Into The Night by Caroline Giammanco

Author:Caroline Giammanco [Giammanco, Caroline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tuscany Bay Books
Published: 2021-08-16T22:00:00+00:00

SCARCITY

The sharpness of the wind caused the feeble old man to tighten his grip around the collar of his tattered coat. Occasional bits of sleet from scattered clouds added to the misery of the impending evening. Alone and hungry, this weary soul found himself once more reduced to begging.

I remember a day when life was easy. I didn’t suffer like this. The world has become a miserable place.

Arnie Hammond then chided himself for his grumbling.

At least part of this is my fault. I put myself in this position, and I can’t blame anyone else for that. I’ve become too dependent on others, and that’s why I’m where I’m at. I knew better.

Still, the biting cold was hard on a man of his age. Street lights turned on as the amber sun sank, peeking through a stormy horizon. The trees lost their leaves weeks ago, and they were now reduced to mere shells of what they once were, much like Arnie himself. He stopped walking to take in the scene before him. The trees stood like skeletons silhouetted against the darkening sky, and their branches reached up as though in a fervent prayer toward the heavens.

“God grant us mercy,” Arnie muttered.

He blew on his cracked hands and his breath filled the air.

“It’s going to be a rough one tonight. I’m not asking for much. Just a little comfort for my weary bones.”

Shuffling along the asphalt of the city, Arnie approached an intersection frequented by panhandlers. He was in luck, it appeared, because none of the regulars worked the spot tonight.

I guess it’s too cold out here even for the young ones.

A short line of cars waited for the light to change. Arnie carefully approached the first, a white sedan, driven by a man yelling into his cell phone. He gently rapped on the passenger window.

Glaring, the man rolled down the window. “What in the hell do you want, old man? Do I look like I care about your problems? I’ve got problems of my own. Go somewhere else!” With that, he pushed the button to raise the window, shutting Arnie out of his small, angry world.

Arnie shrugged his shoulders and stepped to the next car in line. His heart leapt as the window lowered before he even reached the vehicle. His joy was short-lived.

“Listen, buddy, go get a job. Stop freeloading off honest Americans. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

“There was a time when--”

“Save it! Leave me and my wife alone.”

It’s ‘my wife and me’ Arnie thought as he shuffled along to the next vehicle, a large diesel truck. His luck was no better there. No one screamed at him, but no one looked at him either. It was as though, if they ignored him, he would disappear into thin air. For the next hour, he faced one rejection after another.

A bustling parking lot to the west of the intersection offered some promise. His knees creaked as he climbed the embankment. The exertion wore on his battered body, but the shortcut saved him an added quarter mile of walking to reach the entrance of the big box store.

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