The Cardboard Box Couple

They live in a cardboard box that sits in front of a school for children between the ages of 4 months to 5 years of age. She is probably in her 30s and he seems to be a few years older. They haven’t bathed in a while, when the wind blows you can tell. Everything they own is in that box. Not that they own much, but there are things that aren´t of any value to others, however, to them rare treasures.

The school principal has done everything in her power to try to make them move. But where to? She has spoken to them. She has called the city officials. But to no avail. They stay there day in and day out. Night and day. Come rain, come shine.

The couple met right there in front of the school. The man was inside the box. The woman was walking by on a sunny afternoon, as he remembers it to be, when he poked his head outside the box and said: hello. It was love at first sight. They made a deal to not know about each other´s past nor what their names were. Therefore, they chose different names every day according to their taste and used them when they had to deal with strangers. But most of the times, they just called each other Cream Puff and Snuggles.

Cream Puff and Snuggles seem to be quite happy in their relationship. When the man is out collecting cans, the woman is at home making sure no one else invades their cardboard box. Afterall, it is a beauty and it keeps them warm in the winter. The only thing that is not good about it is when it rains. However, they managed to find an old plastic raincoat which they are able to use as a cover for their home. It seems to keep the water out and they can easily fold it up and hide it when they don´t need to use it. There have been times when the man has found food in garbage cans and at night they eat outside the box ; candle light and the stars: quite romantic.

The people who live in the neighborhood help them out as much as they can by giving them food and clothing. Sometimes they manage to get their food from the school trash cans. You see, the children who study there don´t always eat everything off their plates and since the school recycles their garbage, getting the leftover food is quite easy. So, Cream Puff and Snuggles manage to gather enough food for lunch and dinner. There have been times when they have even handed out some food to other homeless people in the streets nearby.

At night, they can´t watch TV like a regular couple, so they read to each other. They managed to find some books some one didn´t want anymore on one of their garbage hunts. They were saddened by the fact that some one had the courage to dispose of all those amazing stories instead of donating them to an institution, which is what they do whenever they finished reading a book. Don´t think that they donate stinky dirty books. No. They clean them and make sure that the book is in readable conditions.

They have read so many amazing stories. One that told a story about a love affair between a young couple that ended up committing suicide because their parents would not allow them to get married. Cream Puff cried at the end. Another about a wolf who wanted to eat a little girl dressed in red. Their all time favorite was about a ring that was very precious. This story was told in three huge books. Snuggles thought it would make a great movie.

It was so nice to be together and reading to each other until the last ray of the sun. Sometimes they would be lucky and find a candle somewhere or even some batteries with a little bit more energy to give out. You see, Snuggles had a flashlight. It was one of his treasures.

Life had been pleasant until one late afternoon when everything just turned upside down. Like a gust of wind that simply blew their box over, their lives ended. Yes, that is right. They passed away.

It seemed that in this city there was a madman or two who were going around town and shooting the homeless down. Cream Puff and Snuggles had heard the rumors about this but they really didn´t believe the other homeless that told them. Since they couldn´t neither watch TV nor afford to buy a newspaper, it was just a rumor to them and besides, life was wonderful.

It was a late afternoon during the rain season, however, it hadn´t rain for a while now because the city was going through some strange weather phenomenon which caused a drought, that the couple where getting ready for their night of storytelling.

 On this particular evening they were going to read a book called: To Kill a Mockingbird.  Cream Puff was very excited about it, she loved birds. However, they didn’t even get to page one.

Two men on a motorcycle stopped in front of their box and opened fire. As I read the paper the next morning, I saw that the police had counted 15 shots in all. But the peculiar thing was that their bodies were locked tight in a hug. Poor Cream Puff and Snuggles. True happiness brings forth envy.

(Written October 27, 2014)Todos os direitos reservados a Meire Marion.

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Sunday Afternoon at the Supermarket

Having to go to the supermarket on a Sunday afternoon, for some people, must be quite a nerve racking event, but not for me. I actually enjoy my visits to the supermarket on any day and I do go quite frequently so as not to waste food. However, for some people, the arduous task is written all over their faces, one just needs to observe them. Observing people is one of my favorite activities.

As I drive my cart up and down the isles, I watch and learn. Learn about the people by what products they have put in their carts.  You can tell whether they are single, married, have kids, are trying to be healthy or just do not care and stuff themselves with junk food. You can also tell if they dread going to the supermarket.

This past Sunday it was not different. I noticed a young couple shopping together. They seemed to be in their early 20´s. Both were tall and slender but neither was smiling. The lack of the smiles was odd. Such a young couple, shouldn´t they have been radiant and shining their passion? I guess not.

I ran into them at many of the isles, you see even though I had gone to buy a couple of items, I go through each and every isle to see if there is a product on sale or something new in the market. As I was at the cash register, they were lined up right after me. I noticed that they hadn´t bought much, just a couple of beers, a big piece of meat, some potatoes, lettuce and a cake. I guessed that they were going to have a small party or it was their lunch; still no smiles.

