The Watch – Part 214:

(Tom’s perspective)

‘My name’s Tim and as you can see from the clothes on my back, I am without a ‘ome. I have been without a ‘ome for five years. During that time, I have done my best to keep myself going as there really isn’t much else to do. But you don’t want to ‘ear about my life story, you only want to know why you should trust me,’ he said realising that he got a bit side-tracked. ‘During the time I ‘ave been living on the streets, I have met many people who are in the same position, and together we built our own ‘ome. We built our own community. It has enough food, water. It pretty much has whatever you need. If you come with me, you won’t have to sleep in here, which from the looks of it,’ he said looking around, ‘it could fall down at any second, and I know you don’t want that. So what do you say? Are you coming with me?’

‘I think that I want to go somewhere else,’ I said without hesitation. I cannot trust anybody who suddenly appears out of nowhere, offering to come with them. They may be genuine, but I can’t be sure of that.

He nodded with acceptance. ‘I understand,’ he said. ‘Sorry I spooked you like I did. I’m not one for making good first impressions. You can ask my friend, Dave,’ he chuckled. ‘Well, I’m going to get going then, be out of your way so that you can exit whenever you want without the fear of being spooked again.’ If anybody else would have said that, they would have sound as if I hurt their feelings, but Tim sounded genuinely happy with my decision. I mean, he sounded as if he wasn’t expecting me to say yes in the first place. I was a bit taken aback by that, to be honest.

He stuck to his word and left the window. I waited for a couple of seconds before stepping forward. I looked out and saw that the coast was clear. Carefully, I climbed out of the window and made my back along Pogo Street until I was once again standing on Long Road.

That has to be the most unexpected, weirdest thing that has ever happened to me. But despite all of that, he actually was the nicest person I’ve met since coming here, which is a huge surprise. Maybe that was why I immediately decided to say no. I mean, the setting definitely made things appear spookier than they may actually be. Ah, but on the other hand, he appeared out of nowhere, offered to take me back to where he lives, and… well… yeah…

It was now night. The temperature had dropped significantly. The rush of emotions back at the house made my internal heat increase, but I was slowly feeling the effects of the cold. It wasn’t long before I started to shiver. And it was even quicker still until I started to shake uncontrollably. My internal temperature dropped so rapidly, it shook my body about a bit, otherwise I wouldn’t be as affected as I am now. Usually, I can handle the cold without that much hassle. It also doesn’t help that I don’t have a coat or a hat or a scarf. All I have is a T-shirt and trousers. My hands were the most affected the longer I stayed outside. I could feel them starting to tighten and start to turn blue as the blood moved towards the more important areas such as my organs, heart and brain, yet even then I just wasn’t getting warm enough to stop shaking.

If I stop walking, I will freeze. I have to keep going. All these people walking past me, not even noticing me. A person who is literally freezing into a statue is being ignored by the public. I’m beginning to think that Tim was actually genuine. But then again, I shouldn’t be here to wonder that… here I go again. I hoped that I had gotten passed those thoughts, but I obviously haven’t. I need somewhere to go. I can’t stand out here all night. I’ll get ill. Should I go back to Tim? At this point I’m beginning to not care about his intentions… that is the wrong thing to think. I have to decide something otherwise I’m going to get colder and colder, worse and worse, and then ill.

What do I do?

Come on, Sebastian, where are you?

The cold is punching my body until I’m out of breath. The cold air stings the back of my throat as I try and keep the oxygen supply in my lungs topped up. I was so sure that I would be able to find a suitable place for the night, and the many other nights that I may be here for. I was so sure that, that house would be the place for me to rest my head, but it turns out that it only led me to a very strange meeting with someone who I’m slowly warming up to (pardon the pun).

Should I go back? Can I take that risk? Can I trust them? I was about to say that there is only one way to find out, but is that an appropriate saying considering the circumstances? Probably not. I’m too cold to think what is appropriate and what isn’t. I just want to stop shivering. My hands are stinging so bad. I can hardly move them, and putting them under my arms aren’t doing anything to help. My whole body is shaking, wanting me to turn around and head back to Tim, to where he said there is a home that he built to live in. Anything’s better than being out here, in the cold, shaking uncontrollably, breathing heavily, and walking aimlessly as if I’m waiting for a miracle to happen.

I’m turning back.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)