more turtle

At the park today, I was walking around the dirt track when I saw a turtle also on the dirt track. It was a long way from the pond and seemed to be heading toward the street.

Someone else saw the turtle at the same time I did, the homeless guy I've written about before. He wears camouflage and has a bike. He used to have a long beard, but he shaved it off.

We said how the turtle was a long way from home. "Should we put it back in the pond?" I asked.

"I've got all this stuff," the guy said, gesturing toward his bike, backpacks, sleeping bag. "How about you stand here for a minute and I'll put it back in the pond?"

I said okay. "He's a big fella," the guy said as he picked the turtle up and walked toward the pond.

I waited with the guy's stuff. I wonder if he remembers me or notices me at the park the way I notice him. I wonder if he remembers that time he told me it was his birthday and asked me for money.

Then he came back. "It's all good," he said.

"Thank you!" I said and walked away.