This one goes out to Austin, RIP kid.
Aug 20, 1983- Aug 25, 2008.
Written by: Terace Mignogna.

An unexpected twist of fate.
With the had of God You've been erased.
You like a life that had been half lived out.
You will never be forgotted beyond any doubt.
Happiness, Love, Splendur and Joy.
Hands down you were Florida's "Helen of Troy".
God blessed us with you as our gift.
But something went wrong and you fell adrift.
I wish to take you back in time.
When days for us were fresh and prime.
What has been saved marked in a photograph.
Simple memories that has made us laugh.
Im sorry life stopped with such a halt.
Because a presence, such as yours was a common as salt.
A character as rare as diamonds in the mines.
A Lives intertwined in the most beautiful designs.
We live to regret but regret we shall not.
In our hearts you've forever earned your spot.
Heaven sent and Heaven bound.
What first was lost...you have been found.

Unknown "Boots" Ferocious - 15 years, 8 months, 3 days ago

(Continuation to "Homeless")

I wouldn’t be who I am now if it wasn’t for her and Mother Abigail may she rest in peace.
Diana walked in to check up on me and asked if I was okay. I looked at her and smiled followed by a quick nod, “Of course I am…in fact I’ve never felt better.” I gave a quick smile and excused myself because my vibrating phone again was a call that once more, I was needed. I hugged her goodbye and on my way out, I handed the young woman a tissue leaning in I whispered, “You’re gonna need this sweetheart…” I opened the door and before leaving I turned around towards her, “…and good luck.” Walking out to my car I pulled out my packet of cigarettes and realized that cigarettes are one of the leading causes of fires. I smirked to myself speaking out loud, “silly girl” and tossed the packet into the garbage adjacent to my car as I unlocked it and got in, closing the door, opening the windows as I pulled out my phone and picked it up, “Hello…yes, mmhmm…alright Moose Ill be right there, I have to make a quick stop.” Turning on my music, and flipping to my favorite song, putting on my shades I began to drive back to my home. I chuckled to myself at that thought, how it was my home for one night when I was 7 and now it’s been my home for close to two years. I am just glad I am where I am now, but I am also glad that I was where I used to be, if it wasn’t for me being homeless none of this would’ve happened and I would’ve never come into terms with who I really am. I save lives not because I have too, but because I want to, and also because I don’t want people to go through what I went through. Before I went back home, stopped by a flower shop buying a dozen white roses I got back in my car and placed them in the passenger seat. I took a detour stopping at a graveyard and taking the flowers I walked down a couple of rows stopping by a marble tombstone, the soil has been turned over and freshly dug up. On the tombstone read “Mother Abigail 1899-1999 forever she’ll reach the unreachable” I knelt down placing the roses in the little vase that was mounted there. Smiling at the gravestone I spoke to her, “Hello Mother Abigail. I finally got my life together, Im a firefighter now.” I paused to wipe off a tear from my face, “I save lives now, just like you saved mine. And I just wanted to say thank you for everything.” And with that I kissed my hand, and placed it on the tombstone, got up, brushed off my knees and walked towards my car. I stopped for a second, because I knew that she was watching me and I knew what she’d probably say, “Always remember, when leaving the presence of any Mother never forget the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” I giggled at how she always made the cross, and then…I made it, just as she taught me.

/endstory

Unknown "Boots" Ferocious - 16 years, 3 months, 24 days ago

(Continuation to "Homeless")

