Cardboard City by Katarina Jovanovic

Author:Katarina Jovanovic
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Young Adult, Fiction, Poverty, Homelessness, Class, Self-Esteem, Self-Reliance
ISBN: 9781990598111
Publisher: Tradewind Books
Published: 2023-01-09T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Saida’s Story: Running Away

Almira took the big kitchen knife they usually used to cut watermelons, wrapped it up in her shawl and stored it in her bag. It was time to fetch some water and make soup for Rika and Nikola for when they came back.

Where can I find clean water for cooking and washing? she thought.

A little way down the road she saw the sign for a restaurant called Bora’s. It was the only spot lit up in the gloomy night. Hesitantly, she stepped inside. Cigarette smoke hung in the air. The tables were covered with stained tablecloths. A Romani girl in a purple cardigan with missing buttons was singing at the front. She had a long thin face, sharp chin and feverish eyes. A blonde waitress standing at the bar gave Almira an inquisitive look as she walked in, and all at once the loud and boisterous conversation that had been going on between a group of drinkers stopped dead.

Everyone stared at Almira.

“Can I help you, young lady?” the waitress asked her in a sharp voice.

She gave Almira a theatrical bow, and the place exploded with laughter.

“We parked our trailer this morning,” Almira answered in a strong and confident voice. “I am looking for water. Clean water for cooking and washing.”

“You can take it from the tap over there,” the waitress said, pointing at the sink behind the bar. Turning to the girl in a ragged cardigan, she shouted, “Hey, why did you stop singing? Those men paid to hear you sing.” She waved her hand in the air, her cheap metal bracelets clanging together.

Suddenly, Almira felt protective toward the girl. She was so thin—she looked like she hadn’t eaten in days. As she went over to the sink to fill up the water bottles, she was overwhelmed by emotion. How can I help that poor girl? she wondered. I could feed her and buy her a new dress.

Almira watched the girl, who had started to sing again. She was beautiful in an unusual way. She had deep black eyes and a long nose. There was something majestic in the way she moved.

“Are you just about finished filling up your bottles, honey?” The waitress chuckled, turning to Almira. “We’ll start serving breakfast soon.”

“Who is the girl?”

“Oh . . . that one?” The waitress pointed at the singer. “She’s just one of those Gypsy girls wandering the streets. She ran away from home. I gave her something to eat. She was starving. She can sing well, don’t you think? She gets tips. And the men like her, if you know what I mean.”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you pretending you don’t understand what I mean?” the waitress went on, raising her eyebrows. “How else can you survive if you are a young girl on the street?”

The men at the bar were still laughing, not paying any attention to the girl’s sweet singing. After the waitress filled their glasses with brandy again, they became rowdy. One of them slipped off his chair.

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