Part 10

Part 10

I didn’t lay there long, I had work to do. Although I still had a lot of money left, I wanted to save whatever I could in case I have to leave here, and stay somewhere else. I went to the maintenance closet and got all the items I needed. I started from the top floor and worked my way not to the bottom, but outside. I wanted to make sure everything was clean, even the sidewalk. It took me five hours to clean everything, I swept, wiped and washed the baseboards, mopped, wiped the railings and took out the trash. I had the place smelling so good, the men were poking their heads out trying to see what woman was walking pass, even Abuelo was looking around. I was told that if there were vacant rooms, Abuelo would give me the keys at night for the rooms to be cleaned. I was instructed not to clean them before 10am or after 3pm, he said it’s for my safety. He doesn’t want someone coming in while I’m cleaning and attack me, so for today, my work here is done.

I took a shower and headed to the library to get a few books so I can start my lessons and learn a few new recipes. I also stopped at a bank and asked if I could open a savings account. I went through all of the paperwork but I was missing one important piece of information, identification. Even a kid needs ID in order to open an account, unless there is a parent or guardian with them. I asked the nice woman if she can hold onto the information until I can get me a State issued ID. She told me that she couldn’t because of some FCC regulations. I don’ know what she meant by that but whatever. I went to get up and before I could thank her for her help, she handed me the information, and asked me not to tell because she needs her job. I smiled and told her my lips were sealed.

While I was walking back from the library I was thinking to myself that this has been a perfect day. I have my own apartment, it’s not much but it’s mine. I have a savings account, a job, books to read, and best of all, peace. Well, so I thought! I get to the apartment and everything looked great from the outside, as soon as I walked into the building is when it seemed that my life changed again. On the third floor I remember seeing this a older gentleman poke his head out and another kid around my age was walking up the stairs and entered that same apartment. The older gentleman was in the middle of the foyer dead, there was blood everywhere. His eyes were open and the young boy was standing above him, weeping. I froze, I didn’t know what to do. Do I step over him, do I wait, if I wait and the police come will they take me? There’s so many questions that I couldn’t answer. I stood there looking at him, looking at his dead body just lying there on my freshly washed floors. Maybe me being here was meant to be, he didn’t die on dirty floors, in a dirty apartment building.