Paperclip

The paperclip sat on the corner of my desk while I spoke with a mentally ill woman.

"Would you like that?" I offered, since I had just handed her two pieces of paper.

Her eyes lit up, a glimmer of a smile crossed her face. "I especially like this kind." The paperclip was tucked into her bag.

Within minutes she was shouting paranoid and delusional information at me, and marched out the door. She failed to make her case for getting help from Nightwatch any more. Some folks, unfortunately, need help that we can't give them. For the safety of our staff, volunteers, and other homeless friends, we have to send some people away. That was Wednesday.

Ironically, as I was leaving the office at 12:15 a.m. Friday morning, in the middle of the street I found a paperclip. Too weird. "God, help her."