The Lost

It was a rainy day, Friday afternoon, wind rushed through the air, lighting raged, thunder crashed. An ominous day, with never ending clouds and sharp piercing breezes that cut through the thinnest crack of the rustling trees. The skies are mad, God demands an explanation, somethings about to happen.

It was the end of a busy day, businessmen and women filled the streets, rushing to go home. Some waiting for a taxi, while others lines up behind a bus stop, others, briskly moving up and down the streets. Sounds of heels and expensive, leather shoes clattered the the cement sidewalk, the shouting and the many excuse mes. People squished pass each other with their umbrellas, some murmuring under their breaths, others talking on the phone, calling their secretary, or arranging a meeting. They all seem tired, shuffling around like zombies, droopy eyes and dark circles, as if they were being controlled.

The sidewalks were endless, and at a certain point, it started changing. This was the borderline that separated the wealthy and the poor, starting from a certain corner , the cement became chipped and instead of people on the streets, there were tents filled with the homeless and the less fortunate.

At the certain corner, was a pole. It had been there for decades, and will stay its place for decades to come. Many ads and flyers were stuck on it, along with pieces of chewed gum and tape that no longer were sticky. Many of the flyers indicated lost animals, cat and dogs that ran away and never came back. There was always a reward for these special pets, a high amount actually, as only the rich could afford these breeds. Among the many flyers, were also missing persons reports, stating their names, places last seen, with details and a picture. No reward was offered. Only a thank you from the police department.

These flyers had also rested with the pole for many decades. They were never found. No one knew why, or at least, no one bothered to care. As the unwealthy was a placed looked down upon, it also held many dark secrets. There was in fact one factor about it that may connect the two sides a bit, and that was a meat store. It was located on the poor side of the town, but you could see luxurious people there with their luxurious coats and fake appearances. This was because the meat shop, run by an old granny, was famous for the fresh meat. It was almost like a tourist attraction.

Many people would stop by on Saturday mornings to pick up their meat, and this included the wealthy.

On this pouring day, a young mom and her little boy was standing on the street that acted as a border for the two worlds. She stood near the edge, with half the sole of her feet on the sidewalk and the other half in mid air. Her hand was held out, waving in the moist air, trying to catch a cab. Some went by and others ignored her. Maybe it was because she was dressed so poorly, of course cabs wanted to pick up the rich to get a little more tip.

Raindrops ran down her face and into her clothes as she didn’t not have an umbrella. She looked down at her boy, he was already soaking wet and shivering from the cold. She stood there, patiently with her son. And waited.

A few minutes later, a yellow taxi suddenly pulled up beside her, it honked twice, the the side window rolled down.

The driver was a young man, he almost looked too young to be a driver. Beside him was another young man, and in the back seats sat a mother with her nine year old son. He was playing with miniature guns, pointing it forward and making shooting sound from his mouth.

The driver shouted through the pouring rain, asking the mother where she wanted to go.

“Hey, I’ve got a seat in the back if you want to catch a ride.”

The mother replied and pointed that there was only one seat, and she also had her son with her.

“Well uh, what about this, I’ll take your boy and drop this family off and then come back for you.”

The mother sitting in the back seat chimed in.

“ It’ll be fine, I’ve got my boy Danny here who can play with your son, and still, we’re getting dropped off right up there,” she pointed her finger at a hotel a few meters away. It was a fancy hotel, a expensive and 5-star one, not many could afford to stay even an afternoon there. It was prepared for the rich. “ the diver can come back and pick you up, and still, it seems like your boys about to catch a cold in the horrendous weather.” She smiled, opened the back door, and a wind of heat hushed out. She patted the empty seat beside her.

“All right, make sure to come back please.” As she gave her lifted her boy onto the taxi.

“No problem mam, we’ll be back in a minute.”

The taxi rushed off in a blur, and she could see, on the side rear window, the face of the young man beside the driver, as he turned his head and grinned at her, a creeping slow grin.

She suddenly felt a ominous feeling dawn upon her, as she stood there. Waiting. For the taxi to come back.

The next morning, a new missing flyer was added to the pole by the new police officer. It was another unfortunate person.

On his way back to the station, he decided to stop by the old granny’s meat shop, since it was Saturday morning, there was going to be fresh meat.

He could smell it a street away.

Through the windows of the meat shop, hang sausages of all kinds, pork, beef, chicken, all labeled and waiting to be sold.

Though it may seem like a lot, it actually wasn’t. The store was crammed, with people wanting this and that while others briskly making their way out with a smile on their face, thinking of how delicious it’ll be once cooked.

The meat sold out fast, they didn’t have a lot this week, only a small amount compared to last weeks. But last weeks meat got a line of complainers, saying the meat was bad and didn’t taste good.

Last week, an old man who lived on the poor side of the town went missing.

It strange, how most of the missing people were poor, there was though, surprisingly one women who went missing and was extremely wealthy. That was about a month ago, a month again, the meat store blossomed with business.