IThe Chicago wind cut my pale lips like a white knife. My ripped gloves showed my nimble, pale,and scarred hands. What was I going to eat today? I could barely think straight I was so cold... and hungry. The street corner of Roosevelt Avenue was quiet, surprisingly. I was not going to get any handouts tonight. But to my surprise a young woman walked past me, she had a Starbucks cup in her hand, and iPhone in the other. She had on long designer boots, she was beautiful.
"Please." I croaked. The woman paused, walked closer up to me and handed me her Starbucks cup. Did she really just do that?
"God bless!" I yelled after her, but she was already down the block. I slowly put the Starbucks cup up to my full lips, I had to make this last, the cup was already half empty. Coffee. A year ago, when I was eighteen, I hated coffee. But this, this was heaven. I had to move somewhere else, I need to keep moving even though there is no other place to go. I like walking around Chicago because it makes me feel like I'm doing something, busy work I guess, or maybe I'm just trying to warm up. I had another tiny sip of my coffee, it was so hot, I thought about pouring it on myself but that most likely wouldn't end well considering I have no place to shower. When was the last time I took a shower? Seems like it was forever ago. I was walking down the streets of Chicago, I passed the boardwalk, I saw a glimpse of the "Bubba Gump" restaurant. I used to love shrimp. Maybe they have some. I walked toward Bubba Gump and dug in one of the nearby trashcans. What I found was a stick that used to have a churro on it, empty water bottles, soda cans, news flyer's, and then I hit the jackpot, one single piece of shrimp. It was dirty and gross, even for me, maybe the person threw it away because they dropped it on the floor... idiots. I popped it in my mouth and laughed to myself. This is a good day, best one I've had in awhile. I continued on my way, maybe I'll go to the old train station, but it is scary down there at night...
Eh, I'll take my chances. The old train station is a restaurant now, I think its called Moe's. I've never been inside or eaten there, never had enough money. A short ugly man started walked simultaneously as me on the other side of the sidewalk. I walked a little faster, and then I started whistling "skip to my Lou." My mother used to sing that song to me. The ugly short man started to whistle the same tune, I turned the corner, and then he started sprinting. I ran as fast as I possibly could, which was not fast at all considering I'm homeless and have nothing to eat most of the time. I turned into a dark alley and hopped into a dumpster I have been in many times before. I heard footsteps, the man who was following me before is looking for me, he is still whistling "skip to my Lou."
"Creep." I thought to myself. A couple minutes later I heard his footsteps slowly fade away, he was gone now, I'm safe. I slowly got out of the dumpster and a terrible realization fixated onto me. My coffee, where was it? I rapidly searched the dumpster, nowhere. Maybe I left it at the boardwalk? And just then I felt a terrible excruciating pain in the middle section of my back and saw my life flash before my eyes.
My 8th birthday when Aunt Madeline ruined it by accidentally running over my cat. When Henry my older brother ran over the frozen pond, trying to chase after a rabbit. But the ice broke and he drowned and all I could do was scream, I was only 5. When I failed half of my finals my freshman year. When my dad passed away when I was 15 from a drunken driver. When my mother left.
The ugly short man pulled the knife out from my back, and I fell onto the concrete ground.
But now I am free.