Post by Bianca Sabbato on Jan 15, 2021 10:36:07 GMT -5
Using a stray ray of sunlight filtering through the leaky metal sheet roof of the abandoned building I was currently living in, I tried to read a... What is it called? A column?
I angled a couple pages from a newspaper so the light from above would hit them at the right angle for me to be able to see what they said.
It was... Mostly news about the war. I decided to skip those, I didn’t like them. The rest were mostly about politics and stuff. And used a lot of words I didn’t understand, so those were a lost cause as well. Same as the ones about the economy, but these were at least a little easier to get.
Luckily, I had gotten my hands on a sports section. I didn’t know all of the rules. But I could paint myself a good picture of the matches and fights described in them.
So I always liked having those around, along with some variety of colorful magazines. Those, someone had thrown under a bridge after cutting out some images, for some reason.
I sat over a couple cardboard boxes, flattened and piled one over the other. Munching slowly at a small piece of bread that, despite being quite hard, was still pretty tasty as well. I savored each and every bite. I had been super lucky in getting it, so I would make it last as long as I could.
A flay came near, so I lifted up my long, old skirt and swatted it away with my tail. I didn’t like having to use so much fabric over me. But... Huh... People often didn’t take kindly to me when they saw my tail. So the best I could keep it hidden, the better.
For the rest of my clothes, I made do with whatever I found. Or could trade with other kids. Sometimes I found something a little too small, and I cut it open for fabric. Sometimes they were too big, so I used them as coats and mattresses. I even had a small tent I had made myself with old rags and sticks! It was only big enough for me, but I was alone so...
Yeah... I was alone...
Granny died at the beginning of the year... I don’t think anyone really cared about it... Eventually, the ones who did care came knocking at my door. Well. More like bringing it down to raid the very few valuable things the house had left.
I was in the bathroom when that happened. But I got scared and managed to escape from a small window. I tried to get the attention of the police. And some were really close to the house! But...
They just looked at me, and they laughed. I couldn’t understand it. I had asked for help, and the policemen were already there, so why didn’t they help me? Why did they treat me like I was the one in the wrong? Like I was making them lose their time? They even took out their sticks and told me to scram... It was... It was so unfair. I still got upset just by thinking about it.
It sucked, and I hated it. I hated those men. And I whished dad was there... He could have kicked their butts so we could stay in our home...
I missed him... And mom too... I wished they didn’t have to go... But they did it so I could have a better future... Maybe if it wasn’t for me, they wouldn’t have to leave...
It had been... I dunno, a lot of days since this happened... It had been super scary at first. It still was. But, I had a little food now, a restaurant had thrown some things that were still good, and I managed to fill a small cardboard box with it.
Plus, and there wasn’t a lot of people roaming around this area. I think I caught some people saying it was because there’s a gang settled here. I don’t know how that works, but, at least, it means I could stay here at least a little bit longer.
Sadly, it looked like I wouldn’t be able to do that either...
I heard a rattling noise and immediately stood really still. Trying to listen to where the sound came from. It didn’t take me long to realize that someone had managed to open the front door... But... That lock was one of the few valuable things I had... And I didn’t hear any noise that could have been from someone breaking it.
Feeling my heart jumping on my chest. I skidded to a side to grab the only mean of safety I had managed to acquire during this time. It was a small shiv, nothing more than a sturdy piece of glass with a long strip of cloth coiled around the handle. But it was better than nothing. I was still young... But not dumb.
I heard steps coming closer, so I hastily got into my small tent. The whole building was dark, but more so inside of that. So if they came close, there was a good chance of me being able to poke at them and run away before they could recover. Especially If they were humans who would struggle to see me in the dark.
It would mean leaving the food behind... But I didn’t want to risk it... I... Wasn’t so used to this yet. But I knew that you can’t expect nice treatment from everybody.
Peeking from behind my... Let’s call them curtains. I managed to see something that made immediately made me be relieved. It was only a girl... She looked more or less my age. So there was a chance I could scare her away with the knife if she didn’t want to go.
My scarce food was still outside. So I would wait till the girl got close before making myself known. Making sure not to make a single noise as I waited for her to come here.
-...That’s mine...- I whispered from my hideout, waiting for a response.
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