My Collection of Short Stories

The Little Homeless Boy

Back in my sophomore year of high school I was required to write a short story using certain words that my English class gave me and this somehow developed. The Little Homeless Boy was the first ever short story I wrote that I was genuinely proud of writing. Although, over time I've made some small changes but ultimately it's still the same. Please enjoy, comment, and vote if you like it.

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The warm night air was daunting and filled with the ringing of bullets and explosions of bombs. A raid had commenced only a few hours ago – the radio had said a quisling was the cause of it – and the dogfights overhead were very slowly starting to lessen.

A minuscule boy ran through the dirty streets, garbage, shrapnel, and glass littered on the ground. He carried with him his only memento of his family – a picture frame – and a backpack that was barely full. Tears raced down his cheeks as he ran, scared out of his mind and hoping to get as far away from the fight as possible.

He ducked through crowds of other scared people and dodged falling bricks, trying to make his way out of the city. His grandmother's home was quite a few miles away but he believed he could make it – he had to.

He ran and ran until he was finally in the safe zone, the dogfights only a low hum in the distance. He stopped for a quick breath in a nearby alleyway and wiped his remaining tears, trying to stay strong. He couldn't think about his deceased family now – that would come later when he was in the arms of his grandmother. His stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since breakfast and was very much hungry.

It was then that he realized his pack that he had grabbed from his family's fallen house only had a spare change of clothes, a half-finished water bottle, and a school notebook and pencil. From the handwriting in the notebook, he could tell it had belonged to his older brother.

Unfortunately, him not having any food meant he would have to rummage through nearby garbage bins. It would more than likely be seen as pathetic by anyone passing, but he was hungry and that was the only way he could satisfy his hunger.

He looked around, searching for something he could dig through for food. A small garbage bin sat next to a dumpster not too far away from him, teasing him into coming closer. He took a hesitant step toward it before breaking into a run and throwing off the lid. Unabashed, he dug through old newspapers, peels of bananas, and torn up clothes, and luckily came upon a ham and turkey sandwich that was wrapped up in a plastic baggy. It didn't look as if it had any mold, thankfully, and the wrapping didn't have any rips, so it seemed perfectly fine to eat.

He sat down next to the fallen lid, carefully setting his picture frame beside him. He tentatively unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite of it. It wasn't the best – nothing like his mama's – but God had blessed him with it, so he wasn't complaining.

After he finished eating, he grabbed his picture frame and gently set it in his pack before continuing on his journey.

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It's very short I know, I apologize. But when I wrote it, I was required to write something short so I did what I could with my instructions and this came into existence. It may not be much but I really do like how it turned out. Please let me know what you thought of it too in the comments and vote if you liked it. Thank you!

Have a blessed day<3