As the sun descended beneath the horizon, golden stripes spilled across the sky into small ripples as orange, magenta, pink and indigo interlaced blending together with natural harmony. As the final rays of golden light, tightly making its final embrace to the sky as if reluctant to let go, the luminous, almost ethereal noctilcuent clouds sparkled like shooting stars as they caught the last sacred rays of sunshine. As they flickered slowly, the flock of birds flew gracefully toward the horizon their bodies gliding effortlessly through the sky. She sat there observing the all of this with awe just living in the moment. The sky was now emerged in darkness.
Grrrmmmm! That was the sound of her stomach grumbling. She forced herself up and tip-toed around the dogs around her as she didn't want to wake them up. She then walked around the town in search of food in eat in dumpsters. She found a half eaten apple, a tiny piece cake that was half eaten, and an expired drink.
As she made her way back to her spot her face twisted in agony as she limped, every step sending sharp, merciless waves of pain throughout her body, she saw a homeless man with thick, bushy brows, torn clothes, a deep scar across his face that made him look like a ferocious beast, and this sharp glint in his eyes that made her shiver unconsciously. When he saw her, his lips curved into a crooked, predatory grin revealing his brownish-yellow, mottled teeth with jagged, pointy edges with large gaps in between which twisted his face into an unnatural, grotesque expression that made her breath hitch and her stomach churn. She stood there frozen in terror, her first instinct for her to run but she ached all over and her legs seemed to have been frozen in place by an invisible force. "Hey kid. Whacha doing in this part of this streets? You looking for something or someone? Your parents perhaps?" She flinched upon hearing his deep, hoarse, raspy voice. When she looked closely, she saw that one of his legs were broken. It twisted in an unnatural way that a leg could not. She cautiously made her way to him trembling in pain and fear but worry pushed her forward . In a timid voice she asked tentatively , " sir, a-are you ok? Y-your leg looks as if it's broken." The man stared at her with a mixture amusement and a complexity in his gaze. "Huh? Yeah! Am a tough guy as you see. Am no punk!" He pause and then add " hey kid. You shouldn't be here. You do know that punks can come and attack you at anytime regardless if you're a minor. This hungry f*ck3rs don't give a damn." "Yes. I know. B-but you're injured and probably starving too.Here. Y-you can have this" With a shaky hand she handed the food to him."Hahaha. I must say im impressed — coming all this way to come and help a stranger you know nothing about. That's not something you see everyday. Thanks." As he said this he pushed himself upward and stretched out his arms and reached for the food which revealed crooked fingers with long, dirty nails and bruises that covered every inch of his skin. Her eyes widen in shock as she stared at him with melancholy. "Oh these? Ha! I got them from all the sh*t I went through on these streets. And the people here are just as sh*tty." Chum! He ate as he continued to speak. "They don't give a crap about us low lives here on the street." With a cautious, worried tone she asked,"s-so... were you just planning on sitting here... alone?" " yeah. I mean not much I can do. I can't even walk to go search for any food. He let out and a bitter, self deprecating laugh. "Haha. Pathetic, I know. But in the world here on the streets, you're fighting a battle of survival by yourself whether you like it or not. If you're weak, you die, if you're strong, well... you might just make it to see another sunrise. That's just how the world works." As he said this he took a big bite of the food as if it were his last life line. The little girl watched him silently without saying anything. After he finished he thanked her once more. "Thanks kid. You saved my life." " Y-you're welcome." " Hey kid! A word of advice, not everyone here you see on the streets will be as chill as me so try your best to keep yourself outta danger. Here on these streets, you got no one but yourself." Her steps faltered for a moment before she gently made her way back to the dumpsters searching for food. After a few more minutes, she finally found an open can with a little bit of bean along with 2 moldy pieces bread that she devoured greedily.
She then made her way back to her little corner in the alleyway, where she sat down and prayed to God. " Thank you papa for giving me food to eat again today. I pray that you watch over the man in backroad streets. Please protect him and heal his leg. In Jesus's name I pray, Amen." After her prayer, she positioned herself carefully as she tried to sleep but the pain made it impossible for her to fall asleep. Even the slightest of movement led to great anguish. She stayed up all night until dusk where the sun peaked up above the horizon, where finally she managed to doze off.