A close person (EN)

1

Freedom. So simple to pronounce and so difficult to imagine anything underneath. The word doesn't have an exact definition. It means something different to everyone. For the kids, it's a break between classes. For parents, freedom is when their offspring finally fall asleep and they can reach out on the sofa. For me, freedom is breath. I can take a step without being told if I'm going in the wrong direction. To afford a mistake and learn from it myself. Just be myself regardless of the others. Regardless of their expressions.

Every person is different. You can tell very easily when you're watching them walk down the street. Some go to some small shop for a brigade. Others rush to business centers because there are discounts on a substance they badly need to buy. Older people calmly walk past the windows and stop at every scramble. But no matter how different these people are, they all have the same disgusted look on their faces when they spot people sitting on the curb. Those persons are hungry, dirty, and their clothes are covered in a thick layer of dust and mud. Most of these individuals are addicted to drugs and alcohol. Sometimes they drop down to the point where they start working in a brothel. But some aren't about to give up yet, clinging firmly to the little bit of hope they have left. They call people like that homeless. I used to do it too. But one experience refuted my claim long ago. They're not homeless. They have homes, they're just not made up of walls. They don't have roofs or doors.

How do I know all this? I see those stares of revulsion and disgust every day. And they're often aimed at me. I hate the sense of shame and humiliation I've felt for four years. I've admitted losing so many times. The first two summers were the worst. The hopelessness destroyed me, but then fate got in the way of the man who pulled me out of the pool of pain that led me closer and closer to death. And it is to him that I owe it to be here. Cole. To my only real friend. To my family.

***

„Hi" I smile at the figure approaching in my direction. 

„Hello, Sam," his face stretches into a false smile, from which I conclude his quest was unsuccessful. Before he starts talking, I'll interrupt him with my words.

„Never mind. Somehow I suspected it. I'll go get the food tonight, all right?" I'm trying to soothe him. Every time he comes back without money or food, he's very disappointed. He's trying to protect me, and I'm unspeakably grateful for that, but it hurts to see him in that state. I reach out and gently caress his arm. I tap the spot next to me. He soon sits on a torn towel he found dumped in a container yesterday. 

„Shall we go for a walk? I need to come up with other thoughts or I'm going crazy, " he sighs.

„Okey. Let's go for a swim. I'm terribly thirsty. But you're not going to throw me in the water like you did last time. It's really stuffy, but I'm going to go into the water of my own free will. agreement" I laugh and get up from a warm spot on the ground with his help.

„An agreement."

When we come out of the shadows, we are carried by the excruciating heat of the real June morning. The wind plays with my hair only slightly, but I don't mind at all. Hand in hand, we pass grocery stores. I look up subtly at the boy who saved my life. His eyes are hungrily locked in pastries located behind impenetrable glass. With a sense of reconciliation, we head for the water, which will at least take away the unrelenting hunger. And that's where my story begins.

***

Hi. I decided to rewrite my story "A close person" one more time in English, so I hope you, who can't speak Czech, appreciate it. It's important to mention that this language is not my first language, so excuse my mistakes. I hope you'll like the story. 

Have a nice day, wherever you are in the world and stay safe in your homes. I hope you're all right. I love you guys. 

Your Czechgirl03