When I looked back, she was no longer there...

I saw a child in rags in the market place once. I was eating a burger and he kept looking at me. I knew he was hungry. He smiled at me. But then I did something I'll always be ashamed of...I walked away..

I walked on the scorching road, barefoot.

It had been a tiresome walk; I kept feeling hunger pangs I couldn't control, wore nothing but rags, was first chased by the local policeman and then the ill tempered children who always threw stones at me when ever I passed the bakery and most of all, the fiery sun rays burned my feet and made me perspire so much that my shirt became totally wet.

Unable to move, I sat down on the foot path...It was so painful. Sitting where people pass by, looking at you with disgust in their colorful eyes; your helpless shadow being trampled by their unwelcome feet and you being so weak and lame to raise your voice against it all.

I looked around myself. The road was busy; the hustling traffic and pedestrians, everyone was engrossed in their own lives, their own works. No one seemed to care. No one seemed to be helpful.
It felt as if I were my only hope, my only chance.

I had always thought that no matter how different people might seem to be, in a way that some a rich, some are poor; there is a diversity of religions, colors and creeds but at least God did grant everyone one of us equal power of imagination. So I imagined...I imagined myself eating a dainty meal, served to me in polished silver; I imagined myself laughing on a mount of glistening gold; I imagined that I had a beautiful, pet nightingale which sang me glorious songs of hope and I imagined being so happy that I danced and danced.

But then, I felt hopeless. I felt as if all my skills; the powers of thinking, analyzing, conveying had wearied off... But there is always a power that remains in man even when he's about to die...The skill to cry.

So I started to cry. I forgot that there are unwanted people around, that I was in the middle of a busy lane...I kept crying.

I raised my head just a little and noticed my shadow, gently covered by another.

I turned around.

A teenage girl stood a couple of paces away from me. She was beautiful, unlike any other girls, she looked so calm and pale, so simple and elegant. Her dark hair neatly tied, tiny sweat drops dripping down from her pink cheeks; she was a wonderful sight.

She held a sandwich which she momentarily ate with such a slow pace that I wondered whether she was even hungry or not. But I kept looking at her...

I smiled...She never noticed me...

I was so hungry, I felt motionless.

I turned back around and wrapped my arms around my waist and squeezed. I'd always thought this makes the pain less excruciating. I winced and whined, and no one even bothered about me. This is the rule of the world. No one cares for none.

I rested my head on my knees and closed my eyes. I wanted to sleep. No, maybe I wanted to die.

And then I remembered. I never wanted to, but I did.

I remembered the ravishing, dark blood. The screams of my mother. The cries of my baby sister. The defensive moves of my father. The haste of time. The spontaneous actions of the foes. And myself, hiding in the cellar, shivering with fright and cold, listening to it all. My worst memory..My worst nightmare.

I opened up my eyes.

Nothing had changed. Nothing at all.

The same sounds, the same noise.

And then I remembered something else. Something a lot more happier.

But, when I looked back, she was no longer there...

Author's Note

Please do review!!
I learn a lot from your opinions.

Reviews

[Cynthia]

It's really really tounching. Hunger is hard, but seeing someone not helping you when she's just at the front of you is really painful too, it seems to be hopeless in that situation

[Talal Tashfeen]

i absolutely absolutely loved it! When I read it for the first time, and even now! =D

100/10!!! :D

[Alya Usman]

Good good. I like it! Keep it up!

[Anwesh]

Hey, that was really good.. Really touching..
Could do with a bit of tweaking here and there, but then.. nothing's Perfect..

The imagery, even though limited.. is good.. try and use some metaphors next time..

Keep it up!

Keep smiling :) and keep rocking m/

[Elana Juli Royson]

Good write! It reminds me of a passage from the bible about the man on the side of the road everyone ignored. Unfortunatly this tale is not as uncommon as people think. It is a real eye opener for many people. Keep writing.

[Scott Free]

Bravo! Very touching. Made me think.
Ok, so you've got a great storyline here, but the main character is a bit unbelievable in their thought processes. I assumed that the main character was a boy, from the way he described the girl (you?). But the way his thought processes worked, what he thought about, really made me think of a girl. 'Eating a dainty meal' comes in at one point. But when he's thinking of eating, it just reminds me of a girl. Boys don't want dainty food, they want *lots* of food. Try to think like a guy, maybe, in this story.
But then again, maybe this main character is a girl and I'm totally wrong. You might want to make that apparent.
Thanks for the request, this was a read well spent.

[Casey Lou]

Wow.
This is absolutely brilliant.
I found nothing wrong with it whatsoever.
Well done!
:D

[bluessadmood]

it was a long day ..i had to run a lot ..been chased away ..so i sat right on the street ..very hungry i was people.. who passed me by thought and looked just like i was a pest ..very annoyed they were .hunger came in pangs i had to squeeze my tummy to drive the huger pain away..
it was a very sunny day ..hot day all perspired then suddenly a shadow came over me i was protected from the heavy sun so i turned my eyes to look at a lovely young lady standing over me ..she looked great ..dreamy eyes ..wonderful face ..like an angel from heavens suddenly dropped over me ..God must have seen me and sent me an angel ..so pretty she was like a fairy ..i just liked to look but i was still hungry thats why i saw she was holding some food wrapped in paper.. first i thought it was an illusion ..and i could be dead ..this was heaven ..i was among angels ..sounded much nicer than my poor life..
but no i was still much alive and she smiled at me ..i felt a great delight..this was an angel i was sure and happy ..the sun was strong i closed my eyes for a second ..when i looked back again she was gone ..and i am left to my aching hunger again..
lovely write