On a cold, windy, and rainy day, Amelia, a homeless woman, entered Sebastian’s Place on a street corner in Altoona, Pennsylvania and sat at a table in the back. She placed her grimy blue purse and wrinkled brown paper grocery bag on the floor and pulled her tattered black trench coat tightly around her. The other customers stared at her and whispered among themselves.

The waitress approached Amelia.

“May I please have a cup of hot tea?” Amelia asked before the waitress reached the table.

“Tea is a dollar fifty a cup. Can you pay for it?” The waitress slid her pencil behind her ear.

“No,” Amelia said.

“Well, I’m sorry. You’re going to have to leave then. Only paying customers can take a table.”

“Then, may I just have a cup of hot water to wrap my hands around?” Amelia asked. She looked at the floor.

The waitress didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want to turn Amelia away. The waitress had seen her around town, walking aimlessly, but she didn’t want to lose her job either. Sebastian could be nasty at times, and he would probably fire her if he learned that she let Amelia stay without buying anything. The waitress walked into the kitchen and explained the situation to Sebastian, the part-time chef and owner of the restaurant.

“I’ll handle it Jeanette,” Sebastian said. He walked to the counter and stopped in front of Amelia. She made him sick. The skin on her hands was cracked and weepy from the severe chapping, and her unwashed clothing and body emitted a terrible odor.  

“What do you want?” Sebastian said.

“May I please have a cup of hot tea or hot water?” Amelia asked again.

“No. You can’t have a cup of hot tea or hot water. You stink, and my customers don’t want to smell you or look at you. Go away. Find some other place to keep warm or go talk to more telephone poles.” He crossed his muscular arms across his chest and waited for Amelia to leave.

“Please,” Amelia begged. “I’m so cold, and the soup kitchen is closed right now.”

“I said no!” Sebastian shouted. “Get out! Go beg somewhere else.”

Amelia stood and picked up her purse and grocery bag. As she walked to the glass front door, Amelia’s eyes shone with unshed tears.

The customers stared at her retreating back. When she was outside, they snickered and whispered among themselves.

“Good riddance,” Sebastian said quietly and returned to the kitchen.

Lydia, his cousin and next-door neighbor, sat at a corner table. She observed the whole scene. Later, when Sebastian refilled her coffee cup, she said, “Sebastian, you should be more compassionate.”

“Why? I work hard. Why should I be kind to people who are lazy and want to sponge from other decent people?”

“You couldn’t spare a dollar fifty?  Be careful,” Lydia said. “You never know who's who. They could be an angel.”

Sebastian snorted. “Don’t start with me. Angels don’t wander around on earth disguised as humans. That’s just a belief that superstitious old ladies invented to scare their children.”  

“Angels most certainly do that,” Lydia said.”

“If you believe that, why didn’t you pay for her tea?”

“I have several times, but now she refuses to let me pay.”

Sebastian smirked, then walked away to refill the other customers’ coffee cups. Later that night, Sebastian closed the restaurant and began the drive home. When a deer jumped into the middle of the road, he swerved and hit the guardrail, smashing and scraping the entire driver’s side of the car. The damage to his new Ford Mustang cost thousands of dollars, and his car insurance doubled.

Several weeks later, Sebastian awoke to the sound of the police and fire sirens. He got out of bed, walked to the parlor, and looked through the picture window. He saw huge flames. Somebody’s place was burning with a vengeance. “Who is calling me at this time of night?” Sebastian said aloud as his cell vibrated on his nightstand a few minutes later.

“Sebastian,” Officer Polaski said when Sebastian answered his cell. “Your restaurant is on fire.”

“Oh God. I’ll be right there.”

Nothing was left of Sebastian’s restaurant except the building’s charred frame. He had insurance. After an investigation, the fire chief said the fire was caused by a bare electrical wire. Sebastian couldn’t believe his bad luck. Goodman Electrics would have fixed the wire next week. He had delayed the repair because they wanted to come during his vacation. Sebastian sank into a depression. He mourned his loss, but after a few days, he returned to his intense workouts at the gym. One day after his workout, a fresh spirit infused him. He jogged to his car. “Today is a good day. I still have my health and my little tavern now, so everything is okay.” Sebastian said aloud as he unlocked his car. He lifted his face to the sun.

