... The last in my short burst of prose for now, I think! :)) K xx

STREET CHILD


“Owwwwwwwwww!”

She had been hunched under her tatty blanket, sitting cross-legged behind a begging bowl and “Hungry” sign for hours, and had only leant back for a second before he trod on her outstretched fingers. “Sorry, sorry!” he flustered, stooping down and coming close to inspect the damage. Too late: she was already sucking hard on her throbbing digits to numb the pain.

But it was good. He would have walked right past her otherwise and would never have had the opportunity to gaze into the most piercing eye-light he had ever seen, shrouded beneath heavy lids and long strands of tousled dark hair. Feeling he couldn’t now just walk on by, he sat down on the street next to her and took in the view that she had become used to: filthy wheel arches of passing traffic; flapping suit-trousers marching to and fro six inches in front of her and sqeaking trainers, trailing odours of gum, sweat and dirt. He looked sideways at her face and noticed the spatters from all the foul water kicked up by incognisant pedestrians.

As he got her talking, it became clear that she had plenty of experience in this displaced way of life. Her skin showed many traces of use and abuse. But, beyond the taint of her unwashed clothes, she smelt fresh somehow; and it was as if warm oil streamed from her inner being. Her lack of bitterness and acute understanding of ALL the world’s ills amazed him for one so young.

Hours seemed to roll on by as they chatted about all things pertaining to life and death, its meaning and purpose, totally invisible to the rush of the crowd. He found himself wanting to save this girl, to become her hero – at one point, leaping to his feet and assuming Superman poses to encourage her easy laughter and sensitive responses. When he sat down beside her again, he had a ripped red carrier bag draped round his shoulders like a cape.

It was already dark when they noticed that they were starting to shiver and needed food. Suddenly, she reached deep into her jeans pocket, concealed beneath the rug, and withdrew a crumpled circle of light. Unfolding it, she smoothed it back into shape and stuck it on her crown, pulling it into place as if it were a rain hat. Throwing off her covering for the very first time, she revealed two tiny stubs of wings, no bigger than fiddlers' elbows. The ragged plumage was still a grubby grey, but a few sleek flight feathers had already emerged.

She stood up, rubbed her aching ass and flexed her long legs after all those hours of sitting. Smiling broadly, she jerked her head and flicked her eyes skywards. “Sooooo…” she said, “You wanna stay at my place tonight?”