Situated deep in a forest just a few miles outside of Chicago, Illinois, was a large homeless encampment. Its desperately poor residents lived in hovels built from whatever odds and ends they could find.
To keep warm, cook food and boil water, they used small makeshift stoves made from old coffee cans then fueled with twigs, leaves and rubbish. They relied on the nearby river to bathe and to wash their things.
Most of the adults and teenagers foraged, scrounged, begged or worked odd jobs when they could. Still, with so many mouths to feed, there often wasn''t enough to eat. It is amid such hardships that this story begins.
To say that Alicia Fiore was frightened when she discovered she was pregnant was an understatement. Luckily, despite being an orphaned teenager, she wasn''t alone. You see, the baby''s father, Giovanni Bosco, was an orphan himself.
“Whatever happens, we''re in this together”, he told her. “I love you and our baby.”
So, for those nine long months, Giovanni took any work he could find. Of course, a few odd jobs here and there meant very little money. More often than not, he went hungry just so Alicia and their baby would have food.
Alicia fashioned cloth diapers and simple mismatched outfits from whatever rags and scraps of fabric Giovanni could scrounge up as well. He''d also found a basket for the baby to sleep in. Then, on the night of November 3rd, 1984, Alicia''s water broke.
“Giovanni”, she whispered, grimacing in pain. “It''s time.”
At that moment, Giovanni realized there was no time to waste. Helping Alicia to lie down, he moved quickly to gather all that he''d need from his knapsack. Inside were washcloths, a shoelace, his pocket knife, blankets, towels, the cloth diapers and the baby clothes. Hearing Alicia''s moans as her labor continued to progress, he took a deep breath and said a silent prayer before returning.
“Don''t worry”, he told her. “Everything''s gonna be okay.”
Several hours later, the newborn''s cries filled the hovel and Alicia fell back exhausted onto the pillows.
“It''s a boy!”, said Giovanni.
When it was safe to do so, he used the shoestring and his pocket knife to tie off and cut the umbilical cord. Then, he cleaned their baby boy up, dressed him and swaddled him in one of the blankets before placing him in Alicia''s arms.
“He''s beautiful”, Alicia whispered, tired but in awe. Giovanni nodded.
“Do you know what you wanna call him?”, he asked.
“I''ve always liked the name Emile”, Alicia replied as the baby cooed softly.
“Sounds like he likes it too”, Giovanni chuckled.
“Then, Emile Bosco it is”, said Alicia, kissing the baby''s forehead.
The hovel in which the little family lived wasn''t much more than the rusty sheets of metal and old tarps it was built from.
The hovel in which the little family lived wasn''t much more than the rusty sheets of metal and old tarps it was built from. The whole place consisted of only two cluttered rooms, after all.
To provide for the three of them, Giovanni took to scavenging behind restaurants for leftovers, stealing clothes and blankets from donation bins when no one was looking and continuing to work whenever there were jobs to come by.
Years passed and before long, Emile had grown to be a tall but very thin lad. His wavy, shoulder-length, dark brown hair framed a gentle face with caramel-colored eyes.
Because going to school was a luxury that no encampment child''s family could afford, Alicia taught Emile the alphabet, his colors and shapes and how to count from picture books she and Giovanni had at home.
Giovanni taught him how to stay safe in the wilderness, hunt small game, and to forage for nuts and edible berries and roots. Alicia taught him how to boil water and to cook as well.
Sadly, learning to read and write was something Emile never had a chance to do. Regardless of the harsh life he was leading however, he was far from being unhappy.
Among all of the children he had grown up knowing were four boys his age named Ben, James, Anthony and Sullivan. The quintet considered themselves to be best friends. When they weren''t busy trying to help their families to survive, they spent as much time as they could just having fun.
They enjoyed playing chase, exploring the woods, swimming in the river when it was warm enough and above all, just having each other to talk to.Then, one summer when they were all fifteen-years-old, Emile began to wonder about certain things.
Yet another very hot day had come to the encampment. So, the boys decided to cool off with a swim.
"This feels amazing!", Anthony sighed happily as he leaned back, allowing himself to float.
"Does it?", Ben asked as he was sneaking close behind him.
"Yeah, it really does, ''cause..."
(SPLASH!)
“Ben!", Anthony sputtered, coming back up from being dunked. "We got in here to cool off, not so you could act like a little kid!"
"Lighten up, would ya?", he snickered with the others. "I was just playin''!"
"Okay, okay", Anthony replied, brushing his dark brown bangs from his gray-green eyes. "Just please don''t sneak up on me like that again."
The boys splashed about for a while until they began to shiver from the cold water. So, after drying off, changing out of their wet clothes and putting on the dry ones they''d brought along, they sat together on the grass to rest a bit.
