Running without legs

“I miss you, mother” At the darkest hour of the night, Steve walked silently in a dim alley. His ears caught a voice. A voice that belong to someone in trouble. For 8 years old boy, Steve himself realised that it is not arbitrary to hear a voice in a murky backstreet. His body urged him to stop searching, but his pure soul lead him to that voice. He was terrified but curious at the same time. With a short candle on his right arm, he slowly walked along the lane. “Is there anyone here?” Steve tried to break the sorrow that was overwhelming in the pathway. However, there were no replies to response toward his call. Indeed, it was a cold night. The wind was merciless blowing through his thin body and Steve started to hug himself up to gain more heat to warm his weak body. The alley was unlit and spooky. The moonlight alone was not enough to light the dingy place. Nevertheless, Steve picked up all of his courage to find the owner of the voice. “Someone might be in trouble. I should not leave and being selfish. That person needs my help and mother always said to help the one that in need” Steve tried to erase his fear by remembering her late mother’s word. BAM! A loud noise caught Steve’s attention. He was shaking like a leaf. The terror directly struck to his heart. As shaking as he is, he walked extremely cautious to the noise. A step by step, with his heart pounding like it was going to burst out, he approached the scene. He pointed out his right arm to light that particular place. “Jeez! It was only a stupid cat! Foolish me” Steve was embarrassed toward himself. A cat was searching its food in one of the garbage bin and accidentally knocked down the bin. And so that is how the mystery sound was solved. Then, he looked to the cat meaningfully. “Are you alone Mr. Cat? Hmm. It must be really sad. Well, me too. After my mother died, I’m all alone. I have to depend on myself to survive in life. That makes us the same right? But don’t worry Mr. Cat. Life is not that cruel” The cat purred to Steve as if it really understood Steve’s words. Steve smiled. He knew for himself that he was not actually talking to the cat; instead he was trying to motivate himself to face the difficulties that he will be facing from now on. “YOU’RE WRONG! YOU’RE WRONG! LIFE IS CRUEL! LIFE IS UNFAIR! YOU’RE WRONG!” out of the blue, an angry voice break the silent of the alley. Steve was startled. He was almost shocked to death. “Wh...who...is…th...that?” Steve asked to the anonymous boy. “LEAVE ME ALONE!” the voice replied furiously. “Wait! Wait! My name is Steve. I want to help you. You seem to be in trouble” Steve tried to calm the situation. “I DON’T NEED ANY HELP! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE! CAN’T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?” The boy started to cry. There were bruises all over his body. Steve assumed that the boy must be in a terrible mess. He has to help him no matter what it has to take. Luckily, he remembered the apple in his pocket that was given to him by a nice man who was selling the apples by the street in front of the Town Hall. The boy must been starving. Maybe the apple could keep him calm. “Here you go. An apple. You must be really hungry” Steve smiled and gave the apple to the boy. Without any hesitations, the boy quickly grabbed the apple and ate it. He was really ravenous as he was almost fainted with hunger. “Thanks! I’m so hungry. I’m Mike” the boy finally revealed his identity “That’s more like it. No harm of being nice right?” Steve felt quite relieved. “I’m sorry. I’m not supposed to be that harsh toward you” Mike started to feel guilty As they were engrossed in their conversation, they managed to get to know each other more. From a different conflict of families then they were thrown to deserve the same barbaric fate - to live in the streets. “My mother ran away from home. My father hates me since I was born. Every day he hit me as he pleased. After my mother left, my father gets married again. But, my stepmother wasn’t a nice lady at all. She threw me out and so here I am.” There were no smiles on Mike’s face. Indeed, he has been through a rough life. “Well, my father died before I was born. He was really rich. The richest man among all. Then, all I have was my mother. I love her so much. She was beautiful and kind. She always helps the poor. But then, my aunts and uncle never really liked her. One night, they invited us to a dinner. At first, everyone seems to be enjoying the dinner until my mother started to gasp for air. I knew she was poisoned but there was nothing I can do. Same as you Mike, I was thrown to the street and here I am sitting beside you” “I miss my mother” Mike started to cry again. “Don’t cry Mike. I miss my mother too” Steve tried to stop Mike from crying. He himself almost cried too. “Don’t you think the world is cruel? We’re only children. We don’t deserve these” “Let’s try to be optimistic. Life is not that cruel. There’re always hopes outside there. They just need us to find them. We have to be brave, we have to be strong. God is watching us, we’re not alone Mike. HE always be with us.” “No! No! I can’t stand these, it should be better off if I just die!” “No! Don’t you ever think that! Even though we lost our both legs, that does not mean running is impossible for us. There’re always ways to overcome difficulties. There’re always chances in life. Look at the cat. He’s all alone; he lived in the alley longer than us, but still he search for foods to survive. If we give up, does it make us worse than the cat? If we give up, what exactly is the meaning of our life? If we give up, does that make us valueless? Think Mike! Think! Don’t ever give up in life!” Mike stopped his crying. Steve smiled to him. From now on, a new stage of life is waiting for them. A life that hopes never extinct.