Tryst with Empathy

I was surprised by a gentle knock

in the thickness of night

is it the eerie winds 

or someone outside?

on opening the door

I found her numb self soaked in earnest appeal 

seeking my gesture and mercy

She was in her twilight years

old haggard and morose

brooding melancholy manifested

in the silence that she wore

introducing herself as next door neighbor

she pleaded for shelter in the inclement weather

Her house had just caved in

the incessant pour has been both damaging

and heart wrenching 

I was moved by her plight 

let her in to concede some respite

I offered her a place by the hearth

to render comfort and warmth 

she obliged... on my insistence

a cup of piping hot tea I offered 

to fight out winter's languor 

help her get rid of discomfiture  

We started off with an exchange of glances

slowly graduated to small talks ..

relating to role play of chance

after each sentence ensued a pause

as she wanted to vividly share her pent up anguish 

having been wronged sans any fault of hers

She lost her hubby to cruel hands of destiny 

only son too succumbed to fatal disease

she has every reason now 

to espouse grouse against the almighty

The dark night passed off 

my modest act of kindness had paid off

my maiden venture had logged in

I was resplendent in the feel of"joy of giving"

as i inched closer to the place of her shelter

I found a scribble instead of her

she must have left before dawn

there was such mention

she had poured her heart out

suffused blessings into her words

my tryst with empathy had just begun

I fervently thanked stroke of chance.