Aw, yousaw here's a hand for you!
Your story makes me think of the song by Don McLean about Vincent van Gogh.
You took your life, as lovers often do
But i could've told you, Vincent
This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you
It often seems that those with the gentlest, sweetest spirits are destined to die far too soon.
I cannot offer the same sort of certainties that a religious person might, but I do think there’s a chance that this man may have experienced, in the process of dying, the feeling of being loved and cared for that evaded him in life.
The reason I say this is because people who have gone through Near Death Experiences often report that they felt a calmness and sense of being loved. Some remember going through a kind of Life Review in which they get to feel from the inside the emotions of people they have encountered along the way.
Most scientists would say that these apparent experiences are conjured up by the dying brain and aren’t real in an absolute sense. Nevertheless these are the sorts of recollections people come back from the brink with.
So what I’m saying is this man, who you met but fleetingly, could have had the consolation you wished for him, whether as a dying ‘dream’ or otherwise.
It sounds like you may need time to grieve for him, even although you did not know him well.
Have a listen to Starry, Starry Night and shed a tear in memory of a good guy, gone too soon.
It is thoughtful of you to care.