Summer had officially ended and autumn was starting to show. It wasn't raining hard, but it did get into your clothes and with a mild breeze, it certainly was cold.
I shifted my thick blanket so it covered me from most of the rain and tried to pull my legs even closer up to my torso, because the puddle of water in front of me was growing and almost reaching me. While doing this, I accidentally bumped my left arm rather hard into Maud, the older woman who was sitting next to me. Opening my mouth to apologize, I noticed her eyes weren't focused on me, but on something in the distance. Or rather, someone.
A dark silhouette was moving towards us. At first, I thought it was a woman in a dress, but then I saw it was a man in a long coat. His collar was up to protect his neck from the rain, and his forehead was almost entirely covered by a thick layer of soaking wet, dark curls. He moved with big strides and dodged the puddles of water without even looking at the ground. I felt that Maud was sitting straighter as he approached.
When he reached us, nobody said anything. The only thing that could be heard was the rain falling on the street or in the puddles. Drops of water that fell on the iron dumpster across the street made extra loud noises. Maud didn't even remove her greyish scarf that covered the lower part of her face, she simply stared at the man before us. And he stared back.
After what had felt like an eternity, the man started speaking.
"I need you and the others to find this person for me," he said, and he reached into his pocket. He had a deep voice and the way he spoke left no room for questions. When he had grabbed the thing from his pocket, he showed it to Maud. It seemed to be a mobile phone – and quite an expensive one, too. I couldn't see what he was showing Maud, though. The angle was not right and the rain clang to my eyelashes.
"It can be difficult, he's good at hiding. He changes his location approximately every two to three days. So when you find him, come tell me immediately. Do not let him notice you."
I had no idea who this man was, but apparently Maud knew him as she listened to him and seemed to understand what, or rather who, he was talking about. I thought Maud only knew other homeless people, like me. But supposedly, I was wrong, because this man clearly wasn't homeless. That coat and that mobile phone must have been incredibly expensive. Also, the man had an aura around him that just screamed posh.
Maud glanced at the phone one more time, and then nodded. As the man moved it away, I finally caught a glimpse of the display. A photo of a pale man with greyish hair and a few wrinkles. A large scar ran across his face. Why would this man be looking for him?
The man before me put his phone in his pocket, where his hand then stayed. God, that coat must be warm and cosy, I thought. As tempting as it was, though, I didn't ask the man if I could try it on for a moment. I couldn't remember the last time I had had an opportunity to wash myself. And this man doesn't look like he is willing to give his coat freely to dirty, soaking wet homeless people either. I moved my blanket up to my chin. At least I had this to keep me a bit protected from the rain and cold. Even though it had a few holes in it.
The man was still looking at Maud and said curtly: "You know where to find me." And then took off. I watched him walk away, again with those big strides. But before he rounded the corner, he did one thing that surprised me. He stopped walking, turned around and then looked at me. And by that I mean that he really looked at me, not just glanced. It felt like he analyzed every single part of me. At last, he looked me straight in the eyes. His face was like a stone mask, it didn't display any emotion. Then he turned around, swished his coat dramatically and rounded the corner. Gone.
All at once, dozens of questions flooded my mind. But I found that I could not speak. I merely stared at the place where this mysterious man had just stood. Maud was quiet as well, or maybe she had walked away as well. I didn't know. Everything came down to this one question: Who was this man?
And there, that evening, under a small canopy in a wet alley that was only illuminated by a single streetlight, I met that strange man for the first time, but certainly not the last.
As you might have noticed, English is not my native language. Also, I don't write often, so criticism is very welcome! However, don't be too harsh, please. I am very insecure about all this so only give the criticism to help me improve.