The Last Drop

In Los Angeles, It's 6 am. On the street, you can see A homeless man named Michael is housed in front of E.D.'s liquor store is sleeping in his arms cradles his favorite drink, a bottle of Jack Daniel's. That is almost finished. He carries a pair of raggedy blankets slumped over his shoulder. When the sun rises, this forces him to wake up the moment he opens his eyes. The cold crawls over his body, but not for too long to stop the cold he feels. He reaches for his bottle of Jack and starts to gulp down the last little of the last drop from his bottle and that swig of Jack Daniel's putting him back into a deep slumber.

The day has passed, and Michael goes without notice. He's recently lost all touch with reality: He never knows what time it is, or even the day of the week. His lifestyle makes him forget about even the smallest of things. He feels hungry but often has no food, so he decides to cover up his pains with alcohol and cigarettes.

One day sees a Latina girl with curly hair approaches him:

"Hi, how are you"?

With a big smile on her face, Michael looks at her, trying to remember the last time someone asked him that simple question.

"I brought this for you. It's a bit of food. I hope you like it".

Michael seems thankful. At one point, the girl's face shows how worried she truly is about him and wants to ask him a difficult question. Even Though it's clear she's afraid of the reaction he may have. She finally dares to ask Michael her question,

"Why are you on the street?"

With a noticeable expression of discomfort, he says

"I'm sorry, but I don't like to talk about myself. But, thank you for asking."

Michael asks her, "What is your name?"

"Mia, it is nice to meet you. Out of nowhere, she remembers that she has a class to attend, which star in 15 minutes. I'm in a hurry, and I need to leave, but I have a gift for you before leaving. Perhaps right now, it doesn't seem necessary, but maybe one day, this can help you."

"What is it?" Michael asked.

"It's just a little black book with some pencils." the girl exclaimed.

Michael looks surprised. He doesn't remember the last time someone gave him a gift. He does not seem very interested and thinks it's unnecessary, but he accepts the gift anyhow.

"Why do you think that I need it?" he asked in curiosity.

"You never know, but maybe one day it will be useful to you."

Michael opens his arms in gratitude. Mia is a bit surprised by his request. She hesitates for a second but then thinks maybe no one has hugged him for a long time and feels as though she can't deny the claim. His embrace gives her a warm sensation throughout her body. Even though she can smell both alcohol and marijuana on him, she keeps holding him.

She began to realize that perhaps she needed the hug more than him. She says goodbye, and he watches her walk away, thinking, who is this girl?

The hours passed, and like a typical day, he started to walk in between the streets and alleys of Los Angeles. He meets up with one of his old friends, and they sit together. They talk about life and remember when they used to be young. They've known each other for a long time now; they've both been in the same area for years. .They both laugh at Michael's jokes, making everything around them disappear. Deep Down in their hearts, they think life is just a joke, but they know after the laughing stops, they'll be back in reality.

Michael stands up, says goodbye, and starts to walk with no direction. He does what he feels at the moment, what he believes is best for him. At one moment, he stops and sees his reflection on the window screen of a store. He realizes how dirty he looks since he's been wearing the same clothes for years. He doesn't even remember the last time he took a shower. Not only that, but he sees his white beard, long hair, and deep blue eyes- but he suddenly looks down and continues to walk on.

Cross the street to return to his usual place, loves to see people passing through, makes him remember the old life he used to have. He feels Something running down his face from nowhere, brings his hand to his eyes, and realizes that he is crying because life told him he deserves nothing. Suicidal thoughts cross through his mind, try to avoid them with alcohol, remains lost in his thoughts. Suddenly he hears someone talking to him, is that girl again, she asks, are you okay? I've been thinking about you, wonder why you don't go to a shelter? Maybe you could be better there than here on the streets. I can't! People are too crazy there. Usually, someone starts a fight. It is impossible to sleep with a lot of crazy people in the same place. Maybe you should try it; it's not right that you're here on the street, where is your family?. Do you know that your family will always be there for you no matter what? Trust me; there's nothing for me out there. He starts to cry. I'm sorry was not my intention to make you feel bad. Don't worry is not your fault what happened to me a long time ago.