She smiled and nodded and I went back into the back room to sort through mail and applications and such. I stopped mid-pile and I peered out the tiny window, which at my angle I was able to see the woman perfectly well. This building hasn’t changed much, from what I remember it seemed bigger, maybe that was because I was always so small in this world. I remember walking through those doors, which have been replaced numerous times. I was between 17 and 18 at the time, after being taken in by the nuns who helped me to get my life in order I wanted to thank them by taking myself off their hands. So one day I asked Mother Abigail where I could go to find a job. She started to cry, and I couldn’t see why. I have lived with them for no more that 3 years and they’ve given me everything I could’ve asked for. But seeing this young woman brought back unpleasant feelings from when I was on a hunt for a job. Mother Abigail wanted desperately to help me but I told her that it was something that I needed to do on my own, so she pointed me in the direction of the agency. I was a nervous wreck, and I didn’t know what to do or say. I stood outside the agency for a while before bottling up all my fear and pushed the door open, cling-cling, the same bells rang. It was as though I was just there yesterday being overfilled with joy as the fat receptionist behind the desk told me what my options were, and I made my final decision. I can still smell her cheap $1.99 perfume as I sat in one of the folding chairs now replaced by red leather couches. I remember the people that were around me, all in similar or better situations. There was a woman and two men who all looked like they should’ve come from the same family. The might’ve been family members, but I never really stopped to ask them because it wasn’t my place to pry into peoples personal lives. When the woman called my name, her voice was raspy and it was soon followed by a harsh smokers cough signifying that she’s been smoking for quite some time. I jolted upwards, she hosted a strong Boston accent and her hairline seemed to be receding as she spoke. She had numerous worry lines but I suspected that they weren’t from worrying about all the people that come in and out of the agency. There must’ve be something going on at home, and judging by her left ring finger being unoccupied with a wedding ring then I probably was wrong. She asked for my papers and looked up all the different options. “Cafeteria woman, hostess, firefighter, garbage woman…” I cut her off, I didn’t mean too but I couldn’t bear the stench of her perfume any longer, “Ill take firefighter.” I said with haste, and she looked up at me over her thick-rimmed glasses. “Alright” is all she said, before she scribbled something down on a piece of paper and stamped it at least 10 times with the same stamp. I couldn’t believe it; I was going to be a firefighter. I felt so ecstatic I began to cry. I couldn’t remember the last time I cried for a good reason. I was getting my life in order and I could feel the weight of the world rising off my shoulders. I thanked the woman took my directions and headed out to the firehouse. I stopped and looked up I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The firehouse that I was first brought to by the Navy Seal is standing right in front of me. It’s been almost 11 years since I was here last and I didn’t know what too do, I could feel the little 7 year old that’s been buried deep inside of me start to come up wanting to scream for help and cry to her mother but she just couldn’t. I couldn’t. I grew up, and this is my path my destiny, so with one step I opened the door and stepped into the firehouse to start my new life. From they’re the roads got tougher, enduring firefighter training, and often wanting to quite. But I stuck with it, only because during my training I met Moose, who has been my best friend for I don’t know how long, but it feels like forever. I am glad though; (To be continued)
Unknown "Boots" Ferocious - 16 years, 3 months, 24 days ago

(Continuation to "Homeless")

maybe because she could feel my pain. Reaching for a tissue I blew my nose and she asked, “Who were the figures in black?” I looked up at her and wiped my nose, “They were nuns. I ended up falling asleep on the steps of a Catholic Church, the nuns were walking back from lunch and they found me there. They then picked me up and took me inside, clothed me and fed me.” I smiled as Mooses expression was beckoning for more, and that’s when I stood up. “Wait what happened?” She reached for my hand and I turned around still smiling, “I am here now aren’t I? Im perfectly fine” And I thought I was, to get that off my chest felt amazing. She smiled back at me and we decided to leave the conference room, and go back to helping out around the shelter. And that night was the first night I didn’t feel sick after hosting.
It’s been nearly two weeks since I told Moose my story, and things have been pretty okay. I didn’t see Alexia after that night, nor did I hear about the girl I saved in the alley. Our firehouse had recently joined forces with a job agency, to help homeless people get back on their feet. What is funny, is I don’t think they remember me, but when I was about 18 I went there to get a job, and they pointed me in the direction of working at the firehouse and becoming a firefighter. I don’t think I ever set foot in that agency after I left 2 years ago. I can still remember the little details that gave my stomach butterflies and made me want to cry. Mooses mother and father who were in my opinion, the perfect definitions of “real parents” are the owners of the Agency, which they bought from an elderly couple who couldn’t afford it anymore. I’ve never seen two people so in sync with each other. It’s phenomenal to see her face light up when he walked in the room. From what I remember of my parents, they never gave each other that sort of reaction. Shaking off another memory from coming back I smiled as I read my mail and that’s when the UPS guy came with a package for me. I signed it then read the label. I was marked wrong; it was supposed to go to the agency, not to the firehouse. I let out a sigh and told Moose where I was going; I had to deliver this package. I got into my car and drove about a quarter of a mile; stopping in front of a building that looked quite familiar only it has been fixed up over the course of the years. I parked my car in the parking lot and pressed the lock button around my key ring to hear my car signifying that it’s protected and the alarm is on. And walked towards the doors, getting that same feeling in the pit of my stomach as I did 2 years ago. I pushed open the door hearing the cling-cling of the bell overhead and walked towards the desk where Mooses mother Diana sat. I placed the package on the desk and smiled at her, “This arrived at the station, just thought I’d drop it by” Diana stood up; she was a petite woman with shoulder length black hair speckled with grey at the roots. She came up to my shoulders and always seemed to have a smile on her face. “Thank you Sunny, how kind of you,” she took the package off the desk and excused herself as she placed it on her husbands’ desk in the next room. She came back and sat down I went to turn and walk away and that’s where I saw it, another flashback. There was a young woman, 18 to be exact that was walking into the front door of the agency. She wore tattered clothes, and her face was smeared with dirt, her hair was knotty and she reeked of not showering for weeks at a time. She approached the desk, I could tell she was nervous and I know that feeling and asking a shaky tone if the woman sitting at the desk was Mrs. Diana. Diana nodded and she girl slipped her a note followed by some papers. Diana skimmed through them and asked her to please take a seat. The young woman did and that is when I told Diana that Id like to stick around to help out. (to be continued)
Unknown "Boots" Ferocious - 16 years, 3 months, 24 days ago

