Chapter 3: Street Trash
Warning! The first part of this chapter may be uncomfortable and offensive to read to some readers. Reader's discretion is advised.
It had been more than three weeks since Kira had left her latest foster care home. The moment that she had first been dropped off at the home of Bruce Morgan and his wife June, she knew that she wouldn't be staying long. There was something that she had seen in Bruce's eyes that she hadn't liked. Like Mama Selma's home, he and his wife only took in girls. Unlike the woman, though, Bruce seemed to go out of his way to be helpful to his charges and was always within arm's reach of one girl or another.
After years of living with Selma, Kira was untrusting of adults in general and did her best to keep her distance. She hadn't been able to do that for long, however. Bruce had been a very touchy-feely kind of guy and he would walk up to each of the children and hug them at odd moments for no reason at all. He would also pull each of the three children who lived in the house into his lap from time to time as he joked and teased the girls.
Unlike at Selma's house, however, each of the girls not only had their own beds, but their own rooms as well. Kira knew that she should have been happy to have her newfound privacy. In addition, the house and yard were both full of toys and various playthings for the girls to keep themselves occupied. Maybe she was as ungrateful as Selma would often accuse her being since she didn't feel any gratitude at all.
On Kira's second night in the Morgans' home, she woke up to go to the bathroom and ran into Bruce coming out of Molly's room carrying some soiled sheets. He's claimed that the other girl had wet the bed but she was older than Kira. She found it odd that the older girl would not have woken up to use the bathroom. Molly never spoke of it afterwards so Kira figured that she was embarrassed about the whole incident. That would not be the only time that Kira was aware of the foster father leaving the girl's room in the middle of the night.
Within a couple of weeks of being placed with the Morgans, Kira soon realized that Bruce had begun to single her out more and more during the family times and would often ask her to join him on his errand runs as well. Then it happened. Molly and Sally were invited to stay with friends for the weekend and June left out with them to drive each of them to the two friends' homes. That left Kira alone with Bruce.
When the others left, Kira had already been coerced into playing a game of UNO with Bruce and she actually was doing well in the game. Moments after his wife and the other children had left, Bruce suggested that the winner of the next game should get a hug as a prize. When he gave it, Kira felt awkward but accepted it and waited for him finish and take his seat once again.
Throughout the next game, Bruce seemed to be watching Kira differently and it made her uncomfortable. In the end, she lost the game and had forced herself to stand and walk over to give the now obligatory hug for losing the game. Once again, Bruce held onto her for longer than she was comfortable with but felt helpless to do anything other than just endure the embrace until it was time to start the next game. That game Kira had been the winner but she didn't really feel like celebrating. Bruce insisted on giving her prize and had stood to join her on her side of the small kitchen table. That time, Bruce had stretch the hug out even further.
When Kira felt sure that Bruce would pull back, he'd surprised her and leaned down and gave her a kiss directly on the mouth. Shocked and more than a bit scared, Kira was frozen in her chair. Not able to get up or move away from the man. She had then felt his hands where she knew they didn't belong and hadn't been able to stop him from doing other things that she didn't want him to do.
Afterwards, Bruce had said that he was sorry and begged for Kira to forgive him. He just hadn't been able to help himself. What was she supposed to say to that? That night after June had fallen asleep, Kira received a night time visit from Bruce and soon learned the reason why Molly's sheets tended to be changed in the middle of the night. When he left for work the next day, Kira remained huddled in her room for most of the time that he was gone wondering what she had done to cause the man to give her the kind of attention that he's shown her the night before. There had been one thing that she knew, though. She didn't want to spend another night in the same house as him.
After June gave Kira her lunch, she glanced at the clock and knew that with each passing minute, she was another minute closer to when Bruce would return home. Kira had gotten up from the lunch table and walked outside, much the same way she would have when she went out to play, and started walking out of the small housing development and didn't look back.
Thinking back now, Kira wondered how she had managed to make it past that first night outside on her own. Fortunately, the warm summer nights had made sleeping in the small cluster of trees that she had found that first night bearable. Once she had survived her first night on the road, Kira was then faced with the need to find something to eat. She had made it two nights in the woods, slowly walking as far from the house that she had left behind as she could, before she had become so hungry that she actually started to eat the leaves of various trees that she passed by. Some were bitter and others made her sick but she soon learned which ones she should avoid to prevent herself from throwing up.
On Kira's second day of walking, she found a highway that was lined with trees and she followed it while staying in the shade of the tree lining. She watched as cars passed by and would often imagine where they were going. To kill time as she walked, she conjured up her longtime companion whom only she could talk to.
When she had stayed with a couple in Glenwood, they had put her in therapy and the psychologist had tried to convince her that Bo was just part of her imagination. She had created him long before she had even entered into the foster care agency so that she would have someone to love her. Kira figured that he might have been right but did it really matter? When she needed to talk to someone Bo was always there for her. Though she had wondered why, if as the therapist had said was correct, she had created such an odd mix of a family through him. Why create a family where everyone was cousins or aunts and uncles, not a regular family with parents and siblings? In therapy, she'd been told that it was a symbol of feeling that she wasn't worthy of being a part of a whole family. Even in her ideal family, she had set herself apart from those who could possibly care for her.
