A Golden Piece of Bread

After what felt like an eternity, I slowly felt my consciousness return to me. My vision was still blurry and my body was still weak but I started to feel sensations again.

Even though my eyes were closed, I could feel a lightweight on my right shoulder. It was light and gentle. Almost like a feather. It still felt familiar somehow. It's a feeling I have felt many times before. I tried to remember this feeling with my hazy mind.

My mind flashed back to the past. In a different city and a different place, the city had raining snow just like this one. The rumbling footsteps of crowded people walking by tingled my ears. I was sitting under a tree and waiting, waiting for something. I wore a thing clothing, unfit for such a cold environment.

Hours, minutes, and seconds pass by but the messy sound of people walking doesn't. I eventually fell asleep. The raining snow slowly covered my body as time went by. My body got cold. My lungs and eardrums froze ice-cold. My body became weak because of the cold. My heartbeat got slower and slower. I thought "Did I catch a cold?"

It was painful. I knew if I stayed like this a little more, I was going to die. But I didn't have the will to move. Or rather I didn't have the will to live. I wonder why. The people walking by didn't even look at me. They didn't have time to look at me. Why would they? It's not their fault I am in this situation. Then whose fault is it? Whose fault is it that I am in this situation? Is it my fault? Did I commit some kind of sin without even realizing it? I don't know. I just want this pain to end. Maybe if I just succumb to the cold, I will end up in a better place.

As I slowly let go of any will to live someone ran toward me and tackled me. The sudden tackle throws me off. All the snow on my body shattered like glass. It felt like I was freed from the shackles of snow. 

I slowly got up and looked at the person but because of my blurry eyes, I couldn't see properly. So I rubbed my eyes with both hands and cleared them. When I looked again I saw the person. It was sis. She wore the same kind of clothing as mine. She was shaking because of the cold but trying to pretend strong. She gave me a genuine smile as if trying to cover the cold under her smile.

She sat under the tree and tapped on the ground beside her, signaling me to sit next to her. I went up and sat beside her and suddenly. As soon as I did she covered me and herself under one big thick cloth. It looked a little expensive. Not something we could afford.

"Where did you get this?" I asked calmly but my voice was still broken because of the cold. Did I catch a cough? "Well, a guy in a suit was sitting in the park with a bag in his hand, and suddenly a thief snatched it from him. The thief ran and hid behind Tom's shop. Then he suddenly tripped on a wire and fell. The bag slipped from his hand. I was watching him hiding behind the base (base refers to the burned-down building they use for playing hide and seek. They call it base). I quickly grabbed the bag and ran from there. I thought he was going to catch me so I looked behind but when I did, I saw that the bag's owner caught the thief and pinned him on the ground. Thankfully he didn't see me". I listened to her story with interest. She sounded like she was describing some kind of epic action film but in my head, I imagined it as a kid's 2D cartoon. "So basically, you stole it" I gave her a sus look as a joke. "It's not stealing if you steal from a thief" She gave me a cheeky smile like a little kid "Is that so, fine then" I smiled a little and closed my eyes. She did the same and leaned on my right shoulder. Because of the body heat, the cold slowly faded away. I felt warm. Even though I was outside sitting under a tree, at that moment this place felt like the safest place on earth. As time went on we both fell asleep under the tree without a care in the world. We looked Like little puppies.

Then, my mind slowly returned to the present time. I recognized the weight on my shoulder. I slowly tried to open my eyes and turned toward my right shoulder Just like in the past sis was sleeping on my right shoulder like a kid. Seeing her sleep so profoundly I felt relief. My vision was still blurry, so I still couldn't see my surroundings. But suddenly!

"Are you awake now?"

A voice hit my ears like a hammer and I immediately snapped back to reality. This voice sounded familiar. I had already heard this voice a few times before. The voice came from straight in front of me. When I turned my head to see who it was I immediately knew where we were. I was heartbroken. Because this is the one place I was desperately hoping to avoid. 

This scent, this nasty environment. How could have i forgotten? This disgusting scent of death and terror that made me sick to my stomach.

This place....was Ricky's cell. And the owner of that voice was Ricky. He was sitting on the other side of the room, leaning on the wall behind him. He looked me straight in the eye with a tired expression on his face.