All paid up and heading for the parking lot, I saw the couple come towards my car. I immediately understood that their car was parked close to mine. However, what caught my attention was the fact that the woman was walking ahead of the man carrying all the shopping bags while he was just carrying the car keys.

Those bags looked really heavy. Why wasn´t he helping her out? By the look on their faces, they were not speaking to each other, perhaps a lover´s quarrel; perhaps the end of a relationship; perhaps it was just their deal as to who does what when it comes to going to the supermarket on a Sunday afternoon. Whatever the reason, I just thought that he could have been kind and help her carry the bags.

(Written September 29, 2014)Todos os direitos reservados a Meire Marion.

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Polka Dots Fell from the Sky

It was early October when the Family decided to move from an apartment in a poor part of town to a luxury house in the upper part of the city; beautiful four-story home on a quiet street with very few neighbors. For this reason they decided that they should get a dog to guard the house when the family was away at work and school.

The family consisted of a mother who worked at an international company; the father who was a partner of a chain of hotels that was just starting to become famous in the country; the son who was in the first grade and the daughter who was just a year and a half younger than her brother and went to day care.

The siblings would fight quite often and there was only one thing they agreed on: a Dalmatian. Both of them wanted this breed of dog. If they could have more than one it would have made them happier, but just one was a good thing too. However, they could not agree on the name of the dog, therefore, the parents decided that the dog would have two names.

 The boy wanted to name the dog Polka because he was studying about dances around the world at school and he really enjoyed the Polka. He also liked the pronunciation of the word and how his tongue rolled in his mouth when he said it.

The girl wanted the dog to be named dots because she really liked the way the Dalmatian’s coat was covered in little dots. It was as simple as that.

 So they decided on naming the dog Polka Dots.

Everyone really loved the name, especially Polka Dots who would wag her tail feverishly whenever she heard it.

Polka Dots became part of the family the same day the moving truck parked in front of the house. After the movers had unloaded all the boxes and furniture from the truck, the kids were entitled to go out to the pet shop and pick out a dog.

 It was love at first sight. They spotted her as soon as they walked into the shop and she immediately licked them and barked happily at them. It was settled, they took Polka Dots home.

The first night was tough for the whole family. Polka Dots howled all night long in its comfortable bed outside near the kitchen door. The kids wanted to bring her into the house but their mom said that that would be possible because she was going to grow into a big dog and big dogs needed outdoor space. Besides the inside of the house had to many nick knacks and that would be a problem. Polka Dots could knock things down and break them.

The kids tried to understand what their mother had explained, so each of them took one of their dirty t-shirts and put them in the basket where Polka Dots was. On the next day, their mother saw the two little kids sleeping with their heads against the kitchen door and holding hands. When she looked out the window, she noticed that Polka Dots was sound asleep with her head up against the kitchen door too.  What a heartwarming scene it was.

Time passed and Polka Dots grew big and strong. She really looked forward to 4pm when the kids would come home and play with her for some time before they had to go upstairs to do their homework.

While the kids were busily studying Polka Dots would roam in the front yard and bark at any stranger who would walk by the gate. Although she was a friendly dog, Polka Dots knew that she had to protect that family.

On one of those evening while Polka Dots was waiting for the kids to come home, a black car stopped in front of the house, rolled down the window and threw in a metal object covered in beef. At first Polka Dots just barked at the car and ran over to smell the object. She knew it was something yummy but she had never eaten anything like that before so she just sat there and waited for some one to come home.

The clock struck 4 pm and the kids came home. They noticed that Polka Dots did not come to greet them. They also saw the strange metal object. The boy, who was into science, took a closer look and noticed that it was a bomb covered in beef. He freaked out. He told his sister to back off. She started to cry and ran in the house.

The boy ran in the house after his sister and immediately called his father to ask for help. His father told him to dial 920 for help and let the police in.

In no time the police arrived and they tried to check what the metal thing was. However, Polka Dots had it in her mouth and as the police officer tried to take it from her, she growled. It was a very tense situation.

By now, everyone was back home. The whole family was united. All the neighbors came outside to see what was going on. There were even TV cameras and reporters trying to get the scoop. The kids were weeping. The mother was trying to calm the kids down. The father was negotiating with the police. The bomb rescue team had been called in and they thought of giving the dog a tranquilizer and removing the bomb and then taking it to a safe place to set it off. But that could be dangerous. It could go off with any brisk movement.

Suddenly the little boy told everyone to hush. There was a new sound in the air. It sounded like a clock ticking. Panic struck.

The police told everyone to back off. The bomb squad had the tranquilizer gun ready. The mother decided to take the kids to the neighbor’s. As soon as she opened the gate, Polka Dots took off carrying the bomb in her jaw.

The kids screamed. The police yelled. The bomb squad ran after her. Polka Dots ran as fast as she could. She found a hole that had been dug to insert some pipes for the new condo that was being built just up the road. There she hid quietly.

BOOM! From the house they saw a flash of light and dirt go up in the air. The kids screamed and started to cry. Polka Dots had saved their lives.

(Written September 30, 2014)Todos os direitos reservados a Meire Marion.

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