Excerpt

The masses of people were like cattle today. Tourists filed in and out of doors, anxious to see the same buildings and landmarks that Jeremy had observed many times before. He didn’t understand why exactly this day was important. To him, it was as if somebody was having a birthday, and that somebody had a lot of friends. If that were true though, why wasn’t he invited?

“Busy day, ain’t it, kiddo?” Startled, Jeremy turned. Nobody ever talked to him unless they were scolding him for stealing their goods. The man was tall, almost too tall. He had big muscles, Jeremy noticed, that were starting to go away. He had wrinkles littering his face, and his eyes looked tired. The man seemed friendly, but he had such a deep voice that he slightly scared Jeremy. The man looked away, a shadow of a smile stretched on his lips. Almost to himself, he muttered, “Never thought I’d be here again...”

At that, Jeremy bit back his coyness with wide eyes. “You be gone from here before?” The white man lifted a brow and uttered a small cough. He leaned against the bricks of an old restaurant that Jeremy wasn’t allowed in anymore. There was a lot of black people in Seattle, but Jeremy didn’t know any of them except for himself and the nice old lady at the church. The white people though, Jeremy noted, were plentiful.

The man chuckled. “Kid, I’ve been to tons of places. I was born and raised in Canada, but I’ve traveled here in the U.S too. America, South America, several places in Europe, New Zealand...” Jeremy hadn’t heard of any of those countries before, but he nodded as if he did.

“I be in lots ‘o places too,” He boasted, puffing out his chest a little. Moments later, though, Jeremy felt bitterness make its home inside his chest. “ ‘Cept they don’t want me should stay. Iffen I do, it only be fer a tinsy time.” Jeremy exaggerated this with his dirtied hands. “They say I be a horrid guesty. They be planning to turn me out come ‘te morning to the creatures.”

The man raised his eyebrows, making his forehead seem more wrinkly. “Why do they not let you stay?”

Jeremy let a mischievous smile slip. He leaned in and lowered his voice, looking quickly both ways to make sure no one was listening. “I be take’n their goodies! Them be have’n to chase me all the time. Iffen I be sleepy there one night, I can’t come back or they be call’n the cops.”

The man cracked a small smile, as if he remembered something. “What’s your name, kid?” Jeremy stared up at the man, stretching on his bare toes to meet his eyes. Even though he was stronger and faster than most of the kids he played with, he looked a lot shorter and younger than he acted to be. Though, Jeremy wouldn’t know if he was younger or not, since he wasn’t entirely sure of how many birthdays he’d had.

“Jeremy. Actually I be have’n TWO names. Jeremy Hawthorn be all of ‘em.” Jeremy outstretched his grummy hand proudly to the tall white man. He was proud to remember seeing people do this on the streets and felt that this was a proper time. Just in case the man didn’t know what he was doing, though, Jeremy explained. “It be a hand shakey. Iffen you shaken my hand, we be friends.”

The man let out a loose torrent of laughter, breaking into a grin. Taking Jeremy’s hand, he responded, “My name’s Kiorri. And I’ve been looking for you for a hell of a long time, kiddo.”

They shook.