Prologue:
I am nine years old and sitting in the snow on a sidewalk on the rough and tumble side of town. All I can think about is my stomach eating me alive underneath the thin t-shirt I stole from a department store, and the numb sensation in my fingertips.
I don't hear the footsteps as a middle aged man approaches me. I am unaware of him until he is right beside me. "Why aren't you a little cutie?" he breathes in my ear. He reeks of alcohol. I wrinkle my nose and move away, trying to ignore him. But, he pulls me back to him. "And where do you think your going?" he snarls.
I try to wrench my...
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