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Third place winner in Nonfiction category, Winter 2022-2023
Compassion by Charissa Omans
Western New York winters can be infamous. The snow, ice, sleet, slush, and wind are inhospitable. But people still need to eat, so my family and I found ourselves going to the grocery store on the gloomiest Saturday I can remember. My sister and I stayed in the car as my parents shopped. And we just watched. On this cold, bitter day that made you shiver just looking out the window, I saw the warmth of the human soul. There was a small car whose driver was a small woman. It wouldn’t start. The cold had drained the battery in the short time she spent in the store. Someone walked over and assumedly asked her if she wanted a jump start because he went to get his car and before long the little sedan was running. But the trial wasn’t over quite yet, the tires of the small car couldn’t get any traction. So the small woman got out to push. But she couldn’t push hard enough, and she kept slipping because she had about as much traction as the car. Besides, there was no one at the steering wheel. Then in the same way he offered to jump her car, the man came back and they had a short conversation. She got into the driver’s seat, and he started pushing while she hit the gas. He wasn’t enough by himself, but another person came to help. Then another. Three people found time in their day to help this woman. It was messy, the tires kicked whatever was on the pavement up to cover the front of the helpers’ jackets and faces. But they persisted and she was free to drive off. They probably never saw each other again. This small moment of unity left an impression on me, this showcase of empathy and love.
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