I sat there with my back against the cold brick wall. My whole body is shivering from the cool night air. All I had to shield me from it was a dirty wool blanket with probably more holes in it then a sponge. It wasn’t much but it was all I had. I watch the people pass by me, not even bothering to look at me, and if they ever did, it was a cold and painful glare and a look of disgust on their face as they kept walking. I hid my face behind my thin, ratted brown hair, thinking it might protect me from their glares, but it never does. No one around here ever cares about people like me. To them I am nothing more than a splattered bug on the windshield of their life. But it wasn’t always like this, I had a house, a car, a dog, a family, I had a life. But all of that ended the day my parents were killed in a plane crash over Europe. I was ten at the time and the only family I had left after that was my very old grandmother, and so it was decided by some judge that that is where I would live until I was able to live on my own or until the day my grandmother passed away. Sadly that day came sooner than we thought, because not long after that my grandmother had died of lung cancer. It was a long and painful death for her, and just as painful for her loved ones to see her die like that. Even I was saddened by her death. Even though while my parents were alive we didn’t come to see her very often, she and I still shared a seemingly unbreakable and loving bond with one another. That was probably why it hurt so much to see her go, because it felt as if our bond had slightly broken and that it’s now only barely hanging on by just a few small strands.
Soon after her death three men in suits came to the door and took me away to an orphanage. It was called Mary Lynn’s orphanage for girls. I hated it. I hated the girls, the food, the so called head mistresses, everything. Even in a house of complete chaos, I still felt so alone. All the pain, the agony, the loneliness, made me feel as if I couldn’t breathe. As if my mind and thoughts were clouded by dark gray smoke. It made me feel as if the whole world was getting smaller and smaller, and darker and darker until there was only me inside it. I knew I had to get out fast, so I packed up what little I had, and that night I ran away. I ran and ran never wanting to stop until I felt the pain go away, but it never did. After what seem like days, I finally collapsed my body exhausted, coughing and wheezing whenever I breathed. I laid there that night on the cold icy ground, while the cool droplets of rain struck my skin.
It was morning when I finally awoke. The strong smell of gasoline and smoke filled my nose as I slowly lifted myself up. I rubbed my eyes and looked around. Cars and trucks rushed by on the road and people flooded the sidewalks. From the looks of things it looks like I fell asleep on a side walk besides a large brick building. The swarm of busy people just ignored me and swerved around when they saw me. My whole body groaned as I stood up and pushed the dirty wool blanket off me. I started walking towards, well no where really. I just followed the wet concrete path ahead of me just to see where it takes me. This may not be the greatest life, but its mine none the less, and this time I’m in the driver’s seat going wherever I want to go.