Disclaimer: You really think they are mine? Me too. We are the only persons suffering under that delusion, though. Too bad.

Thanks again to Arian and Karen. Together they find most, if not all, the mistakes I make with the English language. If someones says, languages are logical, he or she is worse delusional than I am. If you don't like the story though, complain to me, off the list.

Thanks to NavyCB for the formatting tip. Also thanks to those who review. It's great encouragement.

If someone would write to me, the address on the envelope would be something like this:

Rock Creek Park

Second park bench on the long jogging trail

East entrance

However, there is no one who would ever dream of writing to me. There hasn't been for as long as I can remember. The memories I have are fragmented, and cover only the last few years I have lived.

I know that I am frightened in the dark, that's why I choose to live in the underbrush behind the second park bench, where there is a street light near by. I know I am terrified by loud sounds. I hate the 4th of July and New Years Eve with all the fireworks.

I also know I love children.

The happiest days of my life are during the summer, when parents take their children out to play in the park. I keep in the shadows, never coming near the children, dreading to draw attention to myself.

'Always keep in the shadows. Never let anyone see where you are. You do, you die.'

The mantra is so loud in my head, I put my hands over my ears, trying to stop it. It won't work, it never does. So I try to stay away as far as possible and still see something.

A day is good when I see children smile and hear them laugh.

The winter is the worst. The cold is always present and I am never warm. I try to get to the Salvation Army's office every day to warm up and eat some soup. Sometimes, I am so cold I can't get up. Then I just try to stay awake. I don't want to die yet. I want to see another child smile.

Christmas comes and goes. No children are outside to play in the snow. Actually, it's probably more mud than snow now. There was a wonderfull blizard in the second week of December. I was frightened by the cold, but the storm was beautiful. The snow soon melted, though, and now there is just wet mud with a bit of snow in between.

They say there is supposed to be more snow to come soon. I hope I survive this winter. I already survived New Year's Eve. Now I only wish to see a happy child again. Just one more time.

The snow has stopped falling now. It started sometime last night. It got so cold, I thought I wouldn't live to see the morning. Now it's already past noon, and I can hear children playing somewhere near by. I am so cold though, I can't get up to watch them.

Then I hear baby laughter. You can't mistake it for anything else, the happy gurgling noise. I struggle to sit up one more time.

I can see a couple walking past, very slowly. A tall dark haired man and a beautiful dark haired woman. They look so happy, watching their child take in its surroundings, walking arm in arm.

The father carries his baby in a snuggly, securely wrapped in his large coat. You can also see a blue fluffy blanket wrapped around the baby. Dark hair shows a little under a warm hat.

The parents don't see me, they just have eyes for each other and their baby, though the baby's piercing blue eyes look in my direction. A hand struggles free from under the blanket and waves in my direction. A smile and happy baby laughter are directed at me. The last thing I see is the mother reaching up to tuck the hand back into the blanket, protecting her baby from the cold.

Yesterday morning, the park warden of Rock Creek Park found yet another homeless person who was a victim of the latest blizard. The man couldn't yet be identified. Officials hope that the Veteran's office of the Navy might be of help. Among the few possessions found with the man, were several medals and ribbons, indicating that the owner served as a Seal in the Vietnam War.