She's called Faith

and I bought her and named her specifically for a brand new person I have never met. Indeed, a person whose very existence I can't be entirely certain of.

While cycling home at speed from work on Wednesday, euphoric in the knowledge that my identity had been confirmed, a young man stepped out into the road in front of me and requested me to stop. It seemed like an emergency. I could more easily have swerved around him but instead I applied my brakes. Hard.

His story was that he was a brand new father, the appearance of his offspring being rather suddenly unexpected and premature. He told me that mother and baby were now home but that he needed to charge up the electric to keep the baby-saving gizmo running. Common sense tells you that premature babies are not released from hospital to live in life-saving kit into homes which cannot stump up the electricity tab, but I was euphoric and he was utterly delightful. So we hugged and I emptied my wallet at him and he told me which house number I could come to visit the baby at, get the biggest drink of my life and be repaid twice-over – once the in-laws arrived in another 24 hours.

It has played on my mind since then. Was he a very good trickster? Was he speaking the truth? Am I a gullible idiot? Do I really want to know? Do scam artists really jump out in front of speeding bicycles waving their arms about wildly?

After some days and nights thinking about it I concluded that yes, I do really want to know. Am I a gullible idiot or is my faith in humanity well-founded. I decided to buy a “welcome to the world” gift for the child and to take it round in person. If I find a young and anxious family then I will hand over my gift and ask for nothing in return, my faith in my own judgement will have been restored, and there is no price you could put on that. If I find a scabby crack-den then the little white doggie will come to live with me and remind me to be less gullible in future.

In the past I have been on the receiving end of unsolicited kindness from complete strangers and this is my opportunity to spread the love.

So tonight I have been round that way and at the first house I found with the correct number on the door was a very nice family but not the one I was seeking. But there is a side street, so I went up it and found another house with the same number, a few lights on but nobody answering the door. It doesn't look like a crack den though so I hope that I have found the correct house and I also hope they haven't had to make an emergency trip to hospital.

So it looks like I shall have to keep Faith until tomorrow. .  .  .

I should point out that when selecting the toy, I made sure it was one I could happily live with myself, as well as being soft and cuddly and entirely suitable for a brand new person. I just hope I don't grow too fond of it meanwhile.