Dreams Do Come True

A strange place

It's cold. Is this what heaven feels like? Or am I in.. The other place?
I try to open my eyes and hear myself groan. Slowly I open my eyes and see bricks next to me. A wall of bricks. I always thought heaven would be soft and cloudy. I guess that's not where I am, because I'm laying down on a hard surface, next to a brick wall. I can feel a cold wind that makes my numb body shiver. I try to sit up, but I feel dizzy and everything gets blurry. The arm that I'm leaning on is weak, so I fall back onto the hard surface.
I hear someone walking up to me. Suddenly I see a hairy old man leaning over me. He looks at me and shakes his head.
'Ya better lay down a bit longer. Yur body needs to recover. It's cold out here', he says with a strange accent. He has a rough voice, but yet he sounds friendly.
About 30 minutes later, I try to sit up again. This time I slowly push myself away from the ground. I make it all the way up, without feeling dizzy. It may sound normal, but I think it's an accomplishment. I look around and realize where I am. I'm underneath the bridge, next to the water. There's a small fire burning, with the old man sitting next to it. He's wearing a big cloak and a large scarf. His hair is long, grey and dirty, just like his beard. He's eating soup out of a can.
Next to me there are some more cans, some empty bottles and a backpack.
'What happened?', I ask.
'Well, last night I was sittin' here, eatin' my soup, as usual. When suddenly I heard someone cryin' n' screamin'. There was a large storm, so I wasn't sure if it was a person, or my imagination. But because it kept on goin', I decided to go on the bridge and have a look at what was goin' on. There, I found you. You were just lett'n' go. Ya passed out as I grabbed yur hand. I brought ya here, tucked ya in and ya know the rest.'
He turned back around like it was the most obvious story he ever told.
'Sooo... You saved my life?', I insinuate.
'I guess that's what ya could call it, yeah', he replies with his mouth full of cold soup. It drips out as he talks. Not very tasty-looking.
'You should head home, kid. Yur parents are probably worried 'bout ya.'
I grin. They're probably just enjoying the time they can spend without me.
'Where are we?'
'Underneath a bridge'
'Yeah, I know THAT, but WHERE are we?'
'In Loshester', the man says proudly.
'Loshester!? That's around 10 kilometers from where I live!'
'Better get goin' then, if you wanna be home b'for the dark.'
I sigh. This is a nightmare! I wish he didn't stop me last night. I wish Mason was here. With his car. I wish I-
I'm doing it again.. Wishing for things that'll never happen. Stop it, Anna. It's not happening. Just.. Stop.
I feel some tears rolling down my cheeks.
'Hey kiddo, I know life is tough for ya right now, but if you want somethin', ya gotta fight for it! Things ain't commin' easy in life. Ya gotta figure out whether somethin' is worth the fight, or not. I'm guessin' Mason is worth it.'
'Mason? You know him?'
'Nope. But you were screamin' his name a lot yesterday, along with Clara, Gavin and yur parents.'
I guess Mason IS worth the fight.
'Ya want a ride?', the man says while pointing at a shopping cart.
'In that thing?'
'Hey! Her name's Becky! And she rides better than you'd expect.'
'Sure.. Why not..'
I get up slowly and walk over to Becky (aka. a rusty, broken, old shopping cart).
'Don't be afraid! Get in! I promise ya', she don't bite!'
The man starts laughing at his own joke. I fake a smile and get in the cart. He starts stepping it and we're on our way. Becky doesn't go very fast, but he was right about the comfort. It's quite pleasant.
Along the way, the man tells me a lot about himself and he gives me some advice. Now I know that he is called John and that his ex-wife cheated on him. She took all his belongings and made him homeless. He wanted to kill himself, but decided not to. He realized life is too beautiful to just trow away like that. You can't let is pass you by. You have to enjoy it! Then, he found the love of his life: Stacy. A broken blowup doll. He says they met in the park. She was sticking out of a trashcan, so he took her home. Now they've been living together for the last 2 years. They've thought about having kids, but Stacy's not down for that. I think it's because she doesn't have a womb.