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Homeless and Hopeless: A Desperate Struggle for Shelter in the Streets
Homeless and Hopeless: A Desperate Search for Shelter.
Emily had nowhere to go. Absolutely nowhere. “Maybe I can sleep at the train station for a few nights. But then what?” Suddenly, a lifeline flashed in her mind. “The cottage! How could I forget? Though calling it a cottage is generous. Its more of a run-down shack. Still, better than a cold station platform.”
Boarding the suburban train, Emily pressed her forehead against the icy window and shut her eyes. Waves of painful memories crashed over herthe last two years had been brutal. Losing her parents left her utterly alone, with no safety net. She couldnt afford uni, so she dropped out and took a job at a supermarket.
Then, just when things seemed hopeless, luck smiled. She met Jameskind, decent James. They married within months in a modest ceremony. Life was finally steadying until it wasnt. James convinced her to sell her parents flat in the city centre to fund a new business.
He painted such a bright futureno more money troubles, a fresh start. “Once were stable, we can think about a baby,” naive Emily had daydreamed.
But the business failed. Arguments over wasted savings turned venomous. And then, James brought another woman home and showed Emily the door.
She considered going to the police but realised she had no case. Shed signed over the flat herself. Handed him every penny.
***
Stepping onto the empty platform, Emily walked alone under a pale spring sky. The countryside was still dormant, the fields bare. Three years of neglect had left the cottage grounds overgrown. “Ill fix it up,” she lied to herself, knowing nothing would ever be the same.
She found the key under the porch easily enough, but the warped wooden door refused to budge. She shoved, strained, then sank onto the steps and wept.
Thensmoke. A rustling from the neighbouring plot. Relieved, she hurried over.
“Mrs. Margaret? Are you home?”
A scruffy elderly man crouched by a small fire, boiling water in a tin mug. Emily froze.
“Whowheres Mrs. Margaret?” she stammered, stepping back.
“Dont be afraid. And please, dont call the authorities. Im not trespassing. I live out here.”
His voice startled herwarm, educated. A voice that belonged in a lecture hall, not a derelict garden.
“Youre homeless?” The question slipped out before she could stop it.
“Yes,” he murmured, eyes downcast. “You live next door? Dont worry, I wont trouble you.”
“Your name?”
“William.”
“Last name?”
“Smith.”
Emily studied him. His clothes, though worn, were clean. His beard neatly trimmed.
“I I need help,” she admitted.
“Whats wrong?”
“The doors stuck. I cant get in.”
“Ill take a look, if youd like.”
Grateful, she led him back. As he wrestled with the door, she sat on the porch, struck by a thought: *Who am I to judge him? Im homeless too.*
“Em, give it a go now!” William grinned as the door creaked open. “Waityoure staying here tonight?”
“Where else?”
“Got heating?”
“Theres a stove” She faltered.
“Firewood?”
“I dont know.”
“Right. Go inside. Ill fetch something.”
She spent an hour scrubbing mold off walls while the cottage remained damp and frigid. Then William returned with an armful of logs. Against all odds, she felt a flicker of hope.
He lit the stove expertly. Within an hour, warmth seeped into the room.
“Keep feeding it slowly,” he instructed. “Douse it before bed. Itll last till morning.”
“And you? Back to the neighbours?”
“Suppose so. Id rather not go into town too many ghosts.”
“William, stay. Have dinner. Tea, at least.”
He didnt refuse.
Over spaghetti and sausages, she asked gently, “How does someone like you end up on the streets?”
William had been a professor. Devoted his life to academia. Old age crept up, and with it, solitude. A year ago, his niece, Charlotte, started visiting. Sweetly, she suggested shed care for himif hed leave her his flat in his will.
He agreed, touched. Then Charlotte proposed selling the cramped city flat for a countryside housefresh air, peace. Shed found the perfect place.
They went to the bank to deposit the sale money. “Wait here, Uncle. Let me handle the paperwork,” shed saidthen vanished out the back door.
By the time he realised, shed sold *her* flat years prior.
“A disgrace,” he muttered. “Still, I had a life. You? Dropped out, homeless But youre young. This isnt the end.”
They ate in silence. Emily watched him wolf down his food, struck by his loneliness.
“Em, I can get you back into uni,” he said suddenly. “Ive got friends there. Scholarships. Ill write to the deanold colleague. Hell help.”
Her eyes lit up. “Really?”
“Thank you for supper. I should go.”
“Wait.” She hesitated. “Stay. The cottage has three rooms. And Im scared to be alone.”
William studied her. “Alright.”
***
Two years later, Emily aced her finals and raced home for summer break. She still lived at the cottageweekends and holidays, at least.
“Grandad!” She hugged William on the doorstep.
“Em! Why didnt you call? Id have met your train! How were exams?”
“Brilliant! Nearly all top marks!” She brandished a cake. “Kettle onlets celebrate!”
Over tea, William gestured outside. “Planted vines. Building a pergola. Its proper homely now.”
She laughed. “Its *your* house. Do what you like!”
The man was transformedno longer alone. He had a home. A granddaughter.
And Emily? She had a family again.
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