In the land of gentlemen and cobblestone streets was a young boy with blonde hair and chocolate eyes. Rain poured heavily that night and only the fickle light from the streetlamps illuminated the cold dismal evening. The boy was drenched and he shivered while greying ghosts who carried umbrellas crowded the streets. All glances slipped the boy but one.
"Where are you off to, lad?" The boy turned around and found a bearded man in a black coat carrying a similarly black umbrella, a broad affable smile wrinkled his face.
"I do not know, Sir."
“That’s not very impressive now, eh, my boy?” The man lit a cigarette, the rain still pouring.
The young lad stood still. In his hands he clutched a small brown satchel that carried what he thought everything he’d need in his trip: a few cash, a bottle of milk, a loaf of bread and some cheese he stole from a store in the village. He looked forward for his great adventures ahead but here came a strange man who thought that he's just a kid fooling around.
“Tell you what, son. If you have no place to go to, why don't you come with me? I am old and I need a sturdy young kid to guide me in my journey. You don’t need to worry about food or shelter, kiddo. I’ve got them all covered for ‘ya.” The smoke he blew hugged the rain.
The kid fell silent and weighed his options.
“Where are you going?” the boy asked
“Can’t tell you that, sorry. But don’t you worry, it’s a place I call home.”
Home. The word lingered in the boy's mind and made his stomach churn.
“Anyway, I gotta go, kid.” said the man and he stepped on his cigarette butt. “Are you coming?”
The boy nodded.
The old gentleman covered the boy's head with his umbrella and, far from the gazes of the phantoms of the village, two shadows disappeared.
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Ghosts and Shadows by KASH
