Chapter X
I crawled out from under the hedge, double checking to see if Dennis was round the corners.
No Dennis.
I was safe, free, and free, from Dennis's wrath and hatred.
I walked along the path, proud of my escape, and headed into a random direction.
After a few streets passed, I began to realize that I would need shelter for the night. Where? Would I go? Sleep? Stay? Survive?
I was lost in my own thoughts.
GO back to Elm Tree?
No, they would only drag me back to Dennis, they would only give me pity.
I didn't want pity. Pity is what took me away from my Mother.
…Mom…
I hadn't thought of her for so long, ever since I had entered Elm Tree, no thought of her had slipped into my mind.
Now I remember, at the worst time possible.
Her shouting rings through my head, her punching, slapping, drinking. All echoing in my brain, destroying my proudness and ingenuity.
Flashes of the haunting images run around me in my head.
I blink hard, trying to wake myself up into reality.
There I am, standing in the middle of the street, like a loonitic.
I shove my hands in my pockets and try to look casual.
I would be strong, not the weedy little kid I was a few months ago, I would be mature, and handle every situation as correctly as possible. I was not to give away my identity, I was to look different, to act different.
I walked into the park, going off the light gravel path to find a place to sleep.
In the night sky, I could see the first few droplets of rain fall on my thin, short-sleeved t-shirt.
My arms had goose bumps on them, my teeth chattered, my stomach rumbled.
A large, widely-spread, blackberry bush came into view, hidden by the gentle sloping of a hill.
No one would find me there, for sure.
I was desperate, I would find a better place tomorrow, but for now, I was exhausted with both fear and hunger.
I crawled under the bush, thorns ripping my shirt and punchering my sides.
At last, the ground sloped in a sort of ditch, and I lay there. Cold, shivering and hungry.
The ground was cold, and stiff, not making any effort in keeping me comfortable.
I would have to get used to sleeping rough.
I woke up early, around 4.30am, and found a misty dim light parting through the small leaves.
I woke up, still tired and drowsy from lack of sleep, and began to crawl out, into the open.
No one was in the park, so I walked along the gravel path and listened to the thrush's sing.
My stomach rumbled, I was ravenous. I hadn't eaten since yesterday morning, and even then, I only nibbled my burnt toast.
The small park bin was capturing my thoughts. Surely their would be some food, hidden amongst the cigarette butts and sweet wrappers?
I walked slowly over to the bin, my hand hovering over the top. Closing my eyes, I put my hand in, and tried to feel for some food.
Something sticky latched onto my fingers.
Gross, gum!
My face crumpled in disgust, my body recoiling.
I kept on, until I found something wrapped in greasy paper.
Chips!
Well, not exactly "chips".
They were mushy, cold, and had a few pieces of cigarette ash in them, but, they would quench my hunger for the mean time.
The chips were quite nice, being able to chew it and not spit it out for once made it feel like heaven.
I wiped my mouth, with all that salt, my thirst had doubled.
I walked along the gravel path a bit more, and peered inside another bin, in a hope to find something to drink.
By sheer luck, there was a crumpled Pepsi can at the bottom of the bin.
I snatched it up quickly, and drank the contents.
Their was only a little, but these drops made me live a little bit longer on the streets at least.
That was the start of my day, which consisted of about half an hour, now the hard part.
Surviving.