***

Several months later, Sebastian climbed on the scale. He had lost 30 more pounds from his 200-pound, six-foot, two-inch body. He wasn’t on any special diet and ate healthy foods, so why was he suddenly losing weight? The doctor had no explanations for it. Soon, he was a skeleton, and his eyes were sunken in his skull. He was driving home from the doctor’s office when he saw Amelia on the sidewalk. He stopped the car in a nearby parking lot and got out. He walked toward Amelia.

“Go away,” Amelia said. “I’m not bothering you.” She gasped at his appearance and took a few steps backward.

“For pity’s sake, tell me what you did to me,” Sebastian said.

Amelia scoffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’ve made me miserable enough, don’t you think!” Sebastian said. “You gave me these curses because I didn’t give you a hot cup of tea.”

“I never asked you for a hot cup of tea. In fact, I’ve never stepped foot in your restaurant,” Amelia said. “I go to the Bread of Life soup kitchen and shelter for hot food and a cot.”

“You’ve never been in my restaurant?”

“Once, a long time ago when you first opened your doors, but I haven’t been there since,” Amelia answered as she clutched her paper bag.

Oh no! Sebastian thought. That old superstition was true! That wasn’t Amelia inside his restaurant. She was an angel. With great sorrow and regret, Sebastian got back into his car and drove away.

The next week, when Sebastian left the grocery store, he saw a young man, about 20 years old, on the corner who held a sign that read Out of work. Need food. in big black letters. Sebastian walked back into the grocery store and bought some turkey and some ham sandwiches from the deli. When he left the store again, he approached the young man and gave him the sandwiches.

“Thank you, sir,” the man said and smiled a tentative smile.”

“You’re welcome,” Sebastian said. “Please enjoy them.”

After dinner that night, when Sebastian was watching television at home, he saw an ad for the Save the Children charity. As he watched, his icy heart melted even more. He decided to volunteer at the Bread of Life soup kitchen since he had never donated food or time to the place when he owned his restaurant. He wanted to help and relieve any misery he could for people.

***

Several years later, Sebastian stood in line at the Seven Eleven waiting to buy his lunch, and a woman stood in front of him. She turned around.

“Oh, hello there Sebastian,” Amelia said. “How are you?”

Sebastian couldn’t believe his eyes. Amelia had gained weight. She didn’t clutch any bags, and her face, hair and skin looked healthy. She wore clean clothes and smelled like Ivory soap.  

“Hel…hello Amelia,” Sebastian said. “How are you? I haven’t seen you around the neighborhood in years.”

“I live in Holidaysburg now. I finally got on medication, and my sister rented an apartment for me there. I have a job now too. Bussing tables and washing dishes.”

Sebastian took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. “I’m sorry for my behavior in my restaurant and on the sidewalk that day so many years ago. I acted like an idiot.”

Amelia smiled. “I forgave you a long time ago.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that so much. I'm glad you are doing better.”

Amelia let out a small laugh. "Yeah, me too. Though, my sister always cared. I just needed a push to get on my meds. You know what's funny?"

"What?" Sebastian sipped his coffee.

"An angel came to me in a dream and said to take my meds. She said not to worry about anything anymore."

Sebastian nearly dropped his coffee. "That is strange, but fantastic at the same don't you think?"

"I do," Amelia said. It was her turn at the counter. She paid for her items and left. She stood outside next to the entrance.

“Do you need a ride?” Sebastian asked her when he left the store.

“No thank you,” Amelia said. “My sister drove me here, but she went on an errand. She’ll be back to pick me up.”

“Okay. Bye Amelia.”

“Bye Sebastian.”  

This time, when Sebastian got into his old beat-up car across the parking lot, he felt even more elated. Earlier, when he received letters from the children that he sponsored at Save the Children, he already thought he had had a great day. When he drove out of the parking lot, he glanced at the rearview mirror. He saw Amelia getting into a car driven by a woman. It must be her sister.

Several mornings later, when Sebastian climbed on the scale, he discovered that he gained several pounds. It was the angel that day in his restaurant and the months afterward, trying to get his attention and bringing about his change. So glad that the angel appeared. Glad that the angel helped. Glad that the angel changed him. It felt good to be kind and generous to others.