A friendly chit-chat

Yussef was lying on the ground watching walkers passing by. His face looked pale, dark, cheerless, absent-minded and filled with tiredness, wearing a shabby coat whose size didn’t fit his slim body and broken posture. He was smoking a cigarette whose smoke seemed to go down finding its way inside his lungs and competing the cold settling there and emanating from the frozen nights spent in the streets. He seemed to have lost interest and enthusiasm about everything ordinary people worry about.

“Move from here!”, a shop owner shouted at Yussef.
Adam stared at him with a weak and dizzy look.
“Don’t look at me and leave the place now”, the fat man went on and even threatened to use his hands.

Adam left without saying any word and walked slowly without a definite purpose. For him time had ceased to exist for ages and it didn’t matter for him where he could put his body. He lost the meaning of refuge since the outside world is his world and he didn’t believe in borders anymore. However, people usually tried to restrict his movements even if his exile had been chosen for him since his early childhood.

Yussef didn’t even remember a day where he used to have a parent. He remembered himself in the street with some kids from his age. He never felt that belonging for a family or country. He was rejected from any opportunity that could give him a hint of legal belonging to some group of human beings. He always said to his neighbours in the streets that he understood people well but no one had ever tried to understand him.

He walked for some minutes and stopped next to another miserable human creature who was sitting by the iron fence of a garden. Apparently, they were acquaintances to each other.

“Are you spending the night here?”, Yussef asked.

“you are welcome man! Have you got something to eat?”

“Not yet”, Yussed answered with some inner dissatisfaction.

“This area is so miserable and I guess that people here look like beggars but they just try to save their dignity behind the walls”, the man added.

“So we are brave!”

“Sure we are!”

“They can’t disclose their real state. They lie to each other and believe in illusions”

“You know the streets are now overcrowded with people like us, how would be the situation if people behind those walls joined us?”

“We won’t find a place to sleep and maybe we will pay some rent for that”.

“Taxes too”, the man added.

“How happened that you are a member of the homeless community?”, Yussef asked the man.

“It was a choice! Not like you. I chose to live in the streets. I fled a broken family where I was blamed for things I even didn’t know the meaning. Home was a shelter of violence and troubles. I had never felt secure until I left home definitely”

“Didn’t your parents try to find you and get you back home?”

“Apparently no. It seemed I took the fair decision for all of us”. He paused for a moment and went on: “you know you are lucky because you don’t know your parents and you don’t sometimes despise them as I do, do you?”

“Sure I do and between every two breaths,” Yussef answered with a sad smile and added: “Two cowards”

“Have you got something to eat?”

“Not yet!”

“So let’s move and get something from the passers by”

“No way. We aren’t beggars.”

“Sure we aren’t”

“By the way, what is our legal status in this country?”

“No status!”

“Aren’t we citizens?”

“No. They deny any hint of tie with us. For them we bring them shame and tarnish the image of the country.”

“I see. So we are so important and at least we assume some responsibility. It is we who design the economic policy and shape the political sphere.”

His companion laughed and leant on the fence. Then he said: “If the homeless community went to election, we would make a big difference. Maybe we would have the majority of seats in the parliament and of course some members in the government.”

“Wow. What an amazing idea!”

“The new political lobby in the country”

“So we can shape a bright future for this country if we grow aware of our weight”

“Certainly yes. Besides we know the problems of this country better than anyone else. We are in the bottom but if we move we will reach the top.”

“Do you love this country?”

“I don’t believe in borders. I belong to humanity..”