(Continuation to "Homeless")

After the ambulance came to take the girl away I was a wreck, Moose pulled me aside into an empty conference room and sat me down. “Are you okay? What was up with you back there?” She took my hand I could tell she was worried. I let out a sigh and began to talk, just spilling out everything. “I was scared, because that happened to me too a long time ago. I was about 16 maybe her age, and it happened. Just like that in an alley similar to where I found her.” Moose looked confused and then I continued, and I felt it…the word vomit of my flashback, spilling out. “After being homeless for quite some time, any offer seemed to good to be true. I was around her age, say 15 and I’ve lived on the streets since I was 7, so that gives me about 8 to 9 years of street cred. Anyway, I was always looked at in shame and with discomfort. I asked even the nicest looking people if they could spare some money, for Christ’s sake I was only a child. And yet they treated the dirt on the bottom on their hundred-dollar shoes better than me. I felt so degraded and I desperately wanted to go home, but since I didn’t have one I had nowhere to go. I ran up and down the streets of Wilmington and often in other areas just to find some place to go. I ended up finding an alley to sleep in, and that was called my home for close to 2 years. I know I know, it wasn’t the most elegant of livings but it made do. When it rained I was able to take cover under an old pool cover that I propped up with boxes and old wire hangers, I became quite the inventor there. During the wintertime, I gathered old newspapers and stuffed them under my shirt and in my pants what I long grew out of. They ended up coming up to my knees, and they were torn and dirty. There was one point where my legs got so numb from that horrible winter that I wasn’t able to walk. I thought that I was gonna be there forever. That was until Jeff came along, he was nice to me. He hung out for a while, he claimed he had nowhere to go, and I was too pretty to be here. He seemed like a nice guy, but there was something iffy about him. One day he came down my alley with a gun. He had been drinking more than he usually did…I knew he was a faker but I never knew that he would go to these measures, he held me at gunpoint and he demanded sex; I didn’t want to give it to him. I was only 15 and didn’t know what “sex” was. At this time I would’ve considered going to my mother for advice, but since I didn’t have one I had to improve what she would’ve said. He asked again shoving the gun even closer to my face. “No” I said firmly, and that’s when it happened almost too suddenly. He hit me; he hit me with the butt of his gun knocking me to the ground. I fell almost in slow motion…” I stopped to catch my breath, I was crying. I have never told anyone this before, I picked up where I left off, “…and that’s when I heard it, through my half consciousness, the ripping of my own clothes. I felt the wind as it blew by me, and he spoke again saying that if I even thought about screaming out, that he’d shoot me, I was paralyzed in a snake pit. It was until after he had his way with me, and ran off that I knew he was too poor to afford bullets. After that, I barely had any threads on me; he practically tore off my entire outfit. I gathered up enough strength and courage to leave my alley as I was and go back to where I was first placed as a child, the firehouse. But I didn’t know where it was, nor did I come close to remembering. So I ran to an unknown destination and with the cold wind nipping at my bare skin I was almost frozen, I stopped to catch my breath and it began to snow. I knew that this wasn’t a good sign. I now had no home; I couldn’t go back to that alley for Jeff might return. And this could be my last winter. I sat on some steps to relax for a bit and I ended up passing out, that was after I saw three figures in black approach me.” Moose looked at me, she too was crying, (to be continued)
Unknown "Boots" Ferocious - 16 years, 3 months, 24 days ago