“And you come with me and you come here.” The homeless man in the alley stares at the girl lying on the ground near him. He can’t lift his head. She’s so pretty. Like a bird. A rare bird. A parrot. Lying by him in the alley in this loud city. The girl doesn’t move. The bird doesn’t fly away. It is dark. Even with the street lights it is dark. But the man realizes that he just has to open his eyes and it won’t be dark anymore. So he does. And she’s still there, beside him. And it is still dark, but less so.
“I have things to do and places to go,” the man mumbles.
The girl stays still.
Birds don’t stay still. They fly away.
The man tries to stand, he falls, he stands, he crouches, he falls.
Teeth ache. Mouth aches. Hungry stomach moving and noising and making moving noises.
“Come wi