I lost my two sons and my wife in a car accident. I have a house, but I would never come back there too many memories, too painful. There's no point. There's no reason for me to go back. I don't belong anywhere, just to the streets; this is my home now. For a second, Michael crumbles. She hugs him and, looking into her eyes, says gracias, Mia surprised that he can talk in Spanish, says de nada. Once again, they say goodbye like usual. He contemplates how it looks when she walks away and how it slowly fades away.

Sun is down, and since the beginning of the winter, the days are getting colder and colder sometimes. He doesn't even know where he is or who he is, lost track of time. Sometimes think, I'm alive? Or I'm already dead? And this is hell? I don't remember hurting anyone to be in hell. At loud says I have to stop! Am I going crazy again? Maybe if I drink a little more, I can wake up from this reality and feel Something. He puts his shaking hands in his pocket and realizes that he has no money. The cold makes him think his whole body numb with his last strength, found a bottle with a little alcohol inside, takes every last drop, takes his blankets from the floor, and it covers himself as much as possible. He closes his eyes, wanting to fall asleep and to be once again able to dispel the pain, he feels like fatigue reaches his body, and from one moment to another, and without realizing it, he falls asleep.

The days slowly pass for him, suddenly remember, is almost Christmas, in the distance sees Mia walking to him one more time. From nowhere, Michael lost his temper and start to scream to her, please don't bother me! I don't need your sympathy. Please leave me alone. And don't come back again!. He sees that she is scared and starts walking faster than usual in a few seconds disappears into the crowd. Michael starts to feel bad about himself and doesn't recognize himself. He is not the person he used to be. Ashamed and feeling more lonely than ever think, it is time to change. But He doesn't know-how.

The next morning when he wakes up doesn't know why but can't stop thinking about that girl; he believes if my daughter were alive, probably she would have the same age as her. He gets up, looking for some food between his stuff, and found the little black book that once Mia had given him. After contemplating it for a few minutes, Michael decided to convert this little black book into Something meaningful and write about his life and feelings.

Daily sketch Something new, remembering that his daughter was married for a second, thinks nobody knows this. I used to be a renowned math engineer, now nobody recognizes me. If only my students could see me now, they would never believe that one of the smartest men alive is a drunk older man living on the street. The time goes flying; sometimes, he remembers Mia and wonders how she's doing. Probably she is still angry with me; maybe I was too abrupt with her. The sun begins to disappear and slowly becomes darker, and for the first time in years, he goes to sleep without drinking a sip of alcohol.

The streets in L.A. are illuminated, And for the past month, the first thing he does every night is writing in his book, sometimes see himself working on his writing and sketching until late in the night. He prefers to work in this way because it is mostly silent and is fewer people on the street. The other homeless are usually sleeping on liquor .all of a sudden, he remembers that he has been without alcohol for a long time, which makes him smile for a second.

The next day came, now it is almost a 2. P. M realized he hadn't eaten anything all day without alcohol in his body, can feel his body squirming asking for a drink with her eyes lost think what I can do? A sip could calm me, but he prefers to be healthy; out of nowhere, he hears someone saying hi, looks up is Mia. Long time no see, look what I bring for you, I know this is no too much is just a subway and chicken soup with a smile on her face says I see you been using the black book I gave you. Yes, it has been handy, and been using it a lot. Thank you. How long until you get to the last pages?, it is almost finished, I'm glad to hear that. I came to say goodbye probably this is the last time we are going to see each other. I'm going to travel for a long time hopefully everything turns okay for you. Not only that, but I wish you the best. Mia says, hug me for the last time. They hug each other longer than usual she doesn't know why but starts to feel tears dropping his face. She says goodbye for the last time.

New Year's Eve is coming. He has been better than usual feels like his life maybe has meaning again, thinking perhaps this is a new beginning, maybe it is not too late for him. Turning to the last page, he founds an envelope with a letter. Inside is a poem from Mia about never is too late to start again about never losing hope. Something that falls into his lap is a fold check whit 20.000 dollars; in shock, he begins to cry. This time is for happiness, excited about this new beginning with a warm feeling and smile on his face. He gives a deep breath thinking tomorrow will be a new day. Covered in his blanket goes to sleep. Without knowing that it was going to be the last time, he was going to open his eyes.