Death of a Boy

Life is hard for David Thrine. While some exaggerate their conditions, his life is a true testament of living a hard knock life. At the age of thirteen, the only thing he can be grateful for is the roof over his head. But that's all he has. There's no food in the refrigerator. Every morning he awakes to the same grumbling he laid upon the night before. He has no clean clothes and no means to wash them. His mother doesn't want him, and she makes sure he knows that on a regular basis. His biological father resides directly across the street with his mother's ex-best friend. He also doesn't want anything to do with him. Living under these conditions leaves David in a precarious situation. Left to fend for himself, his chances of survival are slim unless he takes matters into his own hands. Set on overcoming these obstacles, he turns to the streets. What else does society expect from a teenager when his stomach touches his back, his mother sells the food stamps for cocaine, and he doesn't know when his next meal will come?At this point, what society expects means nothing. That's until he meets a man who takes a genuine interest in his well-being. This man, knowing David's background, takes him under his wing to show him a different life. David, falling into the crease of the man's fold, soaks up every ounce of energy oozing from the man, while preparing for the future. Except, the Universe had other plans. When the one person who could change his life is snatched away, David has to pick up that old shovel he sought to abandon and return to the streets to dig his own grave. He realized that his preparation for a different life has been an illusion. When headed back to reality, the grief associated with dancing with the Devil is heartbreaking. He'd been running the streets for far too long to know that the streets had no love for a young soul. The streets ultimately loved everyone who played in them accordingly. Aware of that, he anticipated having to sign over his adolescent rights to those very streets if he intended to make it another year. And in the end, it will be that signature that lays the foundation for his future.