Light My Fire

The only thing on Sylvia’s mind when she woke up the next morning was that she needed to get home as soon as possible. She was grateful that boy and his mom had taken her in, but she was going to have to face a dreadful “talking to” by her father. She did not come home the night before and she did not sell enough.
She didn’t sell enough. That meant she still could not go home, she would have to try extra hard today and sell double her usually daily earnings. It was going to be tough. She was doubtful she could even do it.
“Hi,” The boy who had brought her here greeted. He was holding a coffee mug and his features screamed impatient. It made her wonder how long he had been sitting there waiting for her to wake up. Sylvia’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“I’m sorry if I woke up too late…” She apologized softly.
His brows furrowed. “No problem, here’s some tea.”
She was instantly relieved he hadn’t made her coffee. That stuff tasted too strong and nasty. It was disgusting to her. She took the steaming tea, gladly.
“Sorry if you’re a coffee kind of girl, but no one here likes that shit.”
Sylvia smiled small. “No, I’m not big on coffee.”
“Me neither. People just drink that shit to look sophisticated. But we all know it tastes fucking terrible.” The boy said shaking his head.
She laughed. “Thank you so much…,”
“Axel.” He said. “My name is Axel.”
“After the singer?” She asked, shyly.
“Yeah, actually!” Axel grinned. “It’s not spelled the same, though. Mom added an ‘e’. You like Guns ‘n’ Roses?”
Sylvia nodded and sipped her tea. She didn’t know much about music but her older brother had taught her some stuff before he moved away to get a real job. Guns n’ Roses happened to be his favorite, so it was safe to say she had a lot of knowledge on them. They had some nice songs, too.
“Oh, Sylvia, you’re up.” The boy’s mother re-entered the living room. Now she was dressed in scrubs. “Do you want me to bring you somewhere? Is there somewhere you stay?”
Talking with Axel had distracted her from the horrors of going home but she guessed that now all distractions were over – she had to go home. Not only did she have to go home, she had to go home empty handed. No – she wouldn’t go home. She had to go work again.
She asked her to bring her to one of the streets she often visited. People were always selling in that area and it brought lots of customers, usually. Maria agreed and they both got into the car.
When Maria pulled up on the street corner she glanced at Sylvia suspiciously but said nothing. Sylvia knew why. There was no houses or apartments around, just stores and various merchants.
“You sure this is that spot?” Maria asked, warily. Sylvia nodded.
“Well, okay… See you, Sylvia.” Maria said. To Sylvia she sounded hesitant but she still didn’t say anything further. She said her goodbyes and the car drove away.
Sylvia opened her bag and set up shop at a booth that been abandoned. It was another cold day and she was already shivering, but she would have to suck it up. She had to sell everything left in her bag to even be allowed home. It was quite obviously going to be a long day.
“Here you go, ma’am.” Sylvia sold three packs of matches and two pairs of mittens to an elderly lady. “Have a nice day.”
“You too, dear.” The old lady smiled warmly. Sylvia returned it, but it was fake. She had sold more than she had the day before but that was not enough to make up for yesterday’s mistakes. It was dark now, and she could tell it was getting late and not to mention colder by the second – but she still could not go home.
She heard a car drive up and stop, so she put on her best smile and awaited the potential customer. But it wasn’t a customer at all, it was Maria.
“Sylvia, have you been here all day?” She appeared to be worried. A motherly look that Sylvia had never received. “Oh, you’re shivering.”
“It’s fine. I have to do this.” She said softly.
“I had a bad feeling in my gut when I left you here, and I had to come back. I’m glad I did.” Maria rubbed her arms and Sylvia instantly felt the body heat pass over, and for a couple seconds she was warm. But as quickly as it had come, that heat left.
“Why would you ever think you have to stay out here in such cold, honey?”
Sylvia stared at the ground. “Because I do.”
Maria shook her head sympathetically. “No, you don’t. Let me really bring you home?”
Sylvia was wide-eyed and shaking her head. “No! I can’t, okay?”
“Why?” Maria asked and confusion took over her features.
“I have to sell all that stuff or my father will be angry. I can’t go home.” She said it so tiny she wasn’t even sure Maria could hear her. But she did.
“Honey, you’re coming home with me and Axel. I am not letting you freeze out here. If your father wants to get angry at you, he’ll have to go through me. Trust me, honey, I am good at getting rid of good-for-nothing men.”
Sylvia figured Maria was inferencing to Axel’s dad because she hadn’t caught sight of a man in the house and neither of them mentioned him so far. She liked how strong Maria seemed to be. It was admirable.
“And, Sylvia, dear Sylvia, are you still wearing Axel’s awful clothes?” Sylvia nodded again.
“First thing tomorrow we need to buy you a couple things. A women should never have to wear that.” Sylvia laughed and Maria grinned at her warmly.
“Okay,” said Sylvia.
They arrived at the same apartment she had been to last night and it was just as cozy and warm as she expected. Though it wasn’t extravagant or anything, she envied Axel for it. Her home was anything but cozy.
“Ma, all I made for supper was Kraft Dinner…” He let his sentence trail off. “Sylvia?”
“She’s going to be staying with us for a while.”
Axel accepted it quickly. “Alright, good ‘cause I really wanted those sweats back.”
Sylvia giggled and Axel went to go put on some more Kraft Dinner so she could eat. She liked it here so much already. It was great to be treated nicely and joked with. The problem was, she didn’t know how she was going to leave.