Are We Human?

Chapter 14

That abandoned park became my home for the longest time. I'd only leave it to go to a busier street and beg for food or money sometimes. Occasionally on the ridiculously cold nights, I'd go around the corner to try and find Ivan. But I always came back to my newest home.

Ivan visited me once a week. Every time he'd bring a new type of food he'd snatched off an innocent passerby or found in the dumpsters behind the restaurants of the rundown portion of the city. We'd sit together on the bench and he'd casually talk about what happened between him and his buddies since we last talked. Most of his stories were short but hilarious, and they all brought at least a small smile to my face. I never really talked much to him, but he didn't mind. I liked that about him.

On one particular visit, he brought a loaf of nearly stale bread and a wedge of cheese he had snatched off someone. He broke the bread in half and gave me one side of it. I mumbled my gratitude before breaking the bread into bite sized bits and popping them in my mouth. He tipped his head forward in a sort of nod and got to eating his portion.

"I didn't know it would get this cold during the nights." I eventually admitted after we had both finished our meager portions of food for the day and were bathed in silence. I brought my legs up to my chest, which was sort of a difficult task seeing as we were still sitting on that skinny bench. I wrapped my arms around my legs and put my cheek against my knees, my eyes still facing Ivan. 

He looked back at me sadly, like I was a kicked puppy. "It's worse when you're all by yourself." 

I only nodded and closed my eyes gently. I let the silence wash over us again. I felt my brain battle against its waves, but I still let myself drown. I had become too accustomed to the lack of sound, to the pain of nothing. I let it fill my lungs and choke my throat from the inside out. 

And there Ivan was, saving me once again. 

"You know, if you just come meet my buddies-" 

I cut him off immediately, though. "No, Ivan." I kept my eyes shut and buried my face even farther between my knees to try and block out my thoughts ricocheting around my head. 

"Come on, Dan." He stretched out the O vowel in the second word like he was talking to an especially difficult child. 

I shook my head defiantly, my legs swinging a bit with my face. I knew I was just feeding into the whining child bit, but I honestly didn't care in that moment. He just sighed. 

"Dan, you know you can't stay out here all on your own for much longer." His voice was soft and pleading. My own stubbornness melted beneath such a caring tone. He set his hand on top of my back in a sort of comforting pat. I flinched. He pulled away with a sad look. 

"Please." 

If we weren't crammed together on my bench, I probably wouldn't have been able to hear him. But my resolve died beneath his whisper of a plea and I paused. I let my brain catch up to what I was about to let myself do before I let my lips fall open and the words push out.

I looked up at him with my big brown cow eyes. His eyes were shining, watery and desperate. His adam's apple bobbed up and down a bit as he gulped. His lips were slightly partly with just a bit of air between them and their corners were pulled down a bit, like they always seemed to be nowadays. 

I rolled my eyes. "Fine." His face lit up and both our lips curled into small smiles. 

"Really?" He still whispered it quietly, like he was afraid that if he spoke too loudly I'd break into a million pieces at his feet. I just nodded my head a bit and he jumped right up off his seat. 

His fist pumped through the air above his head in a sign of victory. "Hell yes!" I giggled as he jumped about in front of me before he pulled my own butt up off the bench. We linked our arms together in a loop and he began leading me away before I could even think twice about my spur of the moment decision. 

My smile, however, soon got caught beneath the rolling waves of silence once more. No amount of air charged with excitement and joy could save me this time. 

Please don't regret this.  

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A/N 

So, I know this is late. I don't know, I'm so sorry I wasn't ready to publish this before, but here it is now. Also, there will only be two more chapters of this book, so beware for the end is nigh. No one's reading this anyways, guess it doesn't really matter, actually.