Drove Away

The youth asked, "Why did you help me?" Lucille did not answer the question. She squatted down and picked some of the food off the ground. Casually, she stated, "I'll take this as a thank-you gift. It's not too much, is it?" After that, she got in a cab that was parked by the side of the road and drove off. The rear end of the car disappeared out of sight on the empty street. The teenager looked at the food rolling all over the ground and thought of the "thank-you gift" that Lucille had taken away. For the first time, his chest was filled with sour yet swelling emotions. He hadn't felt that way when even when he was pressed to the ground and beaten black and blue. He hadn't felt that way when he lost all his faith in his dark life, either. However, the moment he felt that he was respected and treated as an equal, his throat tightened. The middle-aged woman set the stall back up and asked the young man beside her, "Ronald, do you know that girl from just now?" Ronald Walsh nodded. "She'