"There goes the walking death boy," said someone in a small shop. Zeke turns towards the window to acknowledge that the comment didn't go unheard by him. Instead of seeing inside the posh shop he saw a boy with pale skin, ebony dark hair and eyes. The boy was too skinny with gangly long arms and legs. Zeke sighed and then continued on his way down the path with the moldy bread that had cost him a quarter of his paycheck even after the baker had taken a good amount of the cost of the moldy loaf of bread. He continued down the path towards the edge of the town. When Zeke's parents had been alive they had bought the house with the thought of having a large family and raising them in the house. Zeke stands outside the house and looks at it. The house had once been a house of envy with its light green walls, white trim, and clean whole windows. Ever since Zeke's parents had died, the paint had darkened, the white trim become yellow and chipped, and the once clean and whole windows were now grimy, and many had boards to block the wind. Zeke had tried to keep the house up but with the sudden death of his parents he had no money saved and no job. Zeke had been only been seventeen when his parents had died. Zeke looked at the watch on his wrist and realized he had been standing outside looking at his house for ten minutes. He headed inside and headed upstairs towards the room that had been painted a bright pink when his parents learned the surprise child would be a girl. They bought many dolls and princess things. As Zeke walked closer to the room he heard an angelic voice walking.
"Angela you go here! No! You weren't supposed to fall! Angela why are you so difficult!", Zeke pushed the door open to find this little sister fighting with her doll Angela.
"Eusy, it's time for your treatment" said Zeke as he picked up the small child. The money he didn't use for food and other necessities went towards treatment for his young sister, who had a life threatening disease. Zeke took her into what used to be the dining room, now a treatment room for Eusy and sat her down.
"Will you be brave for brother and hold still until the whole shot is gone. It won't hurt as much if I don't have to give the shot twice." Zeke said as he tapped the air bubbles to the top of the syringe and applied gentle pressure to release all the air.
"Oh, I will ZeZe! I will be brave and strong just like you!" said Eusy with a big smile on her face. Eusy's name matched how everyone thought about her, a star. Her smiles, hugs and laughter brought a light to Zeke's bleak life. As soon as Zeke finished Eusy ran off to her room.
A few seconds later he heard "Angela I'm back and you better do what I ask you too!" Zeke, laughing to himself, went towards the kitchen to cut off the mold on the loaf of bread he picked up today.
YOU ARE READING
The Hero of the Poor
Short StoryZeke is a poor boy and at the age of nineteen in charge of raising his three year old sister, who is really sick, and his sixteen year old trouble maker of a brother. When his brother goes missing Zeke thinks nothing of it, his brother had run out...
