The Dawn That Never Came.

"Well, well, well, really, is it Lawrence himself who came to visit us, eh? What a pleasant surprise!" The teenager, about fourteen to fifteen years old, came out of the shadows into the light, his face was shining with a triumphant smile.

"Burns, I have no time and desire to talk to you. We are in a hurry, so let us go. If you have any questions or complaints for me, let's discuss them without strangers." Rick mentally cursed to himself, why did they bump into this one out of all the people? The one with whom he had the most severe and implacable conflict?

Burns tilted his head and cast a glance at the little girl standing behind Rick, "With no strangers, you are saying? Why not," the guy answered and grinned ominously.

"Aww!" Corey screamed in pain, one of the guys quietly crept in from behind and yanked her hand in his direction.

"Do not touch her! Agh!" Sharp pain brought Rick's stomach in a severe spasm, he bent and fell to the ground. While his attention was focused on the head of the gang, another accomplice managed to grab Corey, and although there were only three opponents, Rick's position was unenviable because of the little girl.

"What? Did I hit too hard? Oh, sorry. You yourself asked to remove strangers from our conversation, so why are you distracted by some little girlie?" The bully felt like a winner, who conquered his enemy with one blow.

His attention turned to the girl, he nodded his head, and his friend grabbed Corey by the hat and pulled it off the girl's head. Blond hair fell in long locks on her shoulders, framing the beautiful and innocent face of the girl, her large blue eyes were like two clear lakes. She looked like a frightened angel in her little white coat.

The teenagers froze in surprise, this child was too beautiful to be in a dark alley at the crossroads of unknown streets. Even Rick's belly ache receded for a moment when his eyes met the eyes of this girl.

"Riri!" Corey screamed out and at that moment, not knowing how, Rick himself was next to her. The guy standing behind the girl did not even have time to blink when Rick's fist met his jaw and its owner was thrown aside.

Burns opened his mouth, trying to sort out what was going on, but Rick was already standing next to him, giving his opponent an immediate blow to his nose. The guy covered his face with his hands and backed away, trying to maintain his balance and not fall.

"Retreat!" He shouted in a choked voice, the blood from his nose interrupted his ability to breathe, "You will pay for that, Lawrence!" Burns added before running away with his friends, turning tail.

Rick closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He still could not understand what had happened and how in a blink of an eye he could move so quickly from one place to another, but this feeling gave his body such a familiar feeling of lightness and freedom, as if he had already experienced something like this, but forgot about it.

"Riri!" Corey's voice brought him back from his thoughts; he turned around and nearly fell when the girl ran into his arms. "Riri, I was so scared! Forgive me! Because I got lost and you had to see me off, the bad guys hit you," tears were flowing from the girl's eyes and she began to sniff with her nose.

"Silly, you have nothing to do with it, so don't worry," the boy knelt and hugged Corey, she buried her nose in his chest. The aroma of lavender and chamomile from the girl's hair immediately fell into his lungs, giving a sense of peace to his lonely heart. He closed his eyes and buried his nose in her shoulder, Rick did not know what he was experiencing, but the presence of this little girl was like something for him that he always wanted, but never had.

Feeling that you have a family. If he only had the same little sister, he would love and protect her with all his heart, and it would not be important to him what kind of parents they had. Then he would have someone for whom he would live and endure all these humiliations, then he would not feel so alone.

But he did not have a younger sister, and Corey was not his sister. The fact that they met was a complete coincidence, and tomorrow she will fly home, forgetting about him and leaving him here, as before, alone and unnecessary to anyone.

The boy straightened up and patted Corey on the shoulder, "Okey, I think we are getting late already. How about a little jogging, miss?" Rick winked, turned his back on the girl and squatted down, "Climb onto my back, walking with you will take us at least an hour, and if we run, we will get to the hotel much faster."

His belly was still in pain from the blow, but time didn't benefit them, not only that, it was getting colder with every minute, Burns' gang could return with reinforcements at any moment. He had no choice but to take the girl and run away, with all his strength. All he was thinking about was returning her to a warm and safe place as quickly as possible.