"Do you guys ever wonder about the future?", Emile asked suddenly. "Like, what might happen once we''re grown?” The others just shrugged. Emile frowned slightly.
He couldn''t explain it, but as content as he''d been, he was beginning to feel like something or maybe someone was missing from his life...but who exactly was that missing piece?
Winter, 2005
Emile''s POV
Six years had passed since that day at the river. Although I was now a young man, not much had changed about my life and the notion of feeling incomplete hadn''t ever left my mind.
Today, while Mamma tidied up and gathered fuel for the stove, Papa and I had made our usual walk to Chicago in search of odd jobs. Because we lived so far from the city, we always arrived with both growling stomachs and smarting feet.
Wandering the cold, slushy, rubbish-strewn streets, Papa and I seemed invisible amid the throngs of people. As always, from the chatter, shouting and cursing, to the honks of car and bus horns, it was very noisy!
Looking around, we could see the buildings both big and small as well. There were all sorts of things on display in store windows. Clothes, toys, even musical instruments! All of which were lovely and brand new! Though we''d been to Chicago many times, the city never failed to excite me. It was Papa''s voice that broke my trance.
"Come, we mustn''t just stand around, son."
So, with the snow crunching beneath our worn out boots, we kept going. Then after a few more blocks, we stopped to rest...and a magnificent sight caught my eyes.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
Across the street, was a mansion so large and grand that I almost mistook it for a castle. Through the bars of the fancy looking fence that surrounded it, I could see bushes that needed trimming, front and back steps that could be swept off and both a walkway and driveway which needed the snow shoveled from them.
"Papa, look!", I whispered excitedly, gesturing towards everything. "Maybe the people living here would give us jobs keeping their property tidy for them!" Lifting his head and having a look for himself, Papa chuckled.
"You have a good eye, my boy", he said. "Let''s see what we can do."
The owners of the mansion and the property turned out to be a very wealthy family known as the Dogwoods. Papa and I discovered that Hamilton Dogwood was the proprietor of a chain of successful seafood restaurants in the area. A blonde, blue-eyed man of medium height, he seemed to judge us from the moment he saw us.
"You two!", he snapped. "No need to stare, what do you want?"
"Hello sir, my name is Giovanni Bosco and this is my son Emile", said Papa. "We thought perhaps we could help you by doing some yard work." Hamilton narrowed his eyes and for a moment said nothing as he continued to study us.
"Well, I suppose it would be nice to have some help", he agreed. "However, it looks to me that your son is in better shape to do such things. The job is his as long as he works hard and always does as he''s told." Papa was quiet but nodded anyway.
"Don''t worry, sir", he said. "Emile is a very hard worker." Clicking his tongue, Hamilton turned to me.
"Alright, boy", he began.
"Actually, my name is...", I interjected.
"Don''t speak unless you''re spoken to!", Hamilton growled. "Now, before you get started, let''s get you a bath and something else to wear. I won''t have everyone staring because of your messy hair and those rags you call clothes. We''ll get you a proper meal as well."
I felt awful as I looked back at Papa. Not only would he be going home without a job or money, he would have to wait to wash up and eat too.
"It''s okay, Emile", he said, smiling sadly. "Go on."
"I could try and save you and Mamma something to eat at least...", I whispered.
"HURRY UP!", Hamilton barked.
Inside, a small, slender woman with black hair and gray-green eyes sat in the living room reading a book.
"Aviva, darling", said Hamilton. "This is Emile Bosco. He''s going to be working as our yardman from now on."
Flinching a bit, I waited for her to yell at me also...but instead, she smiled and her voice was soft and kind.
"It''s nice to meet you, Emile", she said.
"Thank you, ma''am. I really do appreciate the job."
"I''m sure you''ll do just fine", Aviva replied.
"Please draw a bath and lay out a change of clothes for him", Hamilton instructed his wife. "Then, he can come have lunch with us."
A short time later, I found myself in one of the bathrooms upstairs. It had a walk-in shower in the corner, a nice, big bathtub off to the side and a double sink. My eyes widened at all the makeup, perfumes, soaps, shampoos, conditioners and bottles of body wash. All the expensive things I was seeing made me feel a bit uncomfortable. Regardless of that, I knew I would have to get used to it.
Undressing and stepping into the warm water, I finally managed to relax. It was much nicer than bathing in the river for sure! Smiling, I settled into washing both my hair and myself. Afterwards, after drying off with a fluffy towel, I wrapped another around my waist and stepped into the bedroom to get dressed.
The outfit chosen for me was a dark blue long-sleeved shirt, a pair of black pants, some snow boots, a scarf, a pair of gloves, a knit hat and a thick coat.
While combing my hair and examining myself in the full length mirror once I''d finished, I almost didn''t notice that my own tattered clothing was missing. As I was looking around for it, I suddenly heard the door opening and closing quietly.
