?    The night was duller than usual. The dust and trash around the street were no longer hidden by all those people, from beggars playing the guitar to little kids rolling in the mud. The small straw houses that deceived passing civilians with the illusion of just simplicity during the daytime now looked blatantly real when the sun was not shining on them,  exposing the destitution of much of the population. This night, quieter than ever, showed the true, unbiased, colors of the neighborhood.

?Calvyn walked down the street alone, kicking a gray rock repeatedly and watching it accumulate slowly with dirt. Maybe he shouldn’t have walked this stretch alone, but it was only a block. Besides, fifteen was old enough to be walking alone. Just as that thought was creeping into his brain, however, he felt a tugging sensation on his bag.

? The boy couldn’t have been there a couple seconds ago. But if he could appear at will, then he wouldn’t need to be tugging desperately at his bag, almost wildly. Calvyn reacted almost instantly, pushing the boy away. When the hold continued, a sharp punch to the face. The boy stifled a groan and  gave one more futile punch back that Calvyn didn’t even need to dodge.  The boy looked terrified, knowing his only advantage, the element of surprise, was completely gone. Just as Calvyn was going to hold his hand up in truce, he saw a whirl of flesh and  an agonizing pain in his shoulder. He could barely get himself to swallow a cry of pain and keep himself standing.

?      Before he could move, he felt a powerful push to a nearby wall. He couldn’t imagine that this scrawny boy could have done anything this strong. He stood there for a moment, dazed from the pain on his head and astonished at the desperation of the kid in front of him.  But even with his pain, he was quickly recovering, and both of them knew it. 

      ?The boy turned around, grateful for Calvyn’s distraction. Choosing fear over greed, he abandoned his mission and retreated back. Then, as he turned his head before he ran away, Calvyn saw his face for the first time.

?     The boy’s face was twisted in a smirk when he met Calvyn’s eye as if he wanted to warn him, “I’ll be back.” But it was his eyes that revealed his true emotions. His eyes were wide, giving him a childish look, that revealed fear and wild desperation, as if getting that bag would save his life.?

  But his mission had failed, and the boy knew it. He gave up his pugnacious stance, giving a pleading look before he turned and ran away.  The boy had taken something else from him. Not the bag, but something else that Calvyn could never gain back. But even if he could,  Calvyn never saw him again.