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)
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