Belonging to the Streets

Gray Shoes

It's quiet. Thousands of feet stomp on the concrete floor. Even more people are talking. The church bells ring, signaling that it's a new hour. Today's very quiet. Other days are loud. It's so quiet, I could hear a pin drop. And I did. If you can count food as a pin.

A group of ladies were holding food in their hands. A big chunk of their food fell in front of me. I scrambled to pick it up and eat it. I know the concrete isn't sanitary. But I don't care. I never had a chunk of food that big in forever.

I picked a good spot. The center of the town is filled with restaurants and food vendors. At least one piece of someone's food falls near me. And, the big building in the middle has the date and time. I know how many birthdays of mine have passed. 13. I know how many years have passed. 13. I know how long I've been on these cold streets. 13 years. I've heard that 13 is an unlucky number. But, I'm 17, so I shouldn't need to worry, right?

A pair of shoes stopped in front of me. I just studied them until they started to move again. They were gray shoes with white laces and white soles. I stared for a while. I probably look like I'm trying to move the shoes with my mind. They never did. It's like they were drilled into the ground. Out of curiosity, I looked up, and saw a boy that couldn't be any younger than me. He was staring right at me. I shot my head back down, focusing on the hard, coarse ground beneath me. My white shirt that had light brown dust and grime in the middle, how dirty it had become over the years. My black pants, how they look the same even though I haven't changed them for over 5 years. My light brown hair, the way it looks like yellow hair in the sunlight, how it's very knotted, because I only have my fingers as a brush, yet it's wavy.

After looking at everything I could, I tilted my head back up to the boy. He was still there. He was still staring. I haven't moved from this spot since I was thrown out. But this boy is persistent. I sighed and stood up, moving near an alleyway I'm familiar with. I sat close to where the buildings split to create a hallway. Gray shoes stop in front of me. I look up again. I haven't looked up this many times in a day. It was the boy.

His shoes started to move, but closer to me. I hugged my knees to my chest as tight as possible, waiting for the blow to my head. Nothing came. I looked around, only to see him sitting next to me. His light blue eyes barely moved. I took this moment to study the human in front of me. He has honey skin, hair so blonde it was almost white. His torso was covered by a light gray hoodie, and his legs were covered by black pants.

He wouldn't stop staring. He didn't have anything I wanted. My eyes drifted back to the black asphalt in front of me. I blink. He stares. I blink again. He continues to stare. The holes he burns into the side of my head start to agitate me. I turn back to him, my face now clearly annoyed. He does nothing.

I'm fed up. I stand up once more and head into the alleyway. There's a dumpster behind a fence. The dumpster is for the donut shop down the road. I hop the fence, open up the lid, and grab a donut in the middle. No one's taken a bite out of it yet, and is still fairly warm. I put the donut in my mouth and hop back over. My feet touch the ground and I fully bite the donut. The boy is in front of me. I sigh.

"What do you want from me? I'm not breaking any laws, am I? I mean, why would hopping over a fence to take something from a dumpster be illegal?"

No response.

"If you're not gonna talk, then leave me alone. I have other things to deal with"

"Where are your parents?"

"What?"

I was a bit taken aback by the question. I mean, if I had parents, I wouldn't be fishing food out of dumpsters and wearing dirty, beat up clothes. Is this boy stupid?

"The creatures that gave birth to me, I do not see as my parents"

"Do you have a home?"

I wanted to punch this kid. I wanted to punch him so he'd stop asking stupid questions. If I had a home, I wouldn't be doing what I've been doing for years.

"No, and I don't want one"

"Why not?"

"I'm content with my life now. I don't need it to change"

"But, I have a home you can stay in. Why don't you come with me?"

"Are you deaf? I just said I'm fine with living like this"

"Are you sure?"

"Positive"

"But-"

God, this kid is persistent.

"My answer is no and will stay no. Go back to your home and leave me on the streets. They're my home now"

He opened and closed his mouth. He wanted to say something, but didn't. I don't want to waste anymore time. My legs start to move forward and I purposefully bumped him on the shoulder. I settled into my original spot, before that kid showed up. I hope he leaves me alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The gray shoes are next to me again. I ignore. I ignore again. I ignore some more. They still won't go away. This is starting to piss me off.

"Why are you so god damn persistent?"

"Because I want you to be living in a better place than the streets"

I face him. Stare at him directly in his barely blue eyes.

"From my experience, living on the streets is ten times better than living in some home"

I focus my sight forward again. He doesn't say anything. I think that hit him hard.

His gray shoes move and walk away.

I didn't see them again for two weeks.