Why Me

Snowflakes drifted aimlessly in the frigid winter night as a lone figure sat on a park bench watching the children play in the snow. Snow piled up around him and he sat silently as tears made his eyes sparkle from the lone lamp post next to his bench as tears slowly rolled down his cheek, vanishing into the snow at his feet. A frigid wind blew, and he shivered wishing he had a warm place to rest his head for the night, but that was in vain, for every hostel and shelter he visited had no room. So, this lonely bench in a small park in the middle of downtown was all he could find as he pulled his jacket tighter around him to try and keep the cold out, but to no avail as his feet were like a block of ice and to try and move, only cause him more distress so he stayed where he was. Occasionally some would walk by, and they would glance his way only to pick up their pace and hurry by him, figuring that he would try and talk to them or ask for something, but he just remained motionless as his eyes followed them as they rushed away, probably to a nice warm home and meal. Closing his eyes, he thought about his family, but he could not remember them, losing contact with them when he was forced to live on the streets. Tears began to form once again as he thought of the day his own relatives told him he had to leave because they wanted to go on vacation and he could not stay, to wander the streets of an unknown city, only to end up cold and hungry on this lone park bench.

Lifting his hand to his face he wiped his nose in his sleeve, brushed the tears away, looked up to the sky where a lone star was shining through a break in the clouds and thought to himself, I guess I am not the only lone soul on this frosty night. As he finished his thoughts the lone star vanished, and he lowered his head once more as the loneliness settled in once again. Looking around, the park was empty now and he was alone once more with only the wind to hear as he slowly closed his eyes thinking of why he was there. His childhood was rough, always being bullied and had hardly any friends, he was a middle child and somehow he was always left out of activities and family events and spent most of his time alone, like he never existed and the only time they would notice him is when they blamed him for doing something that he never done, but he was always the one to be punished or beat. When he finally finished school, he left home to set out on his own, only to find a cruel hard world where he did not know where to belong. Family members opened their homes to him, only to kick him out a month or so later because he was not wanted there anymore. He did nothing, only trying to get by with no help from his family. This went on for a year or two when he thought someone actually cared about him and told him to come hundreds of kilometers from where he already was, only to be there a couple of weeks and then to be thrown on to the streests because they wanted a vacation. Why is this happening to me? Was his final thought before slumber overtook him. A gentle touch on his shoulder awoke him, lifting his head, he was met with a warm smile as they helped him from the bench. An elderly couple was out for a nightly stroll when they came upon him, covered in snow, not knowing if he was alive or not and gently woke him from his slumber and helped him to his feet. Taking hold of each of his arms they slowly left the park, thinking to himself I am not alone.