During her time walking along the road, she enjoyed conjuring stories of spending time with a family whom she wished that she was a part of while trying to forget what had happened back at the house. Still, it had helped to tell someone about it, even if that someone wasn't real. Keeping up a steady stream of imaginary conversation had helped time to pass as she would wander aimlessly.
Finally, after spending a couple weeks walking along the highway and trying to stay hidden among the trees when they were around, Kira finally made it to the city three nights ago. Which city she didn't know and she really didn't care.
The first night, she had stayed on the outer edge of the city limits where there were still a few trees that offered somewhere for her to hide. Still, Kira knew that she couldn't stay in the small outcropping of trees for long. So she ventured into the city and began to wander the streets looking for some food other than the leaves that she'd been living on for the last couple of weeks. That was when she had come across other kids, some older than her but not all of them, going through the large dumpsters that could be found behind stores and restaurants.
They were other kids just like her. They had left their homes for various reasons and were surviving on their own. There were a few older kids there who had actually grown up on the streets, having never lived indoors at all, who seemed to be the leaders of the small group of children. It was clear that they had formed their own family right out on the streets. After watching the others for a couple of days Kira had finally worked up the courage to approach the cluster of children earlier in the day.
A couple of the kids asked her how long she had been on the streets and only asked once why she had left the foster family that she'd been placed with. When Kira looked away in shame at the question, the others pulled back and had agreed to let her join their group. The street family lived under a bridge that overlooked a small creek which gave them drinking water, though she was warned that from time to time the others would get sick after drinking from it. After spending so many days of only being able to find water in nearly dry mud puddles Kira was willing to risk an upset stomach. After she had her fill of the dirty creek water, Kira sat on the bank and watched as some of the other children, mainly girls, dug in their bags that they carried with them and changed into clothes that seemed to barely fit them. Curious, Kira asked one of the other girls, Denise, what they were doing.
Denise adjusted the knot of her shirt that she'd used to close her blouse that had lost most of its buttons months ago on her still flat chest and grabbed her small purse that she used to keep her money in. "Most of us are heading out to work for the night."
"Work?"
The slightly older girl put her hands on her hips and eyed the newbie in the group. "I know that you are new at all of this but I think that you should know that we all have to pull our own weight. We all do what we can to bring in some money for food or other stuff that we need too. Most of us figured out that we can get easier money by spending time with the men that drive up and down the street. We let them do what they want and they usually pay us afterwards. It's easier than trying to swipe wallets or grabbing bags." Denise pulled out a ratty old hair brush as she spoke that was missing most of its bristles and gave her hair a quick pass through. "Besides, it's nothing that my mom's boyfriend didn't do. At least now I get money for it."
Kira's mouth dropped as she realized what Denise was talking about. Here she'd left the Morgans' home because Bruce wanted to spend time with her and Denise was about to go out and let strangers do the same thing just for money. An involuntary shiver ran through her as she thought of the possibility of having some other man do what Bruce had. Kira watched as Denise and the other children head off toward the road's edge as she promised herself that she wouldn't ever do what the older girl was about to do. When Kira watched a sedan pull up and Denise hop in, she made up her mind that she'd find something else to do to stay with the group instead.
Kira looked up at the street sign and tried to remember if she was supposed to turn now to head back to the bridge or if she was supposed to go down to the next street instead. She'd wandered deeper into the city with some of the others when they went dumpster diving for food but had gotten separated when they had all scattered after someone spotted a patrol car nearby. Now Kira was lost and had no clue how to get back to the bridge.
The sun had gone down quite some time ago which had made finding her way through the city more difficult. Kira still had a hard time finding her way around during the day. At night, everything looked totally different. Completely turned around, Kira had a bad feeling that she wouldn't make it back to the bridge tonight. Instead, she wondered just where she could hide for the night since she had already begun to spot more patrol cars scanning the alley ways for vagrants and street kids. Every time she found living on the streets hard, Kira reminded herself of the fact that if she was caught the foster care agency would send her right back to Bruce Morgan or someone just like him. That always gave her an extra boost when she needed it to stay ahead of anyone looking to take kids like her back off of the streets.
Off to the side, Kira spotted an alleyway but it already had quite a few adults gathered in it so Kira decided to keep looking for another place to hide. She had walked for what felt like forever and had stopped paying close attention to the cars passing by on the road. After seeing Denise and some of the others leave out on a nightly basis, Kira didn't really want to think too hard on just what type of people were driving those cars. She wanted to just get somewhere away from those cars and away from the men that drove them up and down the streets lined with women, girls, men and boys who were looking for ways to get what many considered to be easy money.
Not watching the cars on the road turned out to be a mistake. As Kira was about to cross yet another street while still racking her brain for any indication that she'd been here before, a quick blip of a siren sounded as a patrol car pulled over just beside of her. Kira looked up and swallowed hard as she looked around helplessly knowing that she had no way of explaining just why she was on the streets after dark or where her parents were when the police officers decided to call them to pick her up at the station. Kira just knew that she'd be back at the Morgans' home again before sunrise.
