Another Place, Another Time

If there was an answer, he'd find it there. Not here, not at the railroad tracks, but instead the answer would probably lie within his parents. His parents, who left him here, on the outskirts of Greenville near the train tracks, littered and engulfed in rust. His parents, whom he only vaugely remembers, not anything special, but things like the ruggedness of his fathers facial hair, or sorrow in his moms eyes. Not really their voice, or any good memories, but visual things that a five year old could recall.
"Get up! Get up now! We're Leaving!" his father screamed one morning, the sun was clearly not up and a drowsy child, startled, woke up, just as commanded.
"Grab your things, we're leaving!" His mother said, eyes sunken in, even though she had a younger body.
The young child grabbed his monkey plush, and broken hot wheel, about to reach for the pillow his head was lying on, simply moments ago, but his father grabbed his arm nearly knocking the car out of his hands. Then they started running, with long adult legs that no 5 year old could ever catch up with. He heard a couple choice curses come out of his fathers mouth while he was running but was to far away at this point to decipher which words exactly.
"Daddy!" he screamed, still running. His dad was catching up to his mother, who didn't look twice behind her.
But they were gone into the brush, hidden by forestry and the shadows of dawn, in which no light had been broken yet. The young one kept running straight, not giving up still. He thought he heard some noise in the distance, some muffled voices and echoes. He stopped to catch his breath at the edge of thick forestry where nature transformed into an open field. With the sun starting to come up, the field was becoming sparkling from the morning dew which rested on the ground. In the distance, the young boy, who now had tears falling onto his cheeks, could see some figures in the far distance. They pointed guns at two figures, and two shots were fired. The same echo as before. Two bodies fell to the ground helplessly, with a small pause in between, just enough time for small scream coming from his mother. The little boy, terrified, started to cry even harder. Out of breath and crying, he could not scream out to his mother or father, or the bad guys or anything or anyone. He trembled, falling to his knees, clutching the monkey plush as tightly as possible. The tears were falling so rapidly that his eyes were too blurry to notice the figures had left. He finally ran over there, although stumbling. He finally had enough air to scream, and whine, as most young children do. There was nothing there in the field, which he had just saw something happen in. Confused, frightened and a little relieved, he looked around for anyone. A couple movements were heard, probably animals and bugs. But then a loud noise alarmed him, a train. It wasn't the 'choo-choo' noise he was taught, but instead a deafening screech. He ran towards it, hoping and praying that his parents were there, waiting for him, so they could leave. And maybe, just maybe, everything he saw was just an illusion. He pranced back through the forestry and tree roots until he found the trakcs. He felt the breeze of the speeding train cool down the sweat droplets on his head. Looking around frantically, not wanting to miss his parents, he looked under, over, around, and called out for them, although unable to be heard through the noise coming from the freight. So he waited, helplessly, still scared. He waited and waited.
The memory of this day was not the answer to the question the young woman had asked. It probably had to do with the mystery of his cheap hobo parents, and their deaths. This lonely life of 14 or so years was the one he was just handed, it was not nessesarily his fault he still lived at these tracks. Waiting and waiting. He let the memories fly through his brain, as he often did to pass the time.
"Why do you live this kind of life?" she repeated.
Speechless, and rather shy, unused to human interaction, he simply shrugged.
"Well, if you'd like, we can get you a shower, shave and some clothes. I have an extra bedroom in my house if you'd like." she offered, pushing the clean blonde strands of hair behind her ear.
Again, unsure what to do, he nodded politely, stammering and almost whispering, "Thanks" with his eneducated lisp. She held her hand out towards him to take, even though he was filthy and probably smelled worse than any dead animal.
He stood up on his own, grabbing his napsack and gave the beautiful young women with a kind heart and thankful grin. Walking away from the tracks, and his painful past of a lonely life, he headed towards her car. In the horizon behind him and his matted hair, the sun shone beautifully, ending his pain with a goregous dusk, to never again haunt the memories of the painful dawn 14 years ago. This is where he started a new life, In a new place, at this moment.