Making a left from Julia Vargas to Meralco Avenue (towards Metrowalk), I saw a man standing on the triangular island, holding a map. I rolled down my window and called out to him, and asked if he needed help. He wanted to know how to get to Fort Bonifacio. I asked him how he intended to get there. “Running,” he said. I warned him that he was to pass mostly highways to get there. He didn’t seem to mind. So I quickly thought of the simplest [vs. shortest] route which, to me (based on our exact location at that very moment), was for him to go down Julia Vargas all the way till he hit Libis, make a right, then go straight along Libis/C5, past the U-Turn fly-over, till the Exit on the right leading to the Fort. I told him I would point out what I’d just said on the map (so he could get a visual). While trying to locate our “You Are Here” point, I asked him where he was from. “France,” he answered. “I don’t see too many people holding maps around here,” I said, “so I figured you could use some help.”

Just a few seconds after we’d parted I replayed what had just happened in my mind. He was wearing an oversized shirt, casual shorts, and rubber shoes that didn’t really look like those were for running. I suddenly felt guilty for not offering to just give him a ride to the Fort. So…I turned back and went along the path I pointed out to him, hoping to find him and offer him a ride. He was nowhere along Julia Vargas. Maybe he realized it was too far and decided to take a cab or changed his mind about going to the Fort altogether and went to the mall instead. Oh well.