She's Just a Passer-by

Driving by, sometimes she'd see one of her older neighbors walking out to his mailbox to retrieve his mail. He was always only wearing boxer shorts. In the winter, of course, he'd be in his robe. She wondered how someone could be so carefree.

Then there was the elderly man who lived alone. She only saw him when he was cutting his grass, wearing some gloves and a white hat that he wore to keep the sun off his head. He appeared to be in his 80s. His yard and all his belongings were spotless, perfectly organized and free of clutter. Every now and then she felt the urge to walk up to him in order to start a conversation, but what stopped her was the feeling that this man might be enjoying his solitary lifestyle. She had imagined he was lonely and wanting a neighborly friend, but she concluded that it was her own loneliness that gave her the urge to befriend him.