Boy without a voice

Mrs. Adams

“Excuse me, I am Mrs. Adams the produce woman you stole from earlier.” Mrs. Adams announced as she approached Tyler. He sat up quickly, starting at her with his heart racing. “I mean you no harm, the truth is I could not stop thinking about you. God is telling me that you need my help and I want to offer you that. I know you are homeless, and I would like to offer you a place to stay until you can get on your feet.” Mrs. Adams said. Tyler looked at her confused, wondering why this woman he tried to rob would offer him a place to stay. He just looked at her, with curiosity and confusion in his eyes. Two or three minutes passed before Mrs. Adams offered, “Please, come with me. I have a nice soft bed for you, and you will be dry. I have food for you to eat in the morning and you can have a nice hot shower. I understand if you do not trust me, but if you want to get in the car, the offer is still good. If not, I will leave you alone.” Tyler looked at her, conflicted on what to do…all he has ever known was bad but something about her felt different. “Okay, I understand you are not comfortable with this arrangement. I do apologize if I scared you. My name is Anna and I am at the farmers market every Friday morning, if you change your mind.” She stated as she started to walk back to the car. Tyler slowly got up and for some reason, in which he himself did not understand, he followed her back to the car and got in the backseat.

Arriving back at the house, Anna gave Tyler a tour and showed him where his bed was. “I will stop by the store in the morning and get you some shampoo, body soap, razors if you wanted to shave, and deodorant. I also have some clothes that were my sons, that I think will fit you so that you can get into dry clothes. I will look at your sizes and pick you up a few shirts and pants to wear. Feel free to sleep as long as you would like. Tonight, you are safe.” Anna said welcoming him into her home. “my room is down the hall, if you would need me.” She said before heading to bed herself.

*****************

The next morning Anna was up bright and early. She checked on Tyler who was sound asleep, probably getting the first real rested sleep in months. By the time Tyler awoke, Anna had already gotten him a few things from Walmart and had breakfast cooking. Tyler slowly creeped into the kitchen, looking at her with confusion in his eyes. “Please, sit down. I hope you like eggs, toast, and bacon.” She stated as she handed him a plate full of food. Tyler grabbed the plate and started woofing the food down, like it was the first and last time he would ever eat. “Boy, you sure are hungry. Please, slow down before you choke. There is plenty more food where that came from. What is your name, young man?” Anna asked. Tyler just looked at her, unable to respond…he broke eye contact with her and focused on eating his breakfast. “Okay, well when you are ready, I would love to know your name. In this bag here, is some clothes, cleaning essentials, and towels. Feel free to take as long of a shower as you would like. You are also welcome to stay as long as you want… lunch will be ready at noon.” Anna proclaimed.

Tyler looked at himself in the mirror, for the first time in months. His beard and hair were quite long and shaggy. His skin covered in dirt that gave him a tanned look, and he knew he must have smelled. He looked down at his long, dirt covered fingernails and toenails. He had forgotten how long he had been on the run, on is own, homeless. Was it a year now or just a few months, he honestly could not remember. The man in the mirror, was not who he remembered. He stepped foot in the shower and let the warm water drench his body. How good it felt, hitting his skin as he loathed on the coconut scented body wash and shampoo. The layers of brown dirt began to fall off his skin and fall to the floor of the shower, eventually going down the drain. Tyler lost track of how long he spent showering, all he knew was that it felt good and he began to tear up. As he finished, he started to shave his beard, and trim his nails.

After spending a long time in the bathroom, Tyler started to feel different, clean. He looked in the mirror and started to remember who he was, and he was not a jungle boy. He was still that twenty-year-old pale-skinned, blue eyed boy from Sungrove, California. A smile formed over his face, as he grabbed his long-wet hair and ran it across his nose, soaking in the smell of coconut. He closed his eyes briefly for a moment, feeling peace before starting to clean up the mess he had left in Anna's bathroom.

*****************************

“Don’t you clean up nice” Anna said in her most southern voice. Tyler could not help but smile and nod. “I hope you like ham sandwiches with macaroni salad because lord knows I made enough for 20 or 30 people. I also made plenty of sweet tea if you fancy it.” Anna offered. Tyler grabbed a plate and filled it up and enjoyed his lunch.

“I am really glad you decided to come. It has been a long time since I had company in my home, and it gets very lonely. It has been a joy having you here and I hope you decide to stay a little longer.” Anna exclaimed. Tyler got up, and started walking around the living room, looking at photographs hanging on the wall. “That photo there, is my son Daniel. He sadly died in combat overseas. He was the best marine America has ever seen. He died a hero, but lord knows I miss him, and I would do anything to have him back.” Anna explained, with tears rolling down her face. “That handsome man there is my late husband Edward. He was a conductor for the railroad. We were married for 41 wonderful years. Sadly, he died shortly after Daniel. He had cancer but I think he died of a broken heart.” Anna said with tears flowing down both sides of her face. “This house was always filled with love and laughter. Edward, he…he always was takin in people who needed help. I used to hate it, but we had the room. 5 bedrooms, in hopes we would have more children, but the good lord only wanted us to have one child. I guess I am taking on his tradition by having you stay here. Edward would have loved to meet you, that I am sure of.” Anna explained as she held back her tears and started to regain her composure.

Tyler ran up to the bedroom that he was staying in, grabbed his wallet out of his bag and ran back down to where Anna was standing. He pulled out a card from his wallet and handed it to her. Anna looked at it, his drivers license. “Tyler Moore. Twenty years old, you just had a birthday that we must celebrate. California, you sure are a long way away from home.” Anna responded. “Thank you, for showing me this. I love your name. I hope someday that I can hear your story.” Anna stated as she handed him back his ID. “I ordered us a BBQ dinner that will be delivered around 5:00. I do hope you’ll join me. “ Anna offered Tyler.