My father always said I should think before I act. If I had followed his advice maybe I wouldn't be here wandering the streets after nightfall hoping to find a place to spend the night. Maybe tonight I would find I simple box or a nice bridge to sleep under. With me I carried my few belongings: a small puppy Christmas tree ornament, a wooden mouse that could be disassembled, a stuffed cow, a crystal ballerina, and a golden locket of my sister and myself when we were very young. All of these things were wrapped up in a blue-white-and-pink crocheted blanket. I had stuffed the blanked in a bright red back pack along with food and water. My food and water had run out after two months time but the back pack was useful it made carrying my small load easy.
Tonight was a lucky night there was a bridge with a little land open for the taking. With a small smile I sat down and took my package out. I put everything back into the backpack except for the blanket. I then laid down using the back pack for a pillow and I spread the blanket over myself. I soon fell asleep to the southing sound of the river flowing next to me.
I awoke with a start. I found that I was covered in dirt tangled in my once clean blanket in a cold sweat. I looked around trying to figure out why I was no longer by the river I had fallen asleep next to. Instead of seeing a sun for my small source of light I saw a small light bulb hanging from the ceiling on a rusting chain. Realization overcame me of where I was. I had heard that in some town police walked around and caught street urchins like myself. Although in all the stories I had heard they had taken the urchins possessions and often had them hand cuffed. I was fortunate enough to still have the freedom to move my arms and all my possessions were still under my head. I stuffed the blanket into my back pack and looked around I was in a jail cell and there was one across from me with someone else that looked about my age. I noticed they were wide awake.
"Did ya ever get ya's snagged before," asked the alto voice of the boy.
"No, but I've heard about others that have," Using better grammar than he had, that's one thing I prided myself for I would not loose my manners or my well brought up way of speaking.
"Yeah, thems just gonna ask ya about whatcha was doin in them seas. Then thems gonna send ya to a nice dock for a while or if yer like me they toss ya back into that sea," The boy replied. He was calling the streets seas something that was a joke around us urchins. We lived in the seas and the fortunate people got a dock or temporary home. The ones, who live in a house full time, like the police officers that were kind enough to hall us into here, live on the dry lands we called them Beaches. Lastly there were people like me thrown from their homes for one reason or another we were called low-tides until you were on the street long enough for the urchins to except you. In exactly one month if I chose I could talk to Urchins but apparently this particular urchin obviously wasn't aware I was a low-tide.
I decided to take advantage of this boys ignorance, "What exactly do you mean by 'like you'," I couldn't help but ask.
"Well," He started seeming nervous, "I'm gay," He stated quickly looking at the ground.
"Why does that matter," I asked. He was obviously shocked as he stared at me in awe.
"Beaches toss back thems that don't swim in a school," He explained using street slang but I guess he was just as capable as me to use proper English.
"Well I'm bi so I suppose we could make a school, a small one but still," I said trying to cheer him up. He looked a little happier.
"I guess, we can't be the only loners in the seas," His English was beginning to shape up making my guess true. I smiled at him, then I thought about it, no not the school but what had woken me up and almost as if he had read my mind I heard, "So whatcha doin being an urchin," he asked. I knew he had already figured that much out.
I took a deep breath, "Well my father was a very closed minded person and so was my mother. I made the mistake of getting angry when my dad was insulting homosexuals I shouted at him asking what was wrong with us. My parents grew furious and said I had 1 hour to get out of the house I dumped all my stuff into my bag along with some food and water and I ran. I lived in a closed minded town so it wasn't safe I ran and ran then finally I just decided if I kept moving I'd be safe," It wasn't a very detailed story but I was crying all the same, "I write my sister sometimes when I have the money but that also means sticking around until she writes back. Being a low-tide I wasn't excepted so I had to try and find hiding places, guess I failed tonight huh."
"Ya ain't a low-tide no more I'm takin' ya's in and making ya a urchin," He laughed and I laughed. Urchins were always thought of the lowest scum by those of the city but I find we are smarter then them. They think people like Brian, the boy I met at the jail, and myself and the rest of our small school were useless scum and yet to each other we were the family that we needed, the shoulder to cry on, the parents and siblings. Some of us got jobs and we stick around my old hateful town and they know what we are but there are too many of us to kill us. Soon once my town gets straightened out maybe we'll move to another and eventually our children then our children's children will take up the job of the traveling school and the whole country will except us. But for now I'm happy here with my family, no not the one that disowned me, the one that loves me.