When I was no more than ten metres away from him, I raised my right arm in greeting and, unsure of what else to say, said "Hello there." The stranger put his hands, together with his now half-eaten sandwich, in his lap and responded with a friendly and hearty "Hello there yourself".
He was still smiling and I couldn't help but smile back. I was now three metres away from him and decided that this was about as close as I wanted to be. A couple of seconds of silence passed and the unknown man decided to continue the awkward conversation by asking "What is your name wanderer?"
"You can call me William." I replied.
"Nice to meet you William, my name is John. What brings you to visit little old me?"
"Well, I was just wandering around these parts and I couldn't help but notice, whilst surveying the area, you sitting here all alone and..." Don't say defenceless! "...eating." Nice save.
John's smile grew wider; he opened his mouth and let out a loud chuckle.
"Well, you're right there," John said after his chuckle died "I am eating and, seeing as how your reason for coming here is that fact, I suppose you want some too?"
My stomach answered by growling in acknowledgement and John let out another chuckle. Embarrassed, I started to scratch the back of my head and replied "You got me there I'm afraid, but I'm not here to take or beg; I would like to trade whatever interests you to whatever food you have left."
"I'm sorry," John replied "I don't do trading."
Kill me now.
"But!" John gleefully said "I do do giving."
I would like to retract that last request.
"You don't have to..." I started, but John interrupted me: "Oh nonsense, here just let me..." And with that he grabbed a small knife from his pack and started to cut away the parts he had eaten. Within seconds the sandwich was neatly cut and John offered me that little piece of heaven.
I stepped forward eagerly, almost desperately, reaching out for the small piece of bread. Before I grabbed it, however, common sense finally kicked in and I stopped in front of John whilst I slung my backpack over one shoulder.
"You wouldn't mind me scanning this first, right?" I inquired "Not that I don't trust you or anything."
"By all means," John replied "Can't be too careful nowadays now can we?"
I allowed myself a short chuckle and pulled the ScanBoy© out of my pack. It was one of the last pieces of Old Technology around and I found it hidden in a safe somewhere. The scanner was the size of a packet of cigarettes and shared the same weight. The little machine and I had an agreement: I made sure I kept it working despite the harsh environment, and he saves my life whenever he can.
Resisting the urge to wolf down the entire sandwich in one bite, I accepted the food in John's hand and scanned it. The ScanBoy© would detect any substances that would result in sickness, paralysation, death, or any other bodily misfortune. After a minute, the scanner beeped and three green lights indicated that the scanned item did, in fact, not contain anything that could be a nuisance.
I looked at John and asked, for confirmation "You sure?"
"Please, eat!" he responded, looking genuinely like someone who was doing someone else a big favour.
I nodded, took a bite and the world around me was gone.