The Tramp.(Stephen Pearmine) A new short story.

The woman knocked on the door. No one answered. Earlier that day they'd received a call from an anonymous person saying the parents were arguing, and screaming was heard from inside the house. To their knowledge, there was a boy of 9 living there as well, which is why social services had joined the police on this visit. From police reports, the dad was known to them for possession of drugs and one charge of GBH. 
 The woman tried again, but still no answer. It was time for the police to intervene. Once the front door had been opened forcefully, the police were the first to enter. On the kitchen floor at the back of the house was a lady. Her head was badly wounded. There was no sight of the man who lived there or the boy. At this point, they were getting worried. In a bedroom upstairs, an officer heard a noise from under the bed. Suddenly the boy appeared from under it, heading for the window. The officer observed the lad was covered in bruises and only wore pants. He looked terrified.
 "Don't be scared of me; I'm here to help," said the policeman reassuringly.
He called out for the female social worker from downstairs, who appeared within seconds. 
 "Oh my God," she said, looking at the boy's bruises. "Look, we are here to help you, sweetheart. I promise you now, no harm will come to you."
 The child reluctantly went to her, and both made their way down the stairs. Most of the police were inside the house and attending to the woman when the boy at the front door took a chunk out of the woman's hand and then ran off scared for his life. For the next ten minutes, they searched the street for him, with no luck. The woman was taken to the hospital because of the injury to her hand, still in a state of shock.
.................
 His name was Bobby, and he was too old for this. He lived in a tent in the forest. A better way to describe it was that he was homeless. He'd resided here for a few months now, and it was the closest to home he had. Recently he'd been bothered by kids coming to the forest, finding his den by accident. After telling them to get lost, so far there'd been no sight of them. Before arriving here, Bobby had lived on the streets in the capital. Many times he'd been threatened, and three times he'd been attacked. That is when he thought it'd be safer, especially at his age, to live near a town or village in the middle of nowhere, and this is when he found this place. His dirty-looking tent, which he came across by accident some weeks back, was now sitting under a tall tree with good growth above, so when it rained, the leaves would catch some of the water. Bobby also had dried wood and a place two meters from the tent to build a fire. Luckily for him, no one had stumbled on his lair apart from the kids. Even though it wasn't perfect, he liked it here and didn't want to leave.
 From behind him, there was a noise similar to a twig snapping; fearing the worst, expecting the kids to be back or, even worse, their angry parents, he turned to where it had come from. 
 "Who's there? Show yourself."
 A boy no older than 10 and just wearing pants came into view from behind a thick stump. He was pale as a ghost, and his skin was covered in bruising. 
 The man was shocked by the state of the lad. In the next half an hour it would be dark and the temperature would drop. The boy seemed terrified of him.
 Bobby needed to get the lad closer to the fire he was preparing before he froze to death. "Come here, boy; I have a dry blanket in my humble abode, and also in a few minutes a nice warm fire for us to enjoy."
 The boy looked nervously at the tent and the not-lit fire but stayed where he was. From what the man noticed amongst the shadows of the place and the ever-lowering sun, the boy shook, either through the cold or fear. He needed to try again to reach out to the boy. "I'm not going to hurt you, child. I'm an old man with not much strength left in my useless body. If you stay where you are, you won't last long."
 A flame appeared and gradually consumed the logs and branches near the tramp's feet. The warmth from it felt good. Bobby closed his eyes and temporarily forgot about the little person, and then another presence was felt beside him. He peered down, and the boy looked up at him with a slight smile. The colour from the growing flames reflected on both their faces.
 "Have you got a name, child? By the way, I better get you that blanket. Don't disappear on me now."
 With trouble, the man got up and proceeded to the tent, where he grabbed the thick grey blanket from inside. It was only last evening that he'd dried the blanket close to the fire. He wrapped it around the shivering body of the child. 
 For the next two hours, they sat in front of the blazing fire, and the man gave his only food to the hungry boy. Finally, when it had gone out, the tramp decided to let the boy have his shelter while he stayed outside. There was no rain that night so far. Once the lad was asleep, Bobby lay on the ground close by and closed his eyes.
..............
 It was early when the tramp woke up. His thick coat had kept him warm. He always wore a hat for the same reason. There was a thick mist lurking amongst the trees that hopefully would be gone in a couple of hours. The sun was still low, so everywhere was gloomy. Today he'd head into town and try to make enough money to buy some food for him and the boy. He did this most days. It was a way of life.
 An hour later there was a noise from inside the tent. The boy was awake. In moments his little face appeared from the opening. He smiled at the tramp. The man smiled back. There was a little food in Bobby's bag, which he got out and gave to the child. He then explained that he needed to go to the town for a few hours to make some money to buy food and told the boy to stay in the tent undetected while he was gone. The boy nodded in agreement.
................
 In the town, there were more policemen than usual. Was it something to do with the child? Just ahead of him was the place where he'd put a small pot out and ask passing people if they could spare some money. Most ignored him, but the occasional one would.
