The first time I saw him, he was outside the 24-hour laundromat, curled on a ripped camping mat.
A small orange cat with half an ear lay across his chest, breathing in sync with him.
His shoes were held together with duct tape, and his “backpack” was just a tied black trash bag.
I didn’t know their names then, but I began bringing them food from the café where I worked nights.
He never asked for anything, always thanked me, and always fed the cat first.
One night, I asked her name. He looked at her and said softly, “Hazel. She chose me.”
Weeks later, they vanished. Three nights passed with no sign of them. Then, one morning, Hazel appeared at a bus stop, thinner but unmistakable.
I took her home, called shelters and hospitals, but found nothing.
Two weeks later, June, a street volunteer, told me his name — Martin — and that he might be in County General.
He’d been in a coma with pneumonia. I visited, told him Hazel was safe, and days later, he woke asking for her.
The nurse bent the rules, and Hazel curled beside him as if she’d never left.
Recovery was slow, but a charity found him a pet-friendly studio. Hazel settled in instantly.
A month later, his niece found him after seeing Hazel’s photo online. They reunited, tentatively but warmly.
Now, Martin volunteers at the shelter that once turned him away, after they changed their pet policy.
Hazel remains queen of their home.
And I still bring muffins — proof that a small kindness can grow into something life-changing.