Lina ran through the town's streets, furiously holding back tears. 'Stupid boys,' she thought. 'What do they know? They're just jealous 'cause I'm better at their stupid games than them! Stupid, stupid boys!' Despite her best efforts a tear slid down her cheek, but by the time she reached the bar she had forced her face into an angry frown.
"Hello Lina," said the bartender as she stomped up to the counter. "How's your grandmother?"
"She's fine," Lina scowled as she slouched at the counter.
"Good to hear. Will you have your usual?"
"Yeah, thanks," Lina said.
The bartender sighed. "What are you doing out so early anyway, Lina?" he asked. He had come to care about Lina in the years after her parents died, and it was obvious she was upset. The least he could do was listen to her.
"You see, I was on my way to get groceries when I saw the boys playing cops and robbers and …"
"Thanks again!" Lina called out as she left the bar. The boys were still stupid, but she felt a lot better now. She finished the shopping and started for home. On an impulse, she decided to take the back way.
'It's not that I'm avoiding the boys,' she thought, 'I just don't want to make them jealous. Yeah, that's it. I'm a virtuous person, thinking of their welfare.'
Lina was so preoccupied with her virtuous nature that she almost missed the man in the shadows. It would not have been hard, since he closely resembled the piles of rubbish that lined the alley. Lina stopped and stared.
'What should I do?' she thought as she carefully edged closer. Finally she asked, "Are you okay?"
The man slowly looked up and stared at her. Lina was now close enough to see that he was missing his left arm.
"Do you need help?" Lina asked. "My house is right nearby," she added.
The man blinked. He looked like he was trying to decide if she was real.
'I wonder what happened to him,' she thought. Aloud she said, "Stay right here. I'll get my grandma, okay?"
The man blinked again and said, "Okay." Lina thought his voice sounded rusty, like he was out of practice with it or something. She turned quickly and jogged off. As she rounded the corner she caught one last glimpse of the man craning his neck to see where she went.
"Grandma! There's a one-armed homeless man outside and he needs our help!" Lina yelled as she barreled through the front door.
"None of your nonsense, Lina. Did you get all the groceries?" was the calm response.
"I'm not making this up!" Lina said as she stomped her foot.
"Lina, be serious," Grandma Sheryl said sternly.
"I am! Just come look!"
After a bit more cajoling on Lina's part, Sheryl decided to at least look at the alleged one-armed stranger. 'The things this girl dreams up,' she mused as she followed Lina outside. 'What's more is she always acts like her daydreams are …' her thoughts trailed off as she turned the corner.
"Oh my goodness … Lina, help me get him up. Don't worry young man, you'll be safe at our house," Sheryl said briskly as the trio made its way to the house.
The man in question did not protest as they made their way down the street. In fact, he had a dazed expression of disbelief on his face right up until Sheryl set him at the table and said, "First things first. When was the last time you ate?" She did not wait for an answer, pulling out food before she even finished asking.
The man's eyes bulged and a pathetically grateful expression crossed his face. He mumbled, "I-I don't really remember … Maybe a week? My memory … there's a gap …" he trailed off as Sheryl placed some soup in front of him. He stared at it for a few seconds, and Lina thought she saw a tear form in his eye. He carefully finished every last drop of the soup.
"I'm sorry I can't give you more, but you'll need to build up your strength slowly," Sheryl said. "The town doctor is a good friend of mine, he'll take good care of you," she said as she patted him on the shoulder. She was understandably surprised when he suddenly burst into tears.
Sheryl and Lina shared a startled glance before trying to comfort the man. After some unintelligible sobbing, he managed to choke out his thanks. A few more sobs and he was calmed down enough to say, "S-sorry. It's just … you're so kind and we don't … we don't even know each other!"
"Well, that's easy enough to fix," Sheryl said gently. "I'm Sheryl, and my granddaughter Lina is the one who found you."
The man smiled a little. "It's nice to meet you," he said. "I'm … umm." There was an awkward pause as he looked carefully at his hand.
"Can you not remember?" Lina asked.
There was another awkward pause and the man started to blush. Sheryl racked her brain for something to say, but Lina beat her to it.
"That's okay. How 'bout we call you Ericks? He's the hero of my favorite book," Lina said as she smiled at him.
"Ericks," he murmured, trying it out. "You know, that sounds really good."
Reviews are appreciated, but not necessary. Also, I can't write long stories. This isn't even 1000 words! -Sigh- Oh well. The title was inspired by Casablanca. :)