The shelter had its usual bunch of visitors who have been coming in and out of the place for several years but never seemed to wander out and search for another place to stay. The shelter was quiet yet it had the usual buzzing of casual conversations between the volunteers and visitors, occasional whispers between the visitors themselves and the definite noise of volunteers conversing in the kitchen as they prepared lunch for the guests. The shelter was open 24/7 and was welcome for the stay of anyone who had nowhere else to sleep for the night. Claire knew the name and face of every single person who has regularly visited the shelter and even remembered the many who occasionally stayed for the night. Though regular or not, their faces were never forgotten.
Claire entered through the kitchen door and saw the usual volunteers scattered throughout the gallery. Many conversing with one another, gossiping about the latest politics or last week’s lottery numbers. There were a total of 10 volunteers who were fully dedicated to the shelter, whereas the others would only come during the weekends. It was currently the weekday so the need for extra helpers were essential because the number of visitors would double during this time. The majority of the visitors were homeless but there were the rare ones who came due to domestic violence.
“Claire! My dear,” a woman called out from behind her.
“Mrs. Sonclaire,” Claire greeted happily. The main leader was Mrs. Sonclaire. She created this shelter with her husband 20 years ago from scrap and has become a well-known safe haven because they allowed people to stay for as long as they liked and welcomed whoever came in.
“Here you are. You know, I thought finally after all these years of coming here, this girl will have more important things to do than attend this old shelter” she joked playfully as she dusted off her flour-covered hands on her apron.
Claire rolled her eyes. “Ha. Ha. Very funny. But you know there is nothing more important to me than helping out at this shelter right here, right now.” It was true. No matter how piled up her schedule was or how many errands she had to run, never in her four years of volunteering here has she ever missed a single day.
“Well honey, that’s very kind of you and we are blessed to have you but you do know that it isn’t mandatory for you to come here everyday. At your age, you should be going out clubbing and partying or whatever you youngsters do these days.”
“Did I really just get reality checked by a sixty-year-old!?”
Claire frowned. “Did you just say that I have no social life whatsoever?” The question came out jokingly but she felt a bit sad knowing that it was none other than the truth. She had been invited by her friends to come clubbing on several occasions but being around blaring music with people constantly wanting to grope you was not her typical scenario of “fun”.
Mrs. Sonclaire began to reply but Claire interrupted. Not wanting her to answer the obvious question, she decided to change the topic. “So, has anyone new come in recently?”
“Actually there has," she said as she led Claire out of the kitchen then nudged her head towards the boy sitting by the window. “He came at around seven this morning. Went straight to an empty bed by the window sill and just sat there. Not much of a talker if you ask me. Polite, but I think he is just a bit shy.” She took a plate filled with pasta and salad from the table and handed it to Claire. “Here. Why don’t you go introduce yourself.”
Claire nodded. She took the plate from the lady and began walking towards the bed. The closer she had gotten; she began to notice how worn out and torn his dark grey sweater was and his blue jeans were covered in dirt and grass stains. His hair was light brown but it was probably because of the sunlight. However, there was something in particular she noticed, it was faint and light but she could see it from a mile away. His eyes were blue, light blue, kind of like the ocean in someway. Yet, they held so much sorrow and grief, it made her slow down in her tracks. It was a feeling a visage that she knew all to well because her eyes used to encumber the misery of her misfortunes. He held ones full of dullness and despair, all the while glistening with fading hope.
She stood beside the boy and placed the food on the sill. Then she knelt in front of him and reached out her hand. “It's nice to meet you. My name’s Claire by the way,” she greeted with her trademark grin.
The boy’s eyes left the window and stared down at her outreached hand. He continued to stare at it but eventually lifted his head to meet her gaze, he smiled softly at her then returned his eyes back to window. Claire wasn’t offended by the rejection because it was a common reaction when she approached many visitors at
She got up and sat down on the bed in front of the boy and stared out the same window. The sun was currently setting and glowing brightly; the flames brought warmth to the atmosphere.
Claire wondered what the boy was thinking about. It was never easy for a child to survive alone in this sort of society where social status was everything. It wasn’t fair how some people had to suffer drastically from a young age and survive off the scraps the nobility leave behind. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair. But it was just the way it was. You can’t exactly choose your life so you can only hope to the heavens that you are strong enough to survive whichever path is chosen.
She glanced at the boy and caught a glimpse of the dullness clouding his eyes. There no way to even begin imagining how difficult or fucked-up his past was and she was curious to say the least. But knowing what she knew from her own experiences, sometimes knowing was more dangerous than not.
Claire resisted the urge to reach out by clenching her fists tightly. She wanted embrace him, hold him tightly and whisper that things are going to get better. That despite how hopeless it may seem right now, everything will be okay. But she restrained herself and respected his boundaries because the last thing she would have wanted was to make him uncomfortable. Instead, she made him a silent promise that she vowed to keep.
Regardless of how shitty your life is now, I promise it will get better. I'll do whatever it takes. You're not invisible anymore. And from now own, you won't be alone either.