Always Here With Me

Chapter One *unfinished*

"Not all of us are lucky."
Those eighteen letters have stayed with me for months now. I see it everyday. The kids who couldn't afford to go to school, or the unfortunate adults on the street, with dirt marks on their cheeks and who couldn't afford a home.
I don't remember when he said it to me all those years ago. In fact, I don't even know why I'm only remembering it now. A repetition in my mind that can't get out.
Although my life is more fortunate than some, I never realized what my life would be like if I wasn't favored by the gods. Would life be the same or something totally different? Something this deep doesn't usually occur to me. Psychology isn't really my thing. After those six words popped in my head for the first time, I realized how cruel of a world this could be.
I look over the edge of the rooftop and try to spot how many unfortunate people I can see.
"One, three, four, seven, ten." I mumble to myself. Ten people on just one street, living in boxes, alleyways, and living off by being beggars. I couldn't imagine what that must be like. Having to resort to strangers in hopes that they're sympathetic enough to pity you. Giving a couple of pennies or little bites of food, and yet those little "worthless" things to us could be so much to them.
"Not all of us are lucky." huh? I couldn't relate to what he said anyways. We were so young, and yet he thought about something as deep as that. I'm lucky enough to live comfortably with loving parents. Although, he didn't really have the most admirable parental figures.
I'm in high school now, living in a two story house with my parents and my little sister. It's been about five years since I've seen him. For some reason, going to this rooftop where I can overlook some of the city, always reminds me of him. I can see the town's library, the soccer fields and the sports center, the rows of houses, and shops everywhere you look.
This rooftop is on top of an apartment building. not too far away from my own house. People never go up here and sometimes I even leave my belongings up here when I go to school, and come back to everything still there where I left it. Sometimes I can't keep food up here though, birds can just pick it up and fly away with it.
I go here whenever I need to clear my head of something or when I just need to do work. It's clean and there's even some chairs here and there.
I look up to the sky, then the soccer field, then back up to the sky. I can't stop looking at that certain field. I know I spent most of my time there with him when we were younger, but I know there's something else. The sky is almost all a deep ocean navy blue. It's twilight now. I can see the glowing dots scattered across the sky with the orange and red covering some of the sky.
I gather up my stuff I used to do my homework and start to go home. My mom doesn't know about this rooftop. She isn't necessarily strict, but I just tell her I go to the library after school everyday to study. I'm not technically lying about why I'm not home, I just misinform her of where I'm at everytime. It isn't like I'm going to a party. My mom also doesn't like me staying away from home too late. It was already around six in the evening.
I gathered up my laptop and papers into a single bag and exited the apartment. The way home to my house and the apartment rooftop only takes about ten minutes at max, with counting waiting periods for the traffic lights. The sidewalks are usually pretty busy by the time I walk home. Multiple people on each side of the sidewalk. Passing by the unfortunate every multiple steps or so.
"Excuse me..! Excuse me..! If you could just wait for one moment! Please kind sir, do you have any change or food that you can spare?". A stuttering voice is directed towards me as I continue walking.
I look back after a couple of steps and see the filthy man walking up to me. He doesn't look any older than thirty, but older than twenty. He has big holes in his gray shirt with a thin jacket, jeans, and dirty white Vans. You couldn't even tell those were white without the inside of the shoe peeking out. The shoes were a couple sizes bigger so you could see the inside of the shoes.
"Do you have any change you can give? You don't need much, anything will help. My younger brother hasn't eaten and he really needs the food."
I look to the side of him to see a boy around my age, sleeping on the sidewalk with a thick but dirty jacket on. To think this man is using all the money he can get for even just something so little to feed his younger brother. He clearly shows that his younger brother is his biggest priority.
"I may have something I can give, you must spend it wisely okay?" as I reach into my bag to get some leftover cash out.
He nods and anxiously waits, but also turns back and forth every few seconds to make sure his little brother is doing okay.
I reach into my bag and feel some money. I pull it out and zip up my bag. I uncover my hand to reveal the money. The man lights up in the sight of something he never really saw in a while.
"Here, have fifty dollars to spend for you and your brother, I hope everything goes well in the future. Make sure to spend it on food and water. " I say.
I hand the man the money and as he takes it away from my hand while tearing up. "Thank you so much, kind sir. You are a godsend. May god bless you." I can only smile at him with the thought of his brother waking up to a meal for the both of them. I turn around and continue my route to my house.
While walking, I could only think about how desperate he looked. I don't understand why some of the more fortunate could not even take donating into consideration. I just handed a homeless man and his little brother fifty dollars in cash for them to get a single meal and water that could last them a couple weeks at the least. If any homeless people come up to me, I would most definitely donate whatever I have. I hate selfish people.
I open the door to the smell of my mother's cooking. "H/n! Can you set the table for me?" my mother shouts from the kitchen towards the front door. Taking off my shoes as I respond to affirm I heard her. "I will, I will!" in a fatigued but respectful tone. I walk upstairs and grab the clean clothes from my room, then go into the bathroom. Turning the handle as water drops like a waterfall into the white crater of the counter. Washing my hands and splashing cold water into my face, waking me up and cleaning my dirty face. I change into pajama pants and put a hoodie on top of my dirty shirt, being too lazy to take my shirt off.
I walk downstairs again to set the table. The walk from the kitchen from my bedroom bathroom isn't a long walk, but I just wished it was closer. Once I get to the kitchen, I see the food on the table with the plates already there. I grab the silverware inside of the cabinet.