Corey climbed onto the boy's back, grabbed his neck with her hands, and he ran as fast as he could. "Riri, I am cold, I want to eat," Corey whispered in his ear, it was too late and she was trying her best, not to fall asleep.

"Wait a second," Rick lowered her to the ground, took off his scarf from his neck and wrapped it around the girl, "It will be a little warmer. Be patient a little more, soon we will be there," he threw her back on his back and ran even faster.

He himself did not eat anything from the noon, and his stomach kept making itself felt, and the boy tried not to pay attention to it. He would like to take her to some cozy warm place, to buy food for her and himself, but he did not have money for that. He was helpless due to his age, and the crumbs that he earned were hardly enough for his needs, but now he did not even have them.

If he had at least some money, this could immediately solve so many problems. He would be able to buy hot food in a night cafe, order a taxi and take her safe and sound to the place, and she would not have to be scared because of Burns and his thug friends. Why are they living in a world where money talks? Even a small number of them can decide the fate of a person.

"Riri, are you coming to see me off? Mom said we were leaving at eight in the morning. I will ask her to give you our address, then you can come to visit me. Will you come?" The girl asked, her eyelashes almost closed, plunging her into a light nap.

"Yes. I'll come," Rick answered quietly and continued to run in silence, overcoming his tiredness.

The coolness of the evening smoothly turned into a frosty night, the air became colder. The boy ran as fast as possible, puffs of steam filled the air around him in unison with his breath.

Staying a few meters from the hotel entrance, he sat down on a bench to catch his breath. Gently lowering the sleeping girl on the bench, Rick sat up straight and examined his clothes - it was dirty and wrinkled, no one in their right mind would have let him in like this into a five-star luxury hotel. But he didn't give a damn about it.

He looked fondly at sleeping Corey, took her in his arms and pressed her to his chest. After he went to the door of the hotel with an unhurried but confident step.

Security at the entrance examined the new visitor with an appraising look, the man shook his head and said, "Sorry, young man, but I cannot let you in like that. There is a church building down the street, better go there, they are also open all night."

"I need to get inside. This girl's mom lives in this hotel, the girl said she was lost," Rick answered. He understood that he looked like a homeless beggar now, but personal humiliation did not bother him at that moment.

"Is this girl from here?" The guard's tone instantly changed, he opened the door and urged the boy to go inside, "Quickly, go straight to the front desk."

Rick walked forward, the usually cozy and calm lobby was filled with loud discussions and stifled sobs of a woman. The boy followed in the direction of the sound and soon saw a woman with blond hair, sitting and crying soberly, as if she had been heartbroken. Rick immediately realized that it was Corey's mom.

'Silly girl, now you definitely won't have free walks in the near future,' he thought to himself and went to the woman. Everyone was busy discussing options for finding a child and did not even notice how an inconspicuously dressed boy came up from behind.

"Um, excuse me, are you Corey's mom?"

Hearing the name of the girl, everyone instantly stopped talking, and in the foyer, there was a deathly silence. Margaret, having heard the name of her daughter, immediately raised her head and saw a beautiful fair-haired boy, on whose hands her daughter was gently sleeping as if nothing had happened.

"Oh my God! Corey! My baby!" The woman rushed to Rick and squeezed the little girl in her arms. Corey, from a sudden change of a sink, woke up and rubbed her eyes, but when she saw her mother, she pressed herself back to her with joyful cries, "Mommy!"

"Lord, you silly! How did you scare me!" The woman began to examine the child to make sure that everything was fine with her, "Thank you, thank you very much!" she thanked Rick and pressed her daughter to her even stronger.

"Mrs. Williams, let's go to the rest room. The doctor will conduct a quick examination of your daughter to exclude the possibility of hypothermia," suggested the hotel manager, to which the woman immediately agreed and followed him.

Rick lowered his hands and watched the receding silhouette of a woman with a child whose warmth warmed him a couple of minutes ago with its presence. He ran as fast as he could and naturally sweated so now that Corey's warmth will not be around, he would surely freeze when returning home.

