The young woman looked to be in her early twenties. She was holding a newborn baby to her chest while comparing prices in front of the  formula aisle . I saw her count out several coins, put them back in her pocket, and finally approach us. Her voice trembling, she asked if we could help her buy a can. Before I could answer, my husband, Alberto, snorted and said,  “Maybe you should have learned about contraception before you started begging.”

 I felt so ashamed that for a few seconds I couldn’t look at him. The girl lowered her head and hugged the baby tighter . I ignored Alberto, took her hand, and gave her the one hundred euros I had for my shopping. My husband started laughing.  “You just gave one hundred euros to a stranger. You’re so naive, Marta.”  A month later we saw her again, but this time she wasn’t asking for anything. When I realized who she really was, I was paralyzed.

📌IMPORTANT: The video related to this story can be found at the end of the article.

My name is Marta and I am fifty-eight years old.

I have been married to Alberto for thirty-two years.