The Lonely Girl

Rose p.o.v

Drip...Drip...Splash...Drip...Drip. I watched how people hurried in the rain to go home. They are either holding umbrellas or bags above their heads to keep themselves dry from the rain. Cabs, busses, and cars race through the streets of the big city to avoid the busy traffic that will appear in an hour or so. I see people watching their phones, busy talking to their families. To say ‘I am almost there, just give me five minutes’. Or to talk to their friends to say that they will be there at the birthday party this weekend.

The waiters and waitresses are arriving at their workplaces across the street. A simple Italian restaurant where the owner is already setting up the place to welcome their first customers. In the barbershop are the last customers leaving and are saying goodbye. Street cats are trying to avoid the crowd seeking shelter for the night.

Traffic starts to become worse. More cars appear in my sight. They start to slow down and eventually the cars come to hold. Man and women are shouting and honking at each other. They are in a hurry because they are late for dinner. A pedestrian is almost run over by a car. The two men are fighting. More and more cars come to hold due to the fight. In the end, they come to an agreement and the cars start to move again.

While the whole world around me is busy with their own business I sit here alone in the rain, ignored by everybody. It seems that everybody is too busy to see me, a girl in the rain with no roof above her head and no place to go. I hold my bunny stuffie tight in my arms. Too afraid of losing her too, she is now everything I have left. Only she was the one who was always there for me. When I didn’t know a way out of my problems, my stuffie was there to protect me. Holding her for dear life I watched the world around me.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard somebody shout. “Hey you! Yeah you!” A man shouted at me. “Get away from my restaurant! This is my last warning! Next time I see you here again I will call the police!” I looked at the man with pleading eyes. “Please sir, p-please let me stay here. I...I have nowhere else t-to go.“I was sitting in front of a restaurant. I choose this place because the roof was sticking out so there was a dry place to sit for me. And it was safe over here, in this part of the city.

“Well, that ain’t my f*cking problem! GO AWAY! Or I will call the police right NOW!” Shouted the man. I just stood there with tears forming in my eyes. Couldn’t he see that I did not mean any harm? He is mean, I thought. He is a big meanie head. I asked so nicely to stay. What did I do wrong? I was just sitting here.

But still, I stood up and walked away. I was too afraid that the police would call my father and when that happened I was in great, great trouble. So I continued my journey to seek another place to spend the night. I wiped my tears away and whispered to my bunny Belle that everything was going to be okay.

I had found a new place to stay in an alley with some dumpsters. I had made myself small so I could sit between the two dumpsters. I had made a roof of some junk so that no rain could fall on me making me wet. A shiver went through my body but I had nothing with me to keep myself warm. Clasping my arms around me with Belle holding tight against my chest I tried to keep myself warm so I could sleep.

Sleep didn’t come to me that night. I was cold, hungry, and too scared to sleep. I heard a lot of people fighting from time to time. I think I even heard gunshots. So I made myself even smaller. That way nobody could find my little hiding space. When I heard another gunshot I whimpered. I start to suck my thumb for some comfort. After a while, everything calmed down a bit and I managed to get some sleep.

A few hours later I woke up again. I could see that it was early in the morning. The reason why I woke up so soon was because of my tummy. It made a lot of noise. After ten minutes I had decided to take a look in the dumpsters. Maybe something edible was in there. After a lot of debating with myself, I had chosen a sandwich which was half-eaten, to use for my breakfast.

I didn’t trust it completely but everything else was a big no-no. I took my chances and started eating. The sandwich didn’t taste great, but it didn’t taste funny either, so I guessed it was alright.

Big mistake. That sandwich was not good. Not good at all. My tummy started to hurt. I tried sitting still so the pain would pass, but that didn’t work out. After one hour I couldn’t keep it in anymore.

I came out of my hiding place and started throwing up really bad. When finally everything was out of my stomach I noticed I couldn’t stay at my safe place anymore. The whole alley reeked of my puke.

With Belle in my arms, I started walking again and to my luck, it started raining again. My clothes were quickly soaked with rainwater. My body started to shiver and my tummy was still hurting. Black dots started to appear in my sight. I swayed from left to right. To prevent me from falling I sat down in front of a boutique where it was dry.

I pulled my knees up to my chest and kept Belle safe between them. I put my arms around my legs and laid my head on my knees. Right then I let slowly my tears fall down my face. I had no clue what to do. I silently prayed for somebody to help me.