"Young man, thank you very much for your help, here you go," the unknown man thanked him, took some banknotes from his wallet and put them in Rick's hand, then turned around and followed the hotel manager.

Everyone who was in the lobby before also began to diverge about their business. Fortunately, the child was quickly found and they avoided many problems.

Rick was standing in the middle of a large, spacious and expensively decorated room in his old and dirty clothes, shabby look and holey sneakers. He began to catch the strange looks of people who, apparently, had just arrived at the hotel and did not know what was happening here just a few minutes ago.

He closed his eyes, to feel humiliated and catch the scornful glances of these obviously not poor people he wanted the least. He turned and walked away.

The frosty air instantly caused trembling throughout his body as soon as he crossed the threshold of the hotel and went outside. The boy cringed and wandered away. He put his hand in his pocket and felt the rustling papers in it, took them out and counted them.

Five hundred dollars.

That unknown man gave him as much as five hundred dollars as easily as if it cost nothing. With that amount of money, Rick could buy shoes, and if he was lucky, then even a winter jacket. The boy smiled, but the smile did not linger on his lips for more than a couple of minutes.

No, this is not the way he would like to receive money. He didn't help Corey for some five hundred dollars. He helped her only because ... because he liked her. That's all. But Rick was in no position to show pride and get rid of money.

At that moment, one idea came to his mind, from which his eyes flashed with a bright fire.

The boy turned and ran in the opposite direction. He ran past the hotel entrance, ran to the metro station and turned right, easily navigating between the buildings with expensive boutiques and official embassies of different countries, he crossed several more streets and saw it. Buckingham Palace.

Going around the building, he headed for another small house, which was his goal. Buckingham Souvenir Shop. He knew that it worked around the clock, since tourists visited London at different times of the day, and it would be foolish of its owner to miss such an opportunity for business.

The doorbell rang a cheerful tune when Rick opened the door and went inside. The sleepy salesman stretched out in his chair and stood at the counter, "How can I help you, young man?" He drew attention to Rick's appearance, and his expression turned from respectful-welcoming to irritated. Who would have thought that some poor homeless young man would disturb his sleep?

"Tell me, are you selling postcards or photographs of princes?" Rick asked, looking at the shelves with souvenirs.

The seller raised his eyebrows, but tried to hide his annoyance, "Who exactly are you interested in? Harry, William?"

"Actually, it makes no difference to me. Oh, is there an autograph?" Rick thought it would be great if the card was autographed.

"Young man, since you are asking, then so be it. Yes, there is one autographed card from Prince William, this is a limited edition, the money made from this edition will go to charity. Therefore, its price is not small," the seller answered, he wanted to quickly take the boy out to the street in order to return to his sleeping.

"How much?" Rick asked confidently, but inside he was worried that the price might be sky-high for him.

"489 dollars."

Rick mentally breathed a sigh of relief, "Give it to me please," and handed the seller money.

The man's eyes widened even more, and he stood for several minutes and looked at the closed door after Rick left his store.

He sincerely wondered how this boy, instead of going out and buying normal clothes, spent five hundred dollars on some kind of postcard? Though it is with the autograph of the prince, so what?! That was completely absurd!

The boy was walking in the night city, frosty air made his cheeks redden from the cold. His coat was wet because he ran a lot this evening but he seemed not to bother about it. He looked at the postcard one more time and put it to the pocket of his trousers.

He was walking lightly and confidently, hurrying up home to get ready for the morning, to put clean clothes on and see Corey off as he promised.

Tomorrow in the morning he will give her this postcard to remember him, she will give him her address, and when he makes enough money and becomes older so he can travel by himself he will definitely come to visit her.

Tomorrow he is going to call that businessman who gave him the business card and will ask him whether he can join this man's team. Anyway, maybe his son is an interesting person indeed and they will be able to make friends.

Tomorrow. He wanted to do so much tomorrow. However, in that tomorrow which was about to come in a few hours along with the dawn, there wasn't the Rick Lawrence who has been waiting for that day so impatiently.