Chapter Thirty-Six
Alice swallowed nervously.
"Were there many men with such tasks?"
"Barely any," he instantly said. "It requires perfect condition and straight to the point thinking. Distractions will not help. There are strict rules for people to be granted these tasks."
"Because they also receive immunity, is it not?"
"Certainty, that too. But during war, you can't let your feelings get in the way. I know Jasper's gone through a great deal of pain. Great deal indeed. But he's not the same again. I don't think he'll ever truly recover."
Alice stood up. She needed to see that to believe that.
"So, where is he now?" she asked. "I'd like to meet him again. Do you know his address?"
He wrote down on a piece of paper an address.
"He goes there occasionally."
Alice scowled at the strange choice of words.
"What do you mean, occasionally? Doesn't he live here?"
"Sometimes he's there, yes. But he doesn't have a true home. He chose for a life on the streets."
"But how do you know all this?"
"He came by only once. We awarded him The Purple Heart. He didn't accept it. After that, he never came back. It might have offended him, I believe."
"What's that, The Purple Heart?"
"A military medal awarded to those who are wounded or killed while serving."
She nodded a little. Her eyes were on the paper, memorizing the address.
"Is this close by?" she asked.
"Not exactly. You need to take a bus. Thirty minutes ride."
"Where's the busstop?"
"Why do you want to see him?"
"Is there ever a reason needed when somebody wants to meet up with another person?"
"I suppose you are right."
"Do you still have that...Purple Heart medal? I'd like to give it to him anyway, whether it offends him or not."
He nodded, walking her to a different room. There was a closet filled with all kinds of awards. So many were actual gold or silver.
"Here it is," he said, taking out a purple heart shaped medal.
"Thank you so much," she said, accepting it carefully. "If I don't find him, I'll be sure to return it to you."
But instead he shook his head.
"You're his friend. Keep it."
"Oh...Thank you."
"If you find him, tell him to come collect all of his awards. He might not want them, but, well, he could choose to sell them for money and find himself a real place to stay."
He was gazing into the glass and Alice stared at them with wide eyes now.
"You don't mean to say that this everything belongs to him?"
He nodded.
Even if Jasper didn't want them, he could sell them and live in a house instead of the streets.
She found the busstation fairly easily and waited until the bus would arrive. Eventually it was half past nine when it came. She showed the written address to the bus driver.
"Do you know this address?"
He nodded.
"Can you stop at the busstop closest to there?"
He nodded.
"Thank you."
He only nodded again.
For half an hour, Alice stared out the window in the fairly empty bus to the houses they passed. Texas was a nice city, but as the bus rode further, they reached darker parts of the city. She did not like the idea of having to have to walk there alone, in the dark.
She tried to not think so much of Jasper and the fact that he lived on the streets. She tried not to, because it truly saddened her.
"This one, lady," the bus driver called, to which Alice instantly rose.
"Thank you," she called. "Is it close by?"
"Walk this street out. The shelter'll be on your left hand. Can't miss it."
"Thanks," she called before stepping out the bus.
It'd also been a fairly expensive bus ride for a man who might not even be at the place she was heading to.
She hoped it was worth it.
Alice walked quickly, in long strides. She almost ran actually. The sooner she got there, the better. She didn't like the dark streets and uncrowded area. It frightened her.
She made it to the shelter safely. Softly, she thanked her God for not letting any funny business come her way.
"Hello?" she asked to the first person she saw in the shelter.
He ignored her and walked on.
"Hi," she said to a young lady, but she also ignored her.
Alice walked inside the large room slowly, hoping to see a somewhat professional. All the strays seemed to ignore her.
"I'll give you a dollar if you hear me out," she said to the first passer by.
He instantly stopped and watched her in surprise.
"Is Jasper Withlock here? He's tall and has blonde hair."
He snatched her dollar from her hand and pointed toward a door. Instantly he disappeared. She walked to the door which he'd pointed and first knocked. When no answer came, she turned the handle slowly. The door opened, but with difficult, as if the person behind it had placed objects behind the door. She needed to put her shoulder and full body weight in the battle to open that door.
Suddenly the door slammed shut hard, causing Alice to bump her head on the door and trip on the ground. Her shoulders ached from the fall.
"Hey!" she called. "That's rude!"