Everythings Alright Eventually
I cant seem to remember a time when everything was alright. I guess growing up
homeless will do that to you. My name is Saysie, at least I think it is, that's what
everyone on the streets call me. I am 12 years old as best can be told, and I have no
home. Let me tell you, that is not an easy thing when you are a girl. Oh, I have
done quite well in my 12 years, but I might have done a lot better with a real home.
Here is what I remember about my younger life (of course some of it has been
told to me by Hammy and Leta who are my friends on the street). I was 3 years old
when my mother and father pulled into a hotel parking lot in Chicago and dumped
me out, carseat and all. I guess somehow I got out of the carseat because Hammy
tells me that he saw me walking into the traffic, almost getting smashed by a car,
carrying a teddy bear. Hammy is homeless and has been for 15 years. I guess he
kinda felt sorry for me or something like that because he started hauling me around
the alleys and streets of Chicago in a shopping cart with my carseat sitting right in
it. It was October when this happened and I think I do remember the first Christmas
out on the streets. I remember being very cold and lots of snow. Hammy made us
a home out of Cardboard boxes and lots of Styrofoam on the inside to keep us
warm. We would get coats and stuff out of the dumpsters behind stores and thrift
shops. Food was easy to come by most of the time. There was a soup kitchen that
served a hot lunch everyday, and for breakfast and dinner we would dig through the
dumpsters behind grocery stores and fast food places. Everyonce in a while Hammy
would sit with a hat in front of him and people would put money in the hat. One
time, Hammy must have known there was a horrible snow coming and that it would
be really cold because he sat out there for 3 days and got enough money for the two
of us to stay in a nice warm room for almost a week. I had never watched tv sitting
on a bed before, never really remembered a bed, but this was the life. Hammy
would fill the bathtub up with warm water and bubbles and I would play for hours in
there. I didn't really mind too much when we had to leave because Hammy told
me that when I grew up and got older I could get a place like that for myself!
I'll tell you more about that later, right now to the present. I am twelve and in
quite a mess. I have my own shopping cart now and don't see Hammy or Leta very
often as they have been put in a mental institution. My problem is, I am tired of
being alone and on the streets. I know that if I tell someone important they will
stick me in a childrens home, and I have sure heard horror stories about those
places. No thank you says me! I wish there was a magic way to just have a home
with a mom and dad. I have lived on the streets so long that people can tell, even
when I don't have my cart with me, that I am homeless. They say I look dirty. I go
to the bathroom at the Shell station everyday and wash up, but I don't change
clothes everyday. I only have 3 outfits. My shoes, now that's another problem. I
have outgrown them and haven't been able to find a pair that fit. Someone will
surely throw out a pair that will fit soon, at least I hope so 'cause it getting to be
cold out again. My toes poke out of these! I have Hammys coat. He said he
wouldn't need it anymore where he was going. I know its warm 'cause Hammy let
me wear it a lot when it was cold. I have 2 blankets, 4 pairs of socks, a red glove and
a black mitten, an orange stocking cap and a really long scarf that I think used to
probably be a curtain. All in all I am pretty much set for winter.
Mr. Salyers, at the thrift store just told me when I walked by that he was throwing
away a lot of things that I might need today and to be back by the dumpster at 4
oclock. Thank goodness there was a cell phone I found the other day by a bush, it
has a clock on it, and it stays charged up cause I only turn it on when I need to
know what time it is. I have a charger that will fit it, but no where to plug it in. Oh,
I guess when I clean up each day at the gas station, I can plug it in there in the
bathroom if my clock goes dead. only 30 more minutes until I need to be at the
dumpster. I guess I will just sit down by it for a bit and relax. I have been walking all
day. There are a few other kids out on the streets like me, but they all live on the
east side and are all real mean. Kinda like some of the gangs that I see sometimes.
I must have fallen asleep because Mr. Salyers just came out and woke me up. I
was having a wonderful dream too. I lived in a huge house that had a back yard and
a front porch. My mom and dad were both there and kept telling me how much
they loved me and I had a lot of toys to play with. Anyhow, on to the dumpster.
And man was Mr. Salyers right. I just found a pair of sneaks and snow boots just
the right size to wear 4 pair of socks with. He must have forgotten all about what he
was doing because I just found a purse with $100 dollars in it. I don't know what to
do. What if Mr. Salyers comes out and tells me I stold this. Man, what do I do? I
knocked on the back door of the thrift store and Mr. Salyers came to the door. I
told him he must have forgotten something in that old black purse and he just
miled and said he knew what was in there and did I read the letter with it? I opened
the purse again and found the letter. Thank god Hammy taught me to read, it said
exactly this:
Dear Saysie:
We know how much you want to have a home. My wife Edllie and I have been in
touch with a social adoption agency and found out that since you are homeless and
with no family that we could adopt you if you want. Now I know that you are too
proud to just move in with someone and think that they are giving you everything
you need, so I found this $100 dollars in this purse and knew that you would want
to pay for your keep, so in exchange for the $100 dollars , we want to adopt you
and give you a wonderful home to live in and all the love we have in our hearts.
Mr. and Mrs. Salyers. Hammy didn't lie to me afterall, Everythings alright eventually!
I couldn't believe what I just read. I read it again and again and couldn't stop crying.
I wanted a family so bad and Mr. and Mrs. Salyers were so nice to me all the time. I
was going to have a wonderful wonderful life after all.