Thursday, July 1, 2010

APOSTADAY: Beggar

It's begun! Day one of my post-a-day challenge for July! As promised, each day I will attempt to write a short story or short short for you guys. I hope that this will be a fun and entertaining ride for the both of us. So without further delay...HERE WE GO!


5 p.m. Mid-fall. The residents of the city were already wearing their heavy coats, as the weather seemed to have wanted to give them a tiny preview of the frost Winter that was to come. Roaring loudly , overpowering the sounds of the cars and trucks that ran over the bridge, the M train emerged out from the tunnel and made its way towards Marcy avenue. This train wasn't very full, which is very uncharacteristic for an inner city train during rush hour. There was a wide range of passengers; students, business men, your typical tourist. The train doors opened, upon reaching its stop, allowing new yet similar faces to enter the train car. As the doors were about the close, a last minute passenger slipped through at the last moment. This is a common occurrence on trains so hardly anyone took notice. It wasn't until the train started to move, that man stood out from the rest. Aside from the fact that he was the only one who wasn't seated, standing at the far end of the car, he wasn't dressed like anyone else. Where they had their heavy coats and jackets, he had a thin blazer, that was clearly old and used with a variety of stains and smudges all over. While others had thick jeans or pants, accompanied with long johns to help against the cold, this man only had a pair of thin, worn out sweats that may have been grey, once upon a time. To shield his feet, he had on some tattered, beat up sneakers that may have belonged to a runner long ago, before it came to his possession. This totem of the inner city stared at train car of passengers with his tired eyes, remembering when he was once "one of them". For a moment, he reminisced of days when his presence was acknowledged and he enjoyed the simple pleasures of eye contact. No one looked up. He sighed deeply and, with his most sincere voice, he called for the attention of everyone in the car. No one glanced up. He proceeded to shuffle his feet slowly towards the other end of the car, reciting the tragic story of his life. Glancing from one face to another, he asked for these strangers to look into their own hearts and realize that anyone could be in the same position he was currently in. Still, no one glanced up. He asked what many others before him have asked. If anyone could find it in their hearts to spare some change, or perhaps something to eat...Alas, no reaction. He reached the end of the train car. The train was now approaching, thus signalling the end of the time he had to win over the hearts of these strangers. He turned once more towards them all, although looking slightly different. There seemed to be new life in his eyes as if a small spark of his former self had suddenly been lit. With a loud voice he hadn't used in years, he said, "You fucking people...can't even spare some fucking change so a guy can get a meal...". As if saying took all the energy out of him, he shrunk back to his usual self and shuffled out of the train as the doors opened. Just then, someone wearing an "I Love NY" cap sneezed and someone sitting across from him said, "Bless you."



****Prompt from One-Minute Writer

haha I think I'm rusty...

Peace

5 comments:

J.Gratini said...

nice.nice. :)

Eddie said...

thanks! :-)

Tin Kettle Inn said...

Amazing descriptions. You're a talented...describer.

Eddie said...

Oooo thanks! I felt like I was a bit rusty though :-)

Naty said...

Wow I really enjoyed this, you completely sucked me in while I was reading your story.