The man continued to stare at shoppers, to point and to accuse.  The fat man with the beefburger was accused of the sin of gluttony.  The rich looking executive type, with the sin of avarice and greed.  “We are all born in sin and shapen in iniquity!” 

He was absolutely bizarre looking.  His swarthy skin, both darkened through exposure to the elements as well as through lack of washing, emphasized the whites of his wildly staring eyes.  His cheeks were reddened by the cold but also from the exertion of shouting.  The ligaments and blood vessels on the sides of his neck bulged and strained.  Spit flew from his mouth and gathered at its corners in bubbles.  In full flight, his preaching and screeching made him foam at the mouth like a rabid dog.  People feared he was schizophrenic and avoided him incase he was dangerous…..or at least incase they caught fleas or head lice or something equally undesirable.  They scattered in all directions!

Everyone scattered except two small figures who ran from amongst the bemused, alarmed or terrified afternoon shoppers to catch up with him.  “Hey!  John!  Wait for us!”  The children had caught up with him even though a worried elderly lady tried to grab the little girl by the arm, to keep her away from him.  The man grew calm, less agitated, and stopped his shouting, smiling at them warmly, with a smile which looked completely out of place on his face.  “Lighten up mate!  You’re scaring people and the cops’ll take you away if you get on like that.  Cool it!  Hey, how about we go back to your place and grab a bite to eat?  We have some money…..enough for a few tins of stew or something.  Our treat!  What about it?”  John seemed happy with the deal and they headed off down Ann Street towards the Queens Bridge.

She followed for a while at a discrete distance until the girl looked back and saw her.  She smiled at the child.  The girl didn’t tell her friend that the woman who had been watching them at the Bus Depot was now behind them.  Instead, she kept looking back, until Ruth began to turn left, heading towards the multi-story car park.  Ruth smiled again and left it at that.  No sense in following if you are trying to gain trust.  Best to smile and show that you are friendly and mean them no harm.  Let them come to you, if possible.