................
 By two in the afternoon, Bobby counted the coins in his pot. There was five pounds, which wasn't bad for four hours. In one of the shops at the end of the busy street, they'd sell cheaper sandwiches. This is where he usually went. The problem was that Bobby needed enough for the child as well. So for another two hours, he stayed where he was.
 By four he counted the money and had enough for both of them. He got up from the cold pavement and proceeded to the shop.
.................
 Within an hour Bobby had returned to the forest with some food in his bag and some children's clothes that he'd bought cheap in the local charity shop. He remembered the young woman behind the counter giving him an odd look while he was in there.
 There was still an hour and a half of daylight, so the plan was to relocate further into the forest to escape prying eyes. The amount of police he'd observed that day had concerned him. He was unsure what to do about the boy; realistically, the child couldn't stay with him as it wasn't practical. Bobby had an idea, though. In the next village, which was approximately 5 miles from here, as he'd walked it many times searching for food and blankets a few months back, there was a small police station situated on the main street. His best option was to take the boy there. He was still grappling with the idea of why he didn't approach a policeman in town and explain what had happened. At the time Bobby was more consumed with feeding him and the child. Also, the tramp liked having him around, but the child needed a proper home.
 Bobby took down the tent, and he and the boy went deeper into the forest. The lad helped carry some items. The funny thing was, the lad now trusted him unlike when they'd first encountered each other.
 Before the sun disappeared, the man put up the tent in good time and sorted some dry wood into a heap, then using a match, lit the wood until a small flame appeared. Both sat by the fire; the boy now wore his new clothes, and they ate some sandwiches. 
..................
 In the middle of the night, the child cried out from inside the tent. Bobby, like the night before, slept on the ground nearby. The moment he heard the distressed lad, he looked inside and saw the boy cowering in the corner. Bobby entered the tent, even though it wasn't big enough for the both of them. The boy fell asleep in his arms.
..................
 Early the next day Bobby decided to take the boy to the police station as it made more sense. Living the way he did was not ideal for anyone, let alone a child. Purposely he didn't tell the boy what was happening and just said, Do you fancy coming along? The lad seemed more than happy with that idea.
..................
 Up ahead was the end of the forest, and in front was a road that would take them to the village. The tramp felt sad, knowing he'd miss the boy. Every so often the child would look up at him smiling. It warmed his heart.
 For half an hour they'd walked along the same stretch of road when all of a sudden a car came into view, and the closer it got, the tramp realised it was a police car. The vehicle stopped close to them, and then two male police officers got out. Bobby was just about to explain the last two days when the boy had stumbled on his lair, and since then he'd been caring for him. But something unforeseen occurred. One of the officers grabbed him, handcuffing him aggressively. The other made his way to the child while talking on his communication device. Like a criminal, the tramp was pushed to the car as the officer whispered in his ear.
 "What have you been up to with that boy? I bet I know, you pervert."
 Bobby couldn't believe it. All he'd done was help the lad. What he was accusing him of was dreadful. Was it because he was homeless?
 "I have done nothing to the boy; I've helped him," Bobby answered desperately.
 From every direction, more police cars came into view, stopping only meters away. Many officers got out of their vehicles, looking at the tramp angrily, because they'd already made up their minds about his guilt.
 Bobby tried to escape from the policeman while being pushed into the back of the car when out of nowhere a boy's voice shouted, "Leave him alone; he's my friend. He hasn't done anything wrong."
 Bobby was released from the man's clutches and turned to the boy. 
 The child with tears streaming down his face ran as quickly as he could to the man and wrapped two arms around him. "Thank you for everything you did for me. I'll never forget you," the boy sobbed, meaning every word.
 The man began to cry and said emotionally, "And I'll never forget you as well, my lad."
 The officer from before, who'd been so aggressive, took the handcuffs off and apologised for coming to the wrong conclusion, patting Bobby on the shoulder. "If there's anything you need, don't be scared to ask. You might not realise it, but you saved that young boy's life. In this weather, he wouldn't have survived. Remember, anything you need, you know where we are. Good day to you, sir," the policeman concluded before getting into his car and driving back up the road.
 The tramp couldn't believe it. He'd called him sir. With sadness he watched the boy being taken to another police car and getting into the backseat. The boy smiled and waved at him one last time. Then the vehicle drove away, disappearing in seconds.
 Bobby wiped his wet eyes. 
 Another officer, a woman this time, approached him and said, Would you mind coming down to the station and giving a statement? "Don't worry, you're not in trouble. And for what you did for the boy, thank you."
.................
 "If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask," was what the policeman had said to him, and so he did.
 A month later he now lived in a care home. Every room was warm. The bed he slept in was wonderful, and three meals a day was more than he could ever have asked for; and in a lot of ways, it was all down to the boy, his friend.

The End.

  

  

 

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