"If you''re looking for your old clothes, they''re being washed", said a voice. Startled, I turned around.
Standing there was a young woman my age. She had long black hair like Aviva and Hamilton''s blue eyes.
"I...I''m so sorry, Miss...", I began stammering nervously.
"Kiera", the woman giggled. "My name is Kiera...and you don''t have to call me Miss, okay? Don''t worry about things like that."
"What about your father?", I asked. "I don''t wanna make him angry with me."
"Well, how about just calling me Miss around my parents then calling me by my name when it''s just us?", said Kiera. I nodded shyly.
"Good. Now come on, lunch is ready", Kiera explained. As I followed her downstairs, I felt myself beginning to blush. She was so pretty!
Lunch for that day was something called seafood gumbo. Never having eaten something like that before, I was a little confused.
"It''s a stew made from shrimp, okra, sausage and lots of other tasty things", Kiera told me. After taking my first spoonful, blowing on it a bit and trying it, I smiled.
"It''s very good, thank you", I said. Once we''d all finished, I headed outside and quickly got to work.
As I''d agreed, I shoveled snow from the walkway and driveway, swept off the steps and trimmed the bushes. It was so chilly and windy that I could see my breath.
Both Aviva and Kiera seemed pleased with it all. Whether Hamilton was satisfied or not, I couldn''t really tell. However, I must''ve done something right because I didn''t end up being fired.
Still, from that day on, Hamilton never let me forget that he didn''t view me as an equal. Aviva and Kiera were always kind to me regardless and did their best to protect me from his abuse.
As for me, it got to the point where I started to wonder if I really was as worthless and stupid as Hamilton was constantly saying I was. All that kept me from giving up and quitting was how much my family and I needed the money I brought home. That and seeing Kiera.
Then one evening before I left to go home, she asked me a question I never thought anyone would ask me.
“Would you like me to teach you to read and write?”
“That would be nice”, I replied quietly with my head down.
“What''s wrong, Emile?”, Kiera asked.
“Well, I mean…what if I''m really not smart enough to do things like that? Ya know, your father might have a point…”
“Don''t listen to him, he''s talking nonsense! Besides, you deserve to be able to learn whether you''re from a poor family or not”, Kiera insisted. “My mother would say the same thing, I know it!”
“So, you don''t think I''m a nobody?”, I asked her.
“Of course I don''t”, she replied. “I''ve never thought that.”
“Thanks”, I said, giving her a small smile. “That means a lot.”
“You''re very welcome”, she said.
“I still have a lot of work to do when I come here every day though”, I reminded her. “I’d probably get in trouble if I sat around too long without keeping up with it all.”
“So, we''ll do your lessons at night when my parents are asleep. We''ll have to be quiet though, of course”, Kiera replied, keeping her voice lowered.
At first, I still felt worried and uneasy. Nonetheless, with the way Kiera smiled at me so reassuringly, I couldn''t say no.
From that night on, Kiera always left the gate open just enough for me to sneak onto her parents’ property. That and a crack in her bedroom window so I could climb through. Luckily, her bedroom was on the first floor.
When her parents would ask about the gate, she''d always tell them the wind kept blowing it open during the night. It was a good thing they always believed her!
Since I already knew the alphabet, my first reading lessons began with Kiera helping me to read short, simple story books she’d kept ever since she was a little girl.
“The sky is…blue…and…th-the bird’s…fea…fea-thers are r-red…”, I read softly.
“Very good”, said Kiera. “Keep going.”
“The…bird’s nest…is in…the apple tree…”, I continued. Then suddenly, I paused, looking up at her.
“Wow, I really can do it”, I whispered.
“See? Just like I knew you could”, she replied.
For what seemed like forever, we sat gazing at each other. The whole room was quiet except for the soft ticking of Kiera''s wall clock.
"Come on", urged a voice in my head. "Say something! Tell her what you''ve been feeling, how you think she''s beautiful and you love being with her. Tell her about how you''re always thinking of her!"
"Kiera,...I...I need to talk to you", I whispered.
"Is everything alright?", she asked.
"Yeah, it''s just that...well, I think you''re a wonderful friend. You''re always so sweet, you stick up for me whenever your father says mean things while I''m over here, you don''t judge me for being poor, you''re giving me these lessons..."
"Emile, what are you really wanting to tell me?", Kiera asked, reaching over to squeeze my hand.
"You''re all I can think about", I replied. "You''re beautiful and I''m falling in love with you."
"Oh my gosh...", Kiera gasped.
"I know it seems ridiculous", I interjected. "I''ll leave you alone about it if you want me to..."
Then, before I could utter another word, she leaned forward...and we began kissing ever so softly.
"I love you too, Emile", she said.