Rain

Rain

It came. It just fell on the man. The water was harsh; he had a black garbage bag covering his legs, but that didn’t help much. The big suitcase on the sidewalk next to him had puddles on the top part. His umbrella was big, a gift from a passing stranger who was in town for a few days. The man’s head was down; his eyes stared at the sidewalk, then they went up to read the sign on the store’s glass window. I want out of here, he muttered. I want out, but I burned so many places, so many chances. People went by. The man put his head down on top of the suitcase and went to sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bless?

Bless?

“God Bless you”, the man said, dropping coins into her tall beggar cup. She looked at the coins. “Great. 22 cents. God can bless me a lot for this. It’s a fortune.”. She shook her head and shrugged.

 

The Bum?

Bum?

“Get up! You can walk! You made it here, so you can walk”. The ambulance worker’s voice was sharp. The man was down, stretched out on the sidewalk, almost by the curb. He tried getting up but fell down again. “A stretcher,” he said. “No, you are not getting a stretcher. You made it here. You can walk.” The worker and her male partner lifted the man by the seat of his pants and dragged him to the ambulance. In the ambulance, she strapped him to the chair; the strap’s color was fiery red. His face was down. “You are drunk,” the woman worker said. He mumbled something and the woman drove to the hospital.

 

The Rain

The Rain

He pushed it; he pushed it as hard as he could. It had started to rain and he didn’t want to get wet. He shouldn’t have left a safe place to be nowhere again, but he was too angry. He needed help and he said he hadn’t received it in the safe place. He was going to go and be on the sidewalk or near the sidewalk. He said he belonged there. The heavy coat on top of the umbrella was getting wet. The man saw a phone booth across the street. He pushed himself and the suitcase there. This is where I’ll spend the night, he told his companion. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. His companion looked at him. I can’t believe you, the companion said.