I walked as usual down the dark alley, frantically rushing to get to work on time today as inconvenient circumstances early in the morning forced me to leave the house much later than usual . Worried about losing track of time, I stopped for a moment to check my watch; only to find out it was much later than I had imagined. I had to make the decision then and there; take my usual route and be late for work again, or enter the labyrinth of the city's back streets risking my safety and arriving on time. I decided the risk was worth the reward and dove headfirst into the depths of the maze, unsure of what I would encounter. Apparently my understanding of the city's back streets may have been slightly, if not grossly exaggerated. It was decent enough, as long as you avoided the half-eaten packets of chow mein, fish tikka, chicken nuggets and other restaurant items with their contents strewn across the floor. Additionally, the nearby soap factory produced a pleasant fresh mint aroma that permeated through the entire labyrinth, creating a more uplifting feel to the darkness of the area. Unfortunately, I wasn't adequately prepared for some of the negative aspects of life down here. On occasion, I passed hooded figures hiding in the shadows on either side of me. A quick look at their faces revealed a scarred past, full of misdeeds and misdirections. What could have led these people to go down such terrible paths, what led these tortured souls to deserve the life they have now? As much as I enjoyed reflecting on these events, I had nowhere else to go, so I ran down another street hoping to find myself on the sidewalks. Along the way I came across a man in a t...... middle of paper... my life who quit my job the next day and started a new business dedicated to helping those poor helpless souls in dead ends of the city. I just wish I knew what his intentions were... I saw that punk again, this time in my favorite bar. He was all fancy and fancy with that designer jacket of his, the only exception being the huge coffee stain on his suit. I would have asked him, but he left in such a hurry that I was sure he had decided to avoid any contact with me. Whether it was my smile or something else that made him react that way, I'm not sure. Whether I got a sense of these "surface" people based on man's actions is a different matter. From this meeting I learned that many things scratch the superficial skin of consciousness while very few penetrate the very heart of the soul.