperate attempts to reclaim her things thwarted, Jade now faced a grim existence of homelessness and hunger.

As she stumbled toward the flickering sign of Johnny’s, an abandoned restaurant, she found the brief shelter under its overhang. Crouched against the wall, her soaked clothes clung to her shivering body. Each drop of rain was a harsh reminder of her suffering.

With a heavy heart and a soul weighed down by despair, Jade noticed someone approaching. Summoning every ounce of her dwindling strength, she painfully rose and approached the stranger. Her voice was a fragile whisper, laden with sorrow and defeat.

Jade: “E-Excuse me,” her voice barely audible through her trembling, Jade: “I-I’m s-sorry to bother you. I-I haven’t eaten in days, and I-I was w-w-wondering if you c-c-could spare a little change. I-I’d really appreciate it.” Her eyes were cast downward, her whole demeanor radiating a profound sense of hopelessness and dejection.