"Hey kid, don't ya know that it ain't safe to be out on the streets so late?" One of the two officers inside the car had rolled his window down while the other one eyed her suspiciously. "Why don't you hop on in and we'll take you home."
Kira couldn't find her voice. Every kid on the street had their planned story to tell any cop who might stop them to avoid being taken in but at the moment she couldn't remember hers. She opened her mouth to respond but quickly closed it again when she realized that she hadn't a clue just what to say to them.
"That won't be necessary, Officer," the familiar voice of one of the other street kids that she'd been staying with came from off to the side. Jason was older, nearly seventeen and only stayed with the younger kids since he had a brother just a little older than Kira. Otherwise, Jason would have moved on to another street family long ago. But having Kenny to take care of, Jason stayed with the small group of kids who slept under the bridge near the edge of town. "We just live up the block from here. Ain't that right, Anna? We've been worried about you. Did you get lost coming home from Cindy's?"
Kira gave a genuine smile as she knew that she was saved from the fate of being sent back to the foster family that she'd run away from only weeks prior. Jason was giving her a bouncing off point to use as an excuse for being out alone in the city and he also was able to remind her rule number one when it came to being confronted with a cop around other street kids. Never, ever, use real names in front of them; just in case they get nosy and try to check out the names later on.
"Sorry, Dereck. I guess I wasn't payin' attention. I'm glad that you came looking for me." Kira turned to the patrol car and gave the polite wave that she knew that they'd be expecting before saying, "Thanks for the help anyway, Officers."
"You kids sure you don't need a ride anywhere?" The driver asked as Kira ran over toward her brother and away from the cop car at the same time.
"Nah. Like I said, we just live up the block. Thanks anyway." Jason took Kira's hand like he often did with Kenny's and started to walk down the street as he asked her why she was so far from the bridge this late at night. She explained that she'd gotten separated from the others earlier in the evening.
Jason looked around and knew that he wouldn't have time to take Kira to the relative safety of the bridge before he had to be where he was going so decided that she'd just have to tag along for the night. When the two got near a park, Jason led the young girl in tow over toward to a large dumpster that was nearly full. He then lifted her up and told her to stay hidden inside until he returned later on. He then walked further into the park but never left Kira's sight as he approached a group of both kids and adults who ranged in ages from younger than Kira to old men who looked as if the hunches on their backs made it difficult to walk.
After a brief few moments, Kira soon realized why Jason frequently sported black-eyes or other injuries from time to time. Each of those that were gathered appeared to be there for two reasons. Some of them were there to fight; others were there to bet on the outcomes of the fights. What she didn't know was that anyone who showed had to be willing to fight, even if no opponent was found for the individual that night. That had been why Jason had left her in the dumpster instead of letting her follow him closer to the cluster of fighters and gamblers.
From her place among the trash, Kira watched as Jason squared off with another teen about his age. Jason and the other boy exchanged punches and jabs along with some kicks. By the end of the fight, Jason was limping and favoring his right arm. Still, he'd fared better than the other boy. After collecting his winnings, Jason headed back toward where he'd left the newbie to the street family so the two of them could head back to their concrete home.
After climbing out of the dumpster, Kira walked alongside her lifeline back to the now familiar night haunt. She wanted to ask Jason why he'd allowed others to bet on him fighting but she figured that she likely would get a similar answer that she'd gotten from Denise about why she does what she does every night. After all, Jason didn't have to find a way to feed and clothe just himself. Jason also had his little brother to worry about. While she was still thinking about that, Jason finally spoke up and pulled her out of her thoughts.
"Whatever you do, don't ever come back here unless you are willing to fight. You understand?"
Kira nodded and bit her lip as she wondered if she'd ever be back. After all, it would be better to do what Jason did tonight to get a little cash than it was to follow Denise's lead. Wouldn't it?
Author's Note:
One out of every 45 children in the United States is homeless, according to a report released by the National Center on Family Homelessness. The majority of the children are under age of seven. As of August of 2011, the average age of a homeless person in the United States is nine, and there are many kids below the age of nine on the streets, some with their families but most trying to survive on their own. Currently there are 1.6 million homeless and runaway street kids in the United States, not counting children who were forced out of their homes, abandoned by the foster care system, or are part of a homeless family.
Most runaway children do not realize the dangers of living on the streets. According to the National Runaway Switchboard, 75% of runaways will become involved in theft, drugs or pornography. One out of every three teens on the street will be lured into prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home. Daily in the US, an average of thirteen children die on the streets. In addition to the necessity of finding food, homeless teens and children face constant police hassling and the threat of physical and sexual assault. One study found that 60% of youth on the streets have been raped or assaulted. Homeless youth must face all the difficulties homeless adults do, but are more helpless and lacking in maturity.
In my story, I have Kira beginning her life on the streets at the age of nine years old in the summer of 1968. While this is fiction, this is the plight of many children in the USA.