I had been walking for about 3 hours now, and it was beginning to get dark. My feet were already hurting and I was tired. The only thing that kept me going was knowing that I was finally on my own. No one could tell me what to do anymore. No would could own me. No one could hurt me.

My craving for a smoke intensified as I continued down the streets. I had never been wherever the heck I was right now. It was really busy with a ton of people and buildings, even more than before. I was glad to be just another face in the crowd.

My stomach gave a low, loud grumble. Man I was starving. I pulled out Dad's wallet and opened it. It smelled like him. Stale old smoke and alcohol. It made me gag, but I looked inside. I was surprised to find plenty of cash. Then I remember how much he gambled and made bets, I guess he was pretty good.

I shoved the wallet back into my pocket and saw a bench a few feet away. I walked quickly to it and immediately sat down. It felt great to finally be able to relax . I stretched out my legs and sighed, shutting my eyes a bit.

After a few minutes I felt a weight beside me. My eyes shot open and I grabbed my blade, out of instinct, and turned to my left. To my surprise, I saw an old man probably in his 70s or so. He had a gray beard and was wearing a black hat.

"Woah there," he said, lifting up his hands a bit.

I rolled my eyes, and put the blade back into my pocket. There were literally three other benches that he could have sat at.

"Are you lost, son?"

"No."

"Hm," he pulled out a cigarette and lit it up.

I gave him a sideways glance, then remembered how much I wanted one.

"Give me your light will ya?"

The old man laughed and handed it to me. I took it and pulled out my pack of cigarettes, lighting one and inhaling greedily.

"You've been smoking for awhile?" He asked.

I shrugged, "started when I was 8."

For some reason he laughed. Man, this guy was strange.

We smoked in silence for a couple of minutes. I made some pretty good smoke rings.

"You want some advice, kid?" The man asked.

I raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't seem like I have a choice."

He laughed once more. "You're hurting, I can tell. But don't let that control your life. Your young, don't throw it away. Things may seem rough, but it will get better. Remember, you have only one life." The man winked and then stood up and left.

I was confused at first. Did this guy just go around giving advice to people who seemed like they needed it? Why did everyone think that they had my whole life figured out? He was just like that little girl's mom, thinking they know everything about everyone.

I stayed on the bench for a while, raging silently to myself. When I got in a mood like this I would usually go and find someone to fight. But that wasn't important now. What was important was finding away to get out of here.

I came to a decision that I should leave New York for good. I knew a lot of people and they would probably find me eventually if I stayed. I want to start over. Live my own life. Alone and free from dead beat parents. I could go on a bus and see where I ended up. I know it's not a thought through plan, but it would have to do for now.

I stood up from the bench and stretched. The temperature had really gone down, so I jammed my fists in my pockets. I continued down the street until reaching the bus stop. I looked at the sign.

8:45 am
10:00 am
11:15 am
12:30 am
1:45 pm
3:00 pm
4:15 pm
5.30 pm

I groaned with frustration, realizing that I had just missed the last one. It was 6:25 pm.

I had to find a place to sleep for the night since the next bus wasn't until 8:45 am.

Looking down the street, I saw a small area that had a fountain in the middle and benches circling it. Bingo.

I laid down across one of the benches. Honestly it hurt like hell, and I would be sore tomorrow but there was nowhere else I could go.

I curled up best I could and shivered from the cold breeze. It took forever for my eyes to become heavy, and I allowed sleep to overcome me.