Taylor slowly began to wake up, holding his head as he stared at the inside of a small tent.
“Wha…whe…” Taylor mumbled as he slowly sat up.
His body was frail and skinny, his skin so tight that every individual rib was visible.
His arms and legs were only slightly wider and thicker than toothpicks.
Taylor struggled to breathe, then felt a hand on his back.
Taylor slowly sat up with the assistance of his unseen helper.
Once he sat up, the person made their way around to his front.
A large, muscular, dark skinned man.
Taylor recognized him as Stephen’s Father.
“How did…why are…” Taylor was unable to finish a thought.
His body was drained of energy.
His brain felt fried, unable to work properly.
“Before you speak, eat some of these.” Stephen’s Father interrupted.
Inside of a small, cracked plastic bowl was a pile of granola. Along with the granola was a variety of nuts and berries, finally topped with pieces of avocado.
“That’s…a strange…combination…” Taylor whispered.
“What are you, a food critic?” Stephen’s Father joked and chuckled before helping Taylor hold the bowl.
Taylor’s hands were shaking while holding the light bowl full of light food. He struggled to hold the small amount of weight, his veins bulging like he was trying to lift a heavy weight.
“Thank…you…” Taylor whispered.
Stephen’s Father had to help Taylor lift the bowl up, Taylor opening his mouth and dumping about a third of the bowl into his mouth at once.
He chewed it very slowly and weakly, his jaw even so weak he struggled to bite through slightly unfresh blueberries.
Taylor had to push to swallow, his body already beginning to feel stronger.
Within seconds, he could see his body beginning to grow into a more normal shape.
He quickly finished the bowl, his body almost back to normal but with maybe a few pounds still missing.
“Why did you…” Taylor started with his normal voice, but stopped as he seemed surprised and caught off guard.
“Why did you help me?” Taylor asked.
“Because I help whoever I can.” He replied.
“Well…thanks.” Taylor said with a crack of a smile.
There was all sorts of talking and chattering outside of the tent. Taylor rubbed his head and looked around confused.
All sorts of shadows moved across and through the thin fabric tent with a multitude of colors.
“Where are we?” Taylor asked.
“We are currently under and around the BP Pedestrian Bridge.” Stephen’s Father said.
“Wait…so we’re in Grant Park?” Taylor asked, still feeling a bit tired despite having his strength back.
“Somebody passed their geography class.” Stephen’s Dad joked before moving backwards out of the tent.
Taylor slowly crawled out to follow him.
The sun was bright and nearly blinded Taylor as he climbed out of the space.
All around him were tents, some so small they could barely fit a single person, while others were tied together to make one massive tent. There were small shops set up selling trash or things made from trash. Taylor turned to his left to see somebody selling mismatched shoes that were covered in dirt, some even missing pieces. Taylor turned to his right to see scrap metal from junk yards turned into statues and artwork, selling for a few cents. People were walking around wearing tattered clothing, trash bag suits and dresses, or large dirty blankets covered in stains and tears.
Taylor couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
It was like its own separate community of homeless people, living in a village of their own.
The walking path was crowded full of people in layers upon layers of mismatched, ill fitting clothes despite the sun beating down.
“I…” Taylor started, but saw Stephen’s Father walking with ease.
All of the homeless people were quickly and easily moving out of the way for him, like he was a king. Most of them reached out to touch him, as a sign of thanks as Taylor could only watch on.
“I’m gonna need a lot of things explained to me, and go slow because my head hurts.” Taylor said as he continued to follow Stephen’s Father.
“Alright.” He replied with a shrug.
They made their way to the entrance of the walking bridge, beginning to walk on it as they looked around.
The entire park had homeless people, but they were crowded in areas that were hidden by trees or bushes. All of the wide open spaces like the basketball court, sidewalks, and benches were all normal people going through their days as if they didn’t even notice the homeless people.
Two groups of people so close to each other, yet there wasn’t any entanglement between them.
“You and Stephen are homeless?” Taylor asked.
“Ever since Stephen’s Mother passed away, we moved from city to city to try and find somewhere for him to live without causing him too much stress. He has…issues that are delicate.” He said.
Taylor looked out as they walked, feeling the warmth on his body which wasn’t one hundred percent healed yet.
“I’m sorry to hear about your loss. How did it happen?” Taylor asked.
“She died during childbirth. Stephen was a special birth, but that brought issues and complications.” He replied.
The two stopped and stood over the road, watching and hearing as the cars raced by.
“Why do those people do that? Move out of the way and reach out?” Taylor asked.
“Those people? Well I guess that is better than what most people call them.” Stephen’s Father said.
“Sorry, what should I call them?” Taylor quickly asked.
“They have names, but don’t worry.” Stephen’s Dad said as he put his large and muscular hand on Taylor’s back.
“Sorry sir.” Taylor said.
Stephen’s Dad laughed and pulled his hand back.
“You don’t have to call me sir. You’re a friend of Stephen’s. That makes you family.” He replied.
Taylor smiled and looked at the man, but quickly turned his attention to the road of all of the cars quickly passing by.
“I know what you are. The…gift…that you have.” He said, looking forward in the same direction as Taylor.
“Gift? What gift?” Taylor asked nervously.
“When I found you, your body was skinnier than a corpse. That day the police were bothering you, everything all of a sudden went crazy in a single instant. Your gift is super speed, I’m guessing.” He said, turning to Taylor.
Taylor’s eyes went wide in shock.
“I…wait…are you saying…” Taylor started.
“Dad?”
Taylor turned to see Stephen walking up the bridge with his large backpack around his back. As soon as Stephen spotted Taylor, his entire body lit up before he ran and nearly took Taylor down with a tight hug.
Taylor softly laughed and hugged back.
“What are you doing here?” Stephen asked.
“I was showing him around. He came asking about you.” Stephen’s Dad said.
Taylor turned to look at him. It was as if they shared an entire conversation within a few seconds of eye contact.
“I have been too busy dealing with my own issues. I’ve missed you and wanted to make sure that you were doing alright.” Taylor said, softly rubbing Stephen’s back and head.
“I’ve been worried about you Taylor. I wanted to check on you but give you your space. I care about you but didn’t want to be too much.” Stephen said as he buried his face into Taylor’s chest.
Taylor finally got Stephen to let him go, looking down into his tear filled eyes.
“I’ll always be here for you Stephen, but I gotta do my own things sometimes. You’ll never be too much. Just stay true to yourself.” Taylor said.
Stephen smiled wide as his Dad stepped to the side.
“Taylor was just getting ready to head home, but it’s good you got to see each other.” He said.
Taylor looked at him again and smiled.
“Yeah…I’ll see you at school Stephen.” Taylor said.
Stephen couldn’t contain his massive smile as he held onto Taylor as tightly as possible.
“Okay. I’ll see you.” Stephen smiled while his hands were gripping his shirt tightly.
Stephen’s Dad had to grab his Son and pry him away, Taylor softly chuckling.
“See you.” Taylor said.
“Yeah.” Stephen said.
Taylor and Stephen’s Dad shared one more look.
One more smile.
Stephen’s Dad turned his son around and they began to walk back down the bridge.
As they walked, a gust of wind blew past the both of them, almost making Stephen fall forward. Stephen tried to turn around, but his Dad kept him looking forward.
“Grab your bag, we gotta get some things.” His Dad said.
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