She was supposed to be in school but was expelled the first day for fighting: A thought in progress

Sometimes angels walk among us, protecting us. I don't have proof, but I know people who believe so. I can talk about it now, but I still can't reveal her name, so I'll just call her Tania, a girl-child born against all odds the couple would divorce and that she'd be on her own with no one to guide her and nothing to indicate she was loved, though she probably was, if not all of the time at least some of the time, enough of the time for her to grab a few precious moments, slip them into her pocket and store them away for a rainy day. When days were gloomy and nights were long and sad, she focused on the good times they had, living in the apartment just a few blocks from downtown.

That's how she survived after the rent increased and couldn't be paid and they all had to move away. One day she awoke to the sad news that her father would be moving back to his hometown down South, but they could find a place at the homeless shelter. He had checked. They had an opening. So whenever she could, Tania found herself capturing positive moments and saving them for the rainy day when there was nothing to do but walk the streets, sleep underneath benches at Grace Episcopal Church, and savor each gesture of kindness she received day to day.

She created happiness moment to moment and smiled at the passersby because each and every one had a beautiful smile. She considered their smiles to be a gift, so in order to receive their gift, she willingly gave one of her own. If people walked by when she was sitting on a park bench or if someone sat down next to her, she would wait for them to speak before she smiled. That way, there would be no mistakes.

She was supposed to be in school but was expelled the first day for fighting a girl who was laughing at her unruly hair. They didn't get an answer when they called for her mother to come pick her up but put her out anyway. She continued to stay in the shelter at night but during the day, she had to disappear. Next semester, she would be able to return to school and her mother would be able to sign the papers.

One day while Tania sat on the bench next to the church, a passerby parked his car, walked to her bench and handed her a bag of popcorn. She smiled and said. “Thank you.”  Side by side they sat in silence, she at one end of the bench, and the tall older man at the other. Finally, after about an hour, the man stood up and said, “Have a nice day.” Then he returned to his car and drove away. Once he was out of sight, she started nibbling pieces of popcorn.

Before long, the sun began to set and she could return to the homeless shelter where they thought she was still enrolled in school. She couldn't wait to return to school. All she had to do was stay safe and stay out of trouble. She stole a bag of Cheetos the other day. The man in the car saw her, which is probably why he brought her the bag of popcorn, which means he was probably looking for her.

She didn't know if she should continue to sit on the bench next to Grace Episcopal Church or if she should find a new place to hide in broad daylight. If she stayed, the man would probably return, bringing her something to eat. If she stayed, it could also mean trouble. “Angels walk among us,” her mother always said. She couldn't tell if the tall brown man was an angel or not. To find the answer, she knew she would have to pray.

Her mother got arrested the other night. It happened once before, and her mother was gone a week. Before being handcuffed her mother had said, “Go home.” Tania knew that this really meant, “Find your Uncle Sam,” which she did, but Uncle Sam had a little secret; he always liked her in a grown-up kind of way. This was what he told her the last time she stayed with him. So two nights later, before he arrived home from work, she disappeared. She didn't know where she was going, so she ended up on the other side of town. She was only twelve at the time. Tania didn't know how her mother found her once her time in jail was up. Maybe one of the men her mother knew had been keeping an eye on her.

Again, Tania didn't know how long her mother would be gone. She was only fifteen but she looked older. She had learned how to survive on the streets mostly by not talking to anyone and reading a college history book somebody had thrown away. She was homeless, at least for now. They told her at the shelter that one in 30 children in the state public schools was homeless. She was one of them, but she knew she wouldn't always be. “Angels walk among us,” she reminded herself. Each day, she felt she was on the verge of a miracle. All she needed to do is pray, stay safe, and take life one day at a time.