𝑩𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝒖𝒑 (𝑹𝒆-𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏)

𝓞𝓷𝓮

Omniscient

His once green army jacket, faded to a light grey, covered the untucked, torn, and sweat-stained Goodwill T-shirt under it. He wore an old pair of denim blue jeans that were shredded in the knees and rested three inches above his boney ankles. His eyes, filled with loneliness and despair as if he had realized a lack of purpose in his life.

His clothes were once high end, but with enough wear and dirt anything can look like rags. His skin was hidden behind layers of grime and his hair hung as a tangled mop of brown and black.

"Thank you." Jelani mumbled, hugging his jacket tighter and putting his feet into his slides.

It was a stormy day in Charlotte, North Carolina. He often wondered how he ended up in the state of North Carolina. This wasn't his home nor was it something he was familiar with. Here he was all alone in a city that he had no family in.

"I'll be praying for you, sweetie." The old lady said sweetly.

Although Jelani was homeless, he was the happiest man on earth. He truly believed that God was going to bless him unconditionally. The phrases he said all day long when asking for change were starting to stick in his head. The people at the shelter he stayed at were so quiet, it seemed like the only words he said all day were, "Get a guy something to eat," and "God bless you."

At the end of the day, he was able to go into the discount grocery store and get himself some snacks. He'd buy two for right then and one for the next morning. On some days he had a little bit extra and that went into the savings in a zipped up pocket on his coat. He didn't know what he was saving for, but maybe someday he'd be able to talk about it using some different words.

This man without a home loved family more than anything and he told everybody every last detail of his family members. His situation was partially his fault, he got so caught up in the fast life that he didn't see the snakes around. Someone he thought he could trust turned their back on him for some money. The day he went to prison, his life changed forever. He became mute and didn't talk unless he had to. People would label him as weird and awkward but didn't understand what he had went through.

He'd had so much anger growing up and he ran away from every chance someone was willing to give him. He chose the fast life over the legal life. Not this time, he thought to himself, this might be the last one he'd ever get. What was the situation behind his homelessness and will he ever be able to pull himself out of it?

He hung out with a rough crowd and he almost laughed thinking about some of the stupid stuff they did. That crowd was the same one that got him into selling drugs during school. Even now, years since he'd had the stuff, he knew that just one handful of it would send him back down the hole for another half a decade.

"Jelani?"

His head snapped up as he stared at his former high school teacher. David and Jelani had kept in contact throughout his jail time. He would often put money on his books and even came to visit him. David was a father figure to him considering that his father had left him.

"How ya doin, David?" He muttered.

Jelani wasn't a rude person, if someone he knew spoke to him, he would speak back. It was the strangers that he was mute to. He could say "thank you" all day but actually holding a conversation with a stranger would never happen. He felt that people were judgmental without trying to understand their situation.

"I'm doing good. Why aren't you at the shelter?" He wondered.

He had offered Jelani a place to stay, but Jelani immediately declined due to independence. He didn't like when people did things for him because he didn't want it thrown back in his face. He felt that he was a man and he should be able to provide for himself.

"A lil girl and ha mama needed it mo than I did." He shrugged.

Truthfully, he hated to see a child struggle. He knew how that felt and if that meant giving up his place to stay, he would do it over and over again. Even homeless he still had a huge heart, he believed in blessings. When you do things for others, you'll get blessed ten times more.

He wanted to get a job so that he could get back on his feet. His unemployment had nothing to do with a lack of trying.
He hasn't found anybody willing to hire a homeless, ex-drug dealer yet, but damned if he wasn't going to keep trying.

"Why don't you stay with me for the night?"

"Nah David, I don't want to invade yo personal space like dat."

David knew how Jelani's attitude could be, so he wasn't going to keep pressing the issue. He just wanted to help the young man out, he seen the potential in him. He was smart and well spoken for someone who didn't finish school.

"It's raining plus it's freezing out here."

"I don't want yo sympathy." He spat.

"It's not sympathy, Nyzir." He said, calling him by his middle name. "You're like my son and I don't want you out here in this rain. So either you get your ass up and come on or I will pick yo lanky ass up."

"You ain't have to call me lanky." He mumbled, standing up.

"I could've called you something worse. Are you hungry?"

"No sir." He mumbled.

After a few minutes of silence, Jelani's stomach began to growl loudly causing David to chuckle. He turned into Popeyes, ordering enough food to feed himself, his wife, and Jelani.

"Put your fucking pride aside, Jelani! I've know you for years now and I don't mind helping you."

"I just feel bad that I can't provide for myself. I didn't plan for my life to go like this."

"Everybody has fuck ups and I know you're not the type to sit on your ass and do nothing. You will get your blessing when it's time but for right now, accept the help you are getting."

"I hea ya."

***

Let's welcome back my babies Jelani & Lauren!! 🥳

I've missed them and decided to rewrite some things in this book. I was very young when I wrote this, so it was all over the place. Now I'm older and I have gotten a little better at writing.

Noticed the new book cover? 🤭

Anyways, I hope you will enjoy this new book. Some things will be the same but a lot of it will be different.