reservations aside and drew closer to Sara. “I’m Alessa,” she said. “Thank God you’re here. Yes, if I could stay with you tonight, that would be great.”
As the two walked the few blocks to the bridge, Sara gave her an overview of the group she would be staying with. All of them had been homeless for a while, starting from six months to several years. They stayed together in a group because it provided greater protection against other homeless people and street gangs. They didn’t tolerate stealing from members of the group, but stealing from others was acceptable.
Sara also revealed that all the kids had been sexually or physically abused by someone in their family. Every one of them had fled their homes to live on the streets. She had been sexually assaulted by her brother when she was fifteen. When she confided in her mother, she had been beaten so brutally that she couldn’t walk for weeks. After the bruises healed and she was able to walk again, Sara left home. She had been on the streets for three years. She was eighteen now, but to Alessa, she seemed mature beyond her years.
When asked for her own story, Alessa turned defensive. “I don’t want to get into it right now,” she told her. “Maybe later.”
Sara accepted the answer with poise. By the time they had reached the group of teens under the bridge, the two girls had made a connection. Sara introduced Alessa to the others. The one who stood out the most in the group was an eight-year-old girl they called Lucy. Sara explained how they had found the child roaming the streets. Lucy was being harassed by some drunken teenagers when the group walked up and snagged her away. She had been with them ever since. They weren’t sure of her whole story but knew her parents had abandoned her. Alessa listened, feeling scared for the young child she was meeting for the first time. All of the other teenagers seemed to have accepted Lucy as one of them.
Alessa sat on an old tire, which served as a chair for the group. Lucy immediately approached her. “Are you also here because your mommy and daddy don’t love you?” Lucy asked.
Alessa stared into the child’s sad eyes. “Yes, Lucy,” she answered. “But you know what? You’re lucky to have all these other people here who love you.”
The child smiled and sat down next to her. “I have a blanket that we can share tonight if you want to sleep near me,” she offered hopefully.
“That’s very generous of you, Lucy,” Alessa told her. “I’d be honored if you shared your blanket with me.”
The two found a small patch of grass and lay down side by side. Alessa covered Lucy and herself with the blanket, and the child snuggled up close against her. Her heart went out to the little girl by her side and she put her arms around her. Soon, the two were sleeping peacefully.
As morning broke, Lucy stirred. Alessa sat up.
“Did you sleep okay?” Alessa asked.
The child nodded with enthusiasm and rushed off behind a pillar at the foot of the bridge to pee. Alessa followed slowly and did the same.
When they joined the group again, Sara called Alessa over. “The group voted for you to stay with us if you want to. But remember that we have rules everyone here obeys. I’ve already told you about the first one: no stealing from any member of the group. The second rule is that we don’t use any drugs, other than weed and alcohol. So if you’re using other stuff, it’s not gonna work here. The third rule is we share whatever we steal or make from begging.”
Listening to her, Alessa understood that they were no different from any other family. The only difference was that they had no one but each other. She was enthusiastic that she had found herself with a group of people whose sole purpose in life was to take care of each other.
“The fourth rule,” Sarah went on, “is that everyone looks out for Lucy. She’s the baby of our family, and while she’s a lot more street-smart than she used to be when we found her six months ago, she is still very naïve. We keep a close eye on her. The newcomer to the group always has responsibility for Lucy’s day-to-day whereabouts. That means she stays with you all the time. Okay?”
Alessa quickly agreed to all the conditions. She not only wanted to remain in this group, but she also felt a natural urge to protect and take care of Lucy. In the child, she saw herself as she used to be when she was eight years old. She didn’t know the little girl’s story yet, but she hoped to find out.
Sara smiled at her, happy that she was staying, and told Alessa that the group would give her a day or two to settle in. But then, she would have to contribute. “If you find food or make some money begging and buy food with it, you’re supposed to bring it back for us to share. The other thing is, we’re always looking for clothes, blankets, pillows—stuff like that—mostly from dumpsters and people’s trash. If you bring that stuff in, you’ll be contributing, too. The boys do most of the stealing, but I’m pretty good at it, too.
“When the weather is nice like it is now, we wash here, in the Schuylkill River. You have to be careful, though, and only wash in shallow water. In the winter, we mostly use different bathrooms at the train station and fast-food joints. It can get really cold sleeping outside in the winter. So sometimes, we head over to one of the churches in the city because they’ll let us stay inside without asking us a bunch of questions. Most of the group isn’t eighteen yet. So we’re always careful about that kind of shit.”
Alessa was intrigued by this tight-knit community. Who would’ve known there were kids like her, surviving by taking care of each other? she thought.
When all the teenagers had left for the day, leaving her alone with Lucy, Alessa looked around at her new home. It was dark when she had gotten there the night before, but now, in the sunlight, she could see where she was staying. The main area where the teens lived was sort of like a living room, to Alessa’s way of thinking. There was a dirt floor, with a stone ring in the center, where they lit a fire. It gave them warmth and was used for cooking. Resting close to the circle were a few old pots and one pan that had been washed. Old tires and broken tree logs served as seats. A few cinder blocks were used as tables to hold their food and beer. The roof was nothing more than the natural covering offered by a large tree with widespread branches that extended thirty feet out on either side. The branches were high in the air, with so many layers rising into the sky that Alessa could see why they hadn’t bothered to build a roof. Beyond the main dirt area, there were patches of grass and smaller trees. Here, she noticed sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows, rolled and folded in neat piles. These were their bedrooms. It was all very basic. Yet, as she sat there with Lucy, she realized how lucky they were to have found each other.
Alessa was startled when Lucy spoke. “Alessa, I’m hungry. Can we eat breakfast?”
She looked around her. “I don’t see any food here, Lucy,” she remarked. “Maybe we should go get something?”
The child took her by the hand and led her over to a box behind the large tree that provided shade and shelter for their main living area. Lucy pulled back an old, ripped sheet and opened the box. Inside was half a loaf of bread, a box of Captain Crunch, an unsealed pack of graham crackers, and three brown bananas. Alessa handed Lucy a slice of bread and an old banana. The child ate them without a fuss. Munching away, she gabbed to Alessa about where they would spend their day.
“I think we should go to South Street. The restaurant people put the food left over from the night before in the back near their dumpsters. They’re all pretty nice people. They know we come and take whatever food other people don’t want. We ain’t picky. That’s what Sara says. She told me we are all happy we have each other and we need to do what we can, so we can all eat.”
“Is that so?” Alessa asked. “Well, that sounds about right. Sara is a very smart girl. Do you like living here with all these people, Lucy?”
The little girl averted her gaze and stared at the dirt floor, her excitement from a minute ago seeming to have suddenly ebbed away. “Well,” she said, “I was all alone before they found me and let me live with them. They’re all really nice to me. They call me the baby of the family and that pisses me off because I’m eight years old. I’m not a baby anymore. But I like living here with them. Will you stay here with us, too?”
“Yes, I will,” Alessa replied. “At least for a while until I figure out what’s next. Until then, you and I are stuck together like glue, okay?”
Lucy’s smile spread across her dirty face. “Yeah, that would be okay.”
