Stewart nodded and stepped out of the way, letting my dad lead us down the block.
“Where are we going, Bill?” My mother asked, her voice filled with worry. “It’s late. Couldn’t you show us another time? Maybe when it’s not so dark?”
We were only a block away from the theater but its bright lights didn’t make it down the street that far. The moon was covered by thick clouds and the only light came from the dim street lamps that graced the corners.
“I grew up not far from here,” my father said. “Across the street was the ice cream shop I’d stop by after school.”
While we walked, my father continued reminiscing. The street grew quieter as we passed less people and suddenly it felt like we were alone in this old part of the big city. Surrounding us were old tenements, run down and uncared for. The buildings had a strange mixture of sadness and despair as they looked down upon us.
“The neighborhood changed after I left. These old buildings once had their own personality, but after decades of neglect they’ve begun to crumble.”
“Dad, I’m cold. I want to go home,” I whined.
“Soon. You need to see this. It’s your future,” he said before pointing up to the top of the building across the street where a large banner with ‘Hargrove’s Fine Department Store Coming Soon’ emblazoned across it. “None of these buildings can be saved. They’re too destroyed by time, but I wanted to give back to the community where I grew up.”
I turned around, thinking I heard movement in the darkness, but couldn’t see anything. My mother was shivering and pulled me closer to tighten the wool scarf around my neck. Suddenly a deep, slurred voice came from within the shadow of a doorway.
“Pretty people like you shouldn’t be here.”
My mother pulled me closer to her. She still shivered but I knew her chill had been replaced with fear.
“We were just leaving. Weren’t we, Bill?” She said as she gently nudged my father while holding me as if I was attached.
Because my mother held me so close, I couldn’t really see the man who stepped out of the shadows. I definitely could smell him though—a rank mixture of alcohol and sweat. Every time he spoke my blood turned cold.
“N-n-now wait a minute here,” he said, stumbling over his words. “I know you. Your face. I’ve seen you on TV. You’re the reason me and hundreds of others were run outta here. You bought our homes so you could build a ridiculous department store.”
“I tried to save the homes here,” my father said, “but they’re not safe. No one should live in these conditions. That’s why I had new housing built in the suburbs, just outside the city. It’s beautiful there and you’ll have a better quality of life.”
“I’m homeless!” The stranger yelled.
He pulled out a gun and my mother gasped in horror before pushing me further away with her.
“I gave you better homes. And transportation. And when the store is built it’ll provide hundreds of jobs. I did what I could to give back to my old community.”
“You destroyed the community! You ruined everything!” He waved the gun as he yelled. “M-my entire life was here. And everyone left! They left me for grass and trees. But I’ll never leave! You can’t make me!”
I heard a loud pop. “Charlotte!” My father yelled as my mother screamed and covered me, holding me tightly against her as she whispered “everything will be ok” over and over.#p#分页标题#e#
“N-n-no! Wh-what did I? I-I didn’t mean—” The drunk wailed.
“It’s ok,” my dad said and I felt relieved hearing his voice. “Just go and leave us be. I promise nothing will happen. I won’t say a word.”
I couldn’t see anything with my mother holding me so tight. I heard someone stumble and the soft leather of a shoe slide against the sidewalk. I knew my father collapsed. My mother sobbed.
“I—I have to finish this. It has to end here,” the man murmured.
Suddenly there was another pop. Then one even closer before my mother slumped on top of me. I heard sirens and someone running. The stench of sweat and cheap alcohol still hung in the air.
“Bill!” Stewart’s voice came from out of no where then were followed by a succession of pops that sounded different than the first drunk’s gun.
Stewart lifted my mother from me and gently laid her on her back on the cold cement. An intense iron smell filled the air. I couldn’t grasp what happened.
“Will! Are you ok?” Stewart asked.
“Mom?” I choked as I nodded.
“She’s alive.”