Two Tacos

Sitting at the Taco Bell order box reading off my hungry son's order when...I hear a voice soft and cautious "Hey...can you buy me 2 tacos?" Look to the voice's direction and see a young Native man...about my son's age...serious face...alcohol mask...yet...eyes deep and clear. "Hold on" I say in the middle of my order..." All right" comes the response "I'll wait over there"... and he's gone.
As I ponder this encounter...unsure of what I'll do... my order comes and I pay...get ready to turn the corner...and there he is...in the background...polite and expectant...waiting for this stranger's goodness...so..."Here man" I say handing him some cash...for two tacos..."Take it easy o.k.?" Hand reaches out...deep clear eyes search mine...as mine dig into his looking for the spark I saw behind the alcohol glaze...spark of generations...spark of relatives...spark of medicine buried... just beneath the haze. What I really want to say is "Do your life a favor...lose the alcohol" but what I see in those eyes stop me...tell me he saw in mine what I saw in his...no further words are necessary................. Nodding he walks away...opens the door to end his quest and his hunger... leaving me to reflect long and hard on a stranger in need of two tacos reminding me...to be human...to a brother... momentarily lost...