Chapter 3

Lucy

Lucy watches Jake leave and hesitantly stands up,

“By… Bye!”

Maybe he doesn’t hear her, because he doesn’t turn, and soon he has disappeared behind a corner.

“See you later!”

Perhaps she can visit him one day, and then he can show her around the city as he said he would. The girl he talked to walks over to her. She’s dressed in black, with a pendant around her neck that has a star hanging from it.

“Hi, my name is Rachel. Jake told me that you needed somewhere to stay tonight.”

Her voice is really kind, and she puts a hand on Lucy’s shoulder.

“Yes, I just arrived in this city. I…”

“Ran away?", the girl says, smiling.

“Yes…”

“That’s fine, you’re not the only one. You can stay with me if you want. I have a nice house. It's a bit humid, but it's a good place”.

“Really? Jake told me I could stay with him, too.”

“I’m sure he did.., she mutters”.

The girl starts to walk, and Lucy hurries to get her backpack and follows. This is a nice city, just as she’d hoped for. Everyone is so friendly! Maybe it will be alright in the end, she can find friends here, and somewhere to live.

“So, where do you come from?", the girl asks.

Lucy mentions a town not far from here, and Rachel nods.

“I’ve been there once. It’s a pretty town. Have you seen much of this city yet?”

She keeps talking as they walk, pointing out places where you can get food, places to avoid, and where the best sleeping quarters are in case Lucy needs them. It all goes so quickly and she’s all dizzy from the kindheartedness that she doesn’t notice when Rachel stops.

“Here we are.”

They are standing in front of an abandoned building, the top floors in ruin.

“This is where you live…?", Lucy asks in wonder.

Rachel nods and walks over to a window at ground level.

“Come, I’ll show you.”

She climbs inside, and Lucy glances back at the street before she follows. She’s never used a window as a door before, that’s a bit strange… It’s difficult to get inside, but she manages to tumble through the window and thumps down onto the sofa standing just below. She gets up and brushes the dust from her trousers.

“This is your home?”

She looks around the basement. There is a moth-eaten carpet on the ground, and the sink in the kitchen is rusted. The tap is held to the wall with rubber bands, and on a rickety table stands a lamp made out of beer cans.

“It’s… nice…", she says hesitantly.

This must be how it is to live on the street. She can’t expect a house like her old one. At least they have a roof over their head here.

“Are you hungry?”

Rachel takes a stained plate from the cupboard, opens a tin and pours the content onto the plate.

“Here.”

“Thank you…”

She looks at the yellow mush on the plate. Is it safe to eat unheated tins? Dogs eat them, she knows. Rachel serves herself the same meal and sits down on the sofa. Perhaps this time it’s okay..

She glances around the room. Wasn’t it a film she watched where a lost girl was picked up by a stranger? Yes, they became best friends in the end and moved into a new flat together. Maybe she can have friends here too. And get a job. She chews on a piece of gristle and coughs. And better food. She only stirs the food around the plate after that, and when Rachel puts her empty plate away, Lucy follows suit.

“Thank you. I wasn’t so hungry in the end, but it was very kind of you to offer.”

The girl takes both plates and puts them in the sink, and then gestures at a stained mattress on the floor.

“You can have my bed tonight.”

“Oh…”

It has a brown spot from some unidentified liquid in the corner and maybe the sheets are in the laundry because it’s only a thin blanket on it as a duvet. She puts her jacket between her and the bed as she sits down.

“So.. Is it expensive, this flat?”

She needs to be kind and interested in those she meets. Otherwise, she’ll never get friends. The girl coughs in surprise.

“Expensive? I don’t pay for it.”

“Oh…”

So it’s like she’s read about in the books, where people take over abandoned places. They call it “squatting”, she thinks. She wanted to try that!

“So nice that you found somewhere to stay. Are flats expensive here if you want to rent?”

The girl mumbles in reply, “How the fuck would I know?”

They sit silently for a moment, but she knows from the movies that you should keep talking if you want to make friends. They need to get to know you.

“He was very kind, Jake. Is he your friend, too?”

Rachel rolls her eyes.

“He’s not called Jake. He's called Rat, and he's into glue.”

“Oh, glue? Does he sell it?”

It didn’t look like he had a business, but maybe he is selling on the side. She’s seen films where the street kids sell things in the marketplace.

“No, he sniffs glue.”

“Oh.. Like, in the movies?”

“Yes, like in the movies.”

“But he was nice to me…”

Rachel sighs.

“Yes, because you were his gateway to his next tube.”

“I was..?”

She stares at Rachel.

“He… wanted to steal from me!?”

“Yes.”

“Oh…”

She goes silent.

“Thank you for saving me.”

Maybe he wasn’t so kind then. But if you sniff glue, you must be lonely. Maybe it wasn’t his fault.

“Is that how it is to live on the street?”

“Watcha mean?”

“Stealing.”

And then she adds, without thinking,

“Do you steal?”

The girl rolls her eyes.

“No, I don’t steal. I work. But yes, people steal.”

“Oh… “

That makes sense. It can’t be easy living on the street, and you need food. She hopes she doesn’t need to steal.

“So, what work do you do?”

“Bits and pieces here and there, scraping a living.”

“Oh, really? Maybe I can do that too", she ponders.

Rachel looks at her.

“Actually, you know what? You could work for me. I could have a helper. And I would delegate things to you. Would you like that?”

It’s exactly like the book she read! The girl got a job helping her friend!

“Yes, yes, I can help you! We can do that!”

Her first friend! Just like the movies. She can help her, and Rachel will take care of her!

“Oh, but I don’t have anywhere to stay, though", she says.

“You can stay here for now.”

“Really? Wow, thank you! Thank you! Thank you! When can I start?”

“Let's try for two weeks first. And if you do a good job, you can keep doing it, okay?”

Lucy bobs her head up and down.

“Yes, I will do my absolute best. I will do my best!”

“Okay, so tomorrow, I will show you and give you the first couple of tasks, okay?”

“Okay, I won’t disappoint you, I promise!”

They go to bed after that, and Rachel turns off the lamp made from beer cans in the corner. She has her first friend now, and tomorrow, she’ll get a job. This turned out better than she thought!

You can listen to the Audiobook version on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@maratellsstories