Brother Man

A flash fiction piece I submitted to the Literary Leo contest.

 

Brother Man

Desperation wraps her steel arms around me, squeezing just so I know I’m still loved. It’s so cold and my feet are numb. I can’t remember my last meal and I just want to be warm. Maybe that place over on Jefferson can put me up. Anything’s better than sleeping in the bushes behind Kremer’s on a night like this.

Another squeeze reminds me that my belly is empty. It feels like a bag of rocks grinding together down there. If I hurry, I can get a buck from somebody outside of PT’s to get a cheeseburger. Score two bucks and I can get the hot apple pie with that.

As I stumble around the corner, I trip and bounce my head off a light pole. The sharp taste of blood brings me back just in time to see your eyes slide over me like the muzzle of a gun. Not a glance or a stare, but raw hate cuts through the neon glow from overhead.

The bouncers glare at me, daring me to come closer. I stand there clutching the post. In the knot on my forehead, I feel my heartbeat start dancing the tarantella. All this, and I think I’ve busted another tooth. I got to get warm. “Hey mister”, and that’s all I get out. You spin, and throw your words at me like rocks. “Fuck off and get a job”. With that, you’re in the safety of your car.

I die a little more inside even though there’s not much left. My life has come to this and I don’t even care. I’m all cared out. I start off down the sidewalk. You’ve lost the capacity to see anything between the bouncer and the limo and I’m here in the cold… brother.