Please Console Me, I Really Need It

My eyes darted from left to right. What was I thinking? Walking around at night time while crying. I looked like such a vulnerable girl! There could be danger lurking around in every corner making me their target. I heard another twig snap.

"Who's there?" I asked shakily. I grabbed a thick stick on the ground. "I'm not afraid to use this!" I shouted. There was more noise. My grip tightened on the stick. It was a quiet night with no surrounding noise at all. My eyes fell on the dumpster behind me. That's when I realized the noise was coming from behind it. I held the stick up and slowly walked over to it. "3..2.." I whispered to myself. I felt my heart beating out of my chest. "1."

I ran behind the dumpster and started beating something with the stick in my hand. "DIEEEEE!!" I screamed. But I noticed the outline of the face in the darkness. It's sharp jawline...muscular arms.. it was the homeless man I encountered earlier.

"It's you.." I whispered under my breath. He stood up and I met his gaze.

"Yeah, it's me. I certainly didn't expect you to beat me up with a stick," he said. I noticed the red marks that I left on his arms.

"I'm so sorry..I-I didn't mean to," I stuttered.

"You shouldn't be walking around here at night with tears running down your face," said the man.

"I know.." I said as I put my head down like a small child. "I just needed some fresh air. What were you doing behind there anyways?" I asked.

"Looking for food of course," he said casually. I almost threw up in my mouth.

"That's.." I couldn't finish my sentence. It was too sad to think about. A young man still in his early ages crawling into dumpsters to look for food. I sighed.

"Why're you crying anyways? When I saw you earlier today at the mall you looked perfectly fine. You're not as stubborn or rude right now," he said.

I glared at him. "I'm not the stubborn and rude one here. You're the one who didn't want that cake. Also, why would I tell a random stranger why I'm crying my eyes out huh?"

His gaze softened a bit. "You look like you need someone to console you. You were walking around the streets with nobody by your side."

"I don't need a stubborn homeless man consoling me," I said. No matter how much of a friend I needed right now to cheer me up, I didn't want it to be him.

"Fine, have it your way," he murmured. He went back to the dumpster and started rummaging through it. I sighed. I reluctantly walked up to him.

"You shouldn't be eating from the dumpster. It's unhealthy," I said.

"Not everyone has money like you princess. You can walk up to the nearest store and walk out with some steaming noodles in your hand," he replied.

I looked down at my feet. Although I didn't want to admit it, he was right. I sat down on the dirty sidewalk and stared up at the full moon. There were wide rays of sparkling moonlight coming down towards my face. The homeless man walked over and sat a few inches away from me. I looked at the side of his face. The moonlight covered up his face with layers of light and outlined his sharp jawline and long nose. I stared at him in awe. He looked handsomer than ever.

"You don't have to tell me why you're crying. But I just felt that you needed somebody by your side. We don't have to talk," he said softly. Thoughts of what happened to Xi Fang rushed back into my head. I felt the tears welling in my eyes. I really did need someone by my side right then. I hesitantly scooted closer to the man. Without thinking, I rested my head on his broad shoulder. I waited for him to say something but he remained silent. Although he lived on the streets he didn't smell bad at all. He smelled warming and familiar...like the scent of your mother whenever you hug her. I closed my eyes. I kept on ignoring the thoughts about how bizarre this was.

So there we were. It must've been a strange sight. A weak and defeated girl resting her head on a weak and defeated man's shoulder. The silhouettes of a petite and muscular figure being outlined by the moonlight. Our hair being caught by the autumn wind. Dancing leaves rustling and floating in different patterns around us. Our hearts filled with tenderness. No sound except for our rhythmic breathing.