The boy knew he smelled cheese. 

 

The boy, crouched on his nail keg at the back of the crowded room, knew he smelled cheese, and more: from where he sat he could see the ranked shelves close packed with the solid, squat, dynamic shapes of tin cans whose labels his stomach read, not from the lettering which meant nothing to his mind but from the scarlet devils and the silver curve of fish-this, the cheese which he knew he smelled and the hermetic meat which his intestines believed he smelled coming in intermittent gusts momentary and brief between the other constant one, the smell and sense just a little of fear because mostly of despair and grief, the old fierce pull of the blood.

It is a brand new day, the city shines with glory, brighter than ever, people are smiling at each other, everything seemingly perfect, but as the sun goes down, painting the sky scarlet, before disappearing beneath the horizon, these people start to leave, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and then all is gone, and the sky is unlit, because the stars don’t shine tonight, and it’s dark outside, the city, it’s so cold that there’s no leaves on the trees, their bare branches are like claws scratching the night sky, no grass on the ground, even the sky looks like it’s begging for the warmth of the sun, like a baby crying for milk, starved for love, the silence out there is chilling to the bone, and the darkness is blinding us, helping the cold seep in, and the shadows of buildings stretches out into the endless darkness, it’s a labyrinth with no hope, there’s no sign of life, it is a city with no promise, except there is still one little boy crouching in the dark alley, his hair is matted and caked with dirt, sticking each curl to his scalp, his eyes are barely open, his lips are parched with dust, his home is a mere pile of rubble, to him, everything seems hopeless, but life is tough, all you have to do is get through the night, and wait for tomorrow, because when his eyes open, sunlight spills from the sky and pools out into the city, is a bright new day, a beautiful day, and he smiles because he made it through the night.