NAMELESS

Her mouth watered as she looked hungrily at the heap of steaming sausages and honey baked bread. It looked so good. Oh, how she wanted a bite. Just one bite. She licked her lips as she saw the young boy put a sausage on a piece of bread and then stuff it into his mouth greedily. As hard as it was to take her eyes off the food she looked around to study her surroundings. She was outside in a large food court. No one could see her of course. She had always made sure of that. Looking around she saw an ice cream vendor and right next to it a hot dog stand. Examining the menu at the hot dog stand she saw that the cheapest thing was water and even that was .50 cents. She only had .25 cents that she had found a day ago in the gutter. She had it safely clutched in her small, grimy hand. Tears began to flow down her cheeks, cutting through the dirt on her face. Was there no where she could find food? She wished she could just go up to that little boy and ask for a small bit of his bread or even just a crumb. But it wasn't that simple. Besides, she had made up her mind a long time ago that she would never beg. Maybe she was just a thin little thing draped in rags with messy brown hair and no shoes, but she would still take care of herself for as long as she could. How much longer will that be? She wondered.
As she sat in her corner isolated from the world she continued to watch the chubby boy stuff his mouth with sausages and bread. She was sitting close enough to smell the wonderful aroma of the food. If she closed her eyes she could picture herself in a huge dining hall sitting at a huge table with rows and rows of steaming hot food. But as soon as she opened her eyes her imaginary world was shattered. Looking back at the boy she saw that he had two pieces of bread and one sausage left.
“I don't want anymore,” She faintly heard the boy say in a whiny voice to his mother. “I want ice cream.” He pointed to the ice cream vendor with a chubby finger.
Without saying anything the mother got up and placed the food in its wrapper and then threw it away in the nearby trash can. The girl couldn't believe it. Perfectly good food gone to waste. The boy got up and clumsily ran after his mother to the ice cream vendor. After they had left there were no more people in this corner of the food court. Looking around she saw two men sitting at a table in the distance by the Chinese restaurant and as she glanced to her left she glimpsed a couple walk hand in hand down the sidewalk away from her. As the sun went down and the evening wore on the food court soon became empty and lifeless except for the pigeons and crickets. Hours passed still and the girl didn't move in inch from her sequestered corner. Then, when the moon was bright she slowly creeped out and made her way to the nearby table. Scanning it she saw no food and then she suddenly remembered the sausage and bread the mother had thrown away earlier. Going to the nearby silver trash can she peeked inside. She didn't see much except for a few cups and some dirty napkins, plates, and utensils. Placing a dark hand inside she delicately pushed aside a few plates and forks till she saw the something enclosed in green wrapping. Taking it out she went back to her hidden spot, placed the food on her lap and opened it up carefully as though it were a cherished Christmas present. Looking inside she saw two pieces of bread and a sausage. It wasn't hot, but it still looked good. As she ate it she savored each bite. And so was another meal so rarely seen in this poor girls life. Who was she? Just another person in a huge world. Just another starving child. Just another nameless girl who only wanted a crumb.