Chapter 1 - The Coldness

Did you ever wonder what it is like to live on the cold streets? I guess you've done it at least once. 

The rain was hammering down heavily on the road, which could no longer absorb the water. The petrichor lingered in the air alongside the smell of asphalt. The young man hid under a tree, trembling, covered only with an old blanket full of holes. 

His arms hugged his knees, freezing from being exposed to the elements. Clouds of his breath formed in front of his face. One sky-blue eye was covered by the semi-long chocolate hair, and the other was focused on the raindrops dancing in the puddles in front of him. 

The world disappointed him at an early age, and he had to fight every day for a new morning. Sitting lonely on the ground, he was quietly hoping for a miracle, which never came. This young man had no real home nor friends, only wandering in a foreign country for years with no future. 

By this time, he had gotten used to sitting on the street begging for the mercy of strangers. Eating scraps. From time to time, doing odd jobs for just literal coins or food. Sleeping near the harbor under a bridge in a makeshift shelter from cardboard. 

That place was very hard to get to, so the young lad stored his only belongings there. An old photoalbum which contained the photos of his mother and himself from much happier times, and a pile of old rags that he called blankets. Some utensils for food, and a small solar lamp.

 Today, he got caught off guard by the weather. The poor boy did not know about the incoming typhoon, so he got stuck in the city, on land. During such times, it is always risky to come and go from his "home" under the bridges, because the water there gets too wild. 

The young boy could just watch the warm lights coming from different windows of strangers' homes. His skin was wet and ice-cold to the touch. Only his thoughts of warmth kept him alive for now. 

He dipped his face into his knees, using his breath to warm himself up. The typhoon seemed to have no end. Why was this happening to him? Why now? What for? His mind was swirling with all these thoughts. Maybe... maybe in the future he will find a home...

*

He stayed in that same spot the whole night, till the next morning. The rain died down, and slowly the sun was appearing from behind the clouds. Some of the rain was still drizzling in the air. By this point, the poor boy was exhausted not only from the weather but from the sleepless night. 

His stomach was growling loudly through the street. His lips, despite all the moisture around, were dried out, since he hadn't had water for more than two days. The freezing night took a toll on his health. The boy was running a fever. 

Unable to stand up, he left there sitting in the same cold spot for too long. Nobody was helping. People here, in this country, just tend to their own business. It's part of their culture. It's nothing personal, just the way things are working out around here. 

Is this it? Is this the way he will leave this damn world? The lights were slowly fading away from his eyes, which were once clear like the blue sky. His body gave in and began to shift to the side... His strength gave out...

 The lad couldn't hold his body any longer in a straight position. Slowly falling to the wet ground with a little splashing sound. The young boys counsciousness was in and out a few times, leaving him in a dazed state. He felt only the coldness of this world...

His sight was blurred, but he could still recognize shapes. The last thing he saw was a blue umbrella approaching him slowly. A muffled voice of a girl cut through the rain, but what was she saying?