Michaelishious - Vol. 2018

Dec. 19: Homeless

"Sir? May I ask for a dime? Sir? Do you have anything to..."

But the man kept walking.

"Excuse me, kind lady? Do you have..."

"Shame on you!" the luxurious clothed woman hissed, and wrapped her arm protectively around the shoulders of her child, to shield him from looking at the homeless girl that wandered around in the streets. Her only goal for the day was to survive, and perhaps get enough money to buy a meal. But that didn't happen every day. And today it seemed more hopeless than ever since it was Christmas Eve, and only a few of the stores were open. And to make matters worse, they were closing in less than an hour.

Hunger made her stomach ache, and a shiver from the biting cold ran down her spine. But she couldn't give up. She had to keep trying. Maybe the next person she met would give her enough to buy a slice of bread down at the old motel? Sometimes the young girl that worked there let her do that, if they had leftovers from their guests.

If only it wasn't so cold.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

The starving girl reached out to an old lady walking her dog, but with disgust in her eyes, she turned and walked the other way. Even her dog barked at her. And with lowered head and arms wrapped around her thin body, the girl decided to cross the street to get to the 7-Eleven. Maybe she was allowed to stay inside long enough to get warmer? Maybe for as long as five minutes?

But she wasn't. It was the manager himself that stood behind the counter, and he recognized her immediately.

"Get out!" he yelled.
"We don't want people like you around here, so get out!"

"But, Sir! Just a couple of minutes? Please... It's so cold outside."

But the angry man pushed her out of the store, and dramatically brushed off his hands afterwards like if she was contagious or covered in boils. And the girl struggled to stay on her feet because he shoved her so hard. But she managed. Barely.

"HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!"

A large man in a black suit shouted at her when she crashed into him, but this time she didn't manage to stay on her feet. She slipped on the ice, fell backwards and hit the back of her head on the pavement. A little groan slipped out of her, and made the man hesitate for a moment. But as soon as he saw her propping herself up on her elbows, he started to walk again; away from her. But then she heard another voice, one that was different. It was high pitched, and soft and hard at the same time. He sounded angry, and she could hear him come closer.

"HEY! BILL!" he yelled.
"You can't leave her laying like that!"

He gave the huge man a strict glare, and reached out his hand to the poor girl.

"I'm sorry, Sir. She just came barging and you said I needed to hurry, and..."

"I saw what happened!" the man with the black curly hair snapped. But he kept holding out his arm, waiting for the girl to take it. And reluctantly, she did. She looked between the two men before she got back onto her feet, and she suddenly felt awfully exposed. Nervously, she wrapped the old, worn out jacket tighter around herself, and noticed how her fingers felt stiff from the cold.

"Are you alright?" the man with the mild voice asked, before he nodded towards the large man, who took the hint and left.

"Yes," she lied. Her head hurt, but she didn't want to look weak. Living on the streets, weakness could mean death, and she knew there were eyes everywhere. And they would find her afterwards, to steal whatever seemed valuable to them. Even her clothes. Or her life.