Chapter Two
By the time I was seven I had supper, clean up, and prep for the next day down to a science. So much so that I had loads of time to venture out and see what lay beyond the apartment complex and school on my own. The world looks different through a child's eyes than it does to an adult.
I also learned it was best to carry a stick in one hand and keep the other one in my pocket around a small pocket knife I found on a dumpster dive. I saw bigger kids bullying smaller kids too many times to not have a way to make sure they didn't hurt me. Once I saw a big boy hitting on a smaller boy until he has blood all over his face and he couldn't move. He just laid on the ground. The big boy finally left. I thought the smaller boy was dead for a while. He laid there for so long without moving. Then when he was sure the big boy was gone, he got up and hobbled away. I knew then I needed to carry something. So far no one has bothered me.
So far my outings had gone unnoticed. I was just as invisible out of the house as I was in the house.
I've found so many things on my outings. Little treasures and such. So much that I've had to create a secret hiding place so my mom wouldn't find them and know I have not been staying home. I found a spot in the basement behind a big board that covers a hole in the plaster wall.
You wouldn't believe what you can find in the dumpsters of a big ole city. People throw everything away it seems. But then again to a seven year old lots of things can be considered treasure. I think my best find so far was an actual treasure. Someone threw out an old gym bag and it was full of money and some jewelry. I am just learning how to count money and what types of money there are (bills and coins). So right now I don't know exactly how much I found, but I can't wait to know. There was a watch with diamonds on it. A big ring with some blue stones in it. Another ring with some red stones. And a necklace with diamonds and black stones with matching earrings. It was scary, fun and exciting to find that old gym bag.
I ran home fast when I found that one. I didn't stay out and play more. I didn't want anyone to take it from me. There was more jewelry than that in there, and all of it was covered in money.
I waited two whole days before I went back to that dumpster to look for more. I am glad I did. Because when I did go back there, there were police everywhere and they pulled a dead body out of that same dumpster. I overheard one officer telling another that the body had been there for a few days. He said it looked like a robbery, homicide. Along with the body they pulled out another gym bag full of money and jewelry.
I've never ran so hard in my life as I did right then. I ran all the way home and straight into the bathroom to throw up. Not only had I been digging around in that dumpster with a dead body, but I had a bag full of stolen things. What was I supposed to do now?
I didn't leave the house on any outings again for a couple of months. I was too scared. I heard my moms friend (the grandpa one) telling her about the whole thing about a week after the body was found. He didn't know who killed the man, or why he was in the dumpster with a bag full of loot and his killer didn't take it. But he did know who the dead man was and he knew he had just robbed some savings deposit boxes at a bank that a lot of wealthy people in the area kept their "extra" cash and the more expensive jewelry that they didn't want to keep at their homes. He said the dead man was one if his no good bum nephews. His dad was pressing "grandpa" to find his killer and kill him too.
Now I am really scared. What do I do with all the treasure I found? Someone would recognize it if I tried to do anything with it. A seven year old with stolen jewelry that belonged to important people. What do I do? Then I had an idea.
Over the next few weeks when mom was at work, I took the bag from my hiding spot up to my room. I took all the treasures, money and all, out. I grabbed all my stuffed toys and opened them up. I made just a big enough hole in them that I could stuff them with my treasure. Problem was I didn't have enough toys. So I cut a few holes in the bottom of my mattress and stuffed the rest in there. Now I know you are wondering how a seven year old would think of this, but remember I am home by myself a lot. I can watch anything I want on TV when I am alone. A kid learns a lot from movies.
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