One Last Winter

"Damn it's a cold one today." Richard thought to himself.
He shifted his position up against the blue post office box.
Holding out his Styrofoam coffee cup, he shook the 93 cents worth of change inside.
"Can't take too many more of these winters. One or two more at the most. Hell I gotta make it through this one first."
A quick laugh escaped him at the thought followed by a small fit of coughs.
"And all this weird Deja-vu shit goin' on. My head ain't been straight." He reflected on how small moments of precognition had been occurring more frequently every month since it first began almost a year ago. This week it had been almost everyday.
It would only freak people out when he would finish their sentence not knowing how he could possibly know. And without any friends or family, he had no one close to discuss this with. It had been nothing but one disastrously awkward encounter after another, so Rich decided to just suppress the idea all together.
He felt his stomach pull at him as it growled out its frustration.
"Gotta get somethin ta eat soon." He thought as he drew a Marb light from his inner shirt breast pocket.
"Damn, only one match left." He sparked it and just as quickly as it lit, the wind took away the flame.
"Sir!' His voice was especially rough today in this cold dry weather.
A young man smoking answered "I've got no money for you sorry."
"No, no," Rich replied "Just a light if ya got one."
The young man presented a lighter and handed it to the white bearded man before him.
Rich sparked it, drew in and said "Thanks, bud. Preciate it."
"Sure no problem," the young man hesitated then said "And here." He tossed some spare change into Rich's cup.
"Happy Holidays."
"Hehehe ya, you too bud." Rich responded.
After a few puffs, his stomach began to relax, but he knew soon he would need some food.
The wind howled angrily so he drew his sleeping bag higher and closer.
Just then a small brown haired boy rounded the corner of the building adjacent to Rich.
The little boy saw Rich and walked closer to him. He stared with an open mouth as a snot bubble slowly grew and popped from his nose.
Rich took a puff of his cigarette and exhaled.
"What's that?" the little boy asked pointing at the cig.
"My diet." said Rich.
"What's a diet?" the boy asked?
"Whatever makes your stomach happy"
The little boy smiled and said "Like cookies and gummies!'
"Hehe sure kid."
Rich looked around the boy and so no one with him.
"Wher're your parents at kid?"
The boy shrugged and changed the subject.
"I'm J.J. and I'm this many years!" He held up 4 tiny fingers and asked "What about you?"
Rich hesitated, but responded with "I'm Richie and I've got more than 5 times the years than I do fingers." He looked around again and asked, "Seriously kid where's ya mom and dad?"
Ignoring this J.J. asked "Why do you sleep here? Is it fun?"
Rich was caught off guard by the tears that started welling up in his eyes. He was reminded of how un-fun, how crippling and painful every day of his life had been ever since he had been put out to live on the streets. Not a day went by that he didn't wish he had just died in Vietnam and been spared all of this suffering.
He composed himself and said, "Listen J.J. let's go look for your parents. Where were you last with them?"
"At the flower store!" he said with a smile and tossed his hands in the air.
Richie was once again surprised, but this time by how much this little boys actions warmed his heart.
"Damn kids are just too innocent." He thought to himself.
"Come on I think I know which one you mean."
Rich stood up out of his sleeping bag and felt the cracks and groans of all of his joints, bones, and muscles in every movement.
"One more winter." he decided.
He reached out for J.J.'s hand, and at the moments they touched he was launched away into darkness.
No longer cold or aching he floated in pitch black nothingness, without a clue to where he was.
Two images appeared before him on what looked like television screens, though there was no way to tell what was powering them.
The left image displayed the boy J.J. lying broken and grotesquely contorted on the side of a road. What must be his mother sat holding his lifeless little body splotching her white coat with dark patches of red.
The image to the right was much more peaceful. All that it showed was snow drifting lazily from the sky towards him. It filled him with an odd sense of completion to watch this second image.
But then as qucikly as the vision came it fleeted.
He was back on his corner with the boy and his meager pile of supllies.
Looking down into the boy's eyes he felt a dreadful understanding.
"Is this boy going to die?" he asked himself.
"Best we get moving quickly kid."
They walked a couple of blocks north through a gauntlet of strange stares and whispers.
"Why do they look at us funny?" J.J. asked.
"They...uh..." Rich let out a sigh "They just don't trust me is all."
J.J. replied with "But you're nice! And fun! You get to sleep outside whenever you want!"
"Damn," he though, "This kid really don't get it. Hell he is just a toddler."
"He he well everyone's just not as optimistic as you are I guess. Hey look! Is that the place?" He pointed to Gullman's flower shop across the street just as a woman wearing a white coat frantically exited while yelling into a cell phone.
Rich knew from his vision that this was J.J.'s mom and an eerie chill cut through him.
The street light changed and the little white man on the crosswalk screen appeared so they crossed.
"Mommy!" J.J. yelled.
"J.J. oh thank god!" She replied running towards him. As tears rolled down her cheeks she scooped the boy up into her arms.
Ritchie could hear her berating J.J. about getting lost, but couldn't focus on the words. The image of the dead boy on the side of the road was returning and shoving all other thought aside.
Then he heard J.J. say "My friend Richie helped me find you!"
His mother gave Richie a quick look over and he read her expression clearly. It was the same look he got everyday: Pity mixed with fear.
"Oh I see." She said "Well thank you for helping my boy." She reached into her purse and retrieved a $20 bill. " Here take this for your trouble."
"No need mam," Rich responded. "Just helping out J.J. here. He's a good kid. A bit of an adventurer I'd say hehe."
She held the 20 out still. "Yes..well I'd still like you to have this."
He stared at her for a moment and considered how different the next 30 seconds could play out.
"Just take the damn bill" He thought. "Don't blab a word about this vision non-sense."
But in the end he decided there really was no choice. There was something to this one after all that was different than his average deja-vu.
"Look there's no easy way to explain this, or how I could even know...but J.J. is gonna be killed by a car if you don't keep your eyes on him. I mean REALLY watch him."
"Excuse me?" She was offended. "How inappropriate! And who are you to lecture me on responsibility!?"
Knowing it probably wouldn't help he responded with" You did lose him once already. Just be careful is all. I saw it happen once...sorta...and I would hate to see it actually come to a reality."
"Is that some kind of threat?" She was irate and impossible.
Now he knew she was pissed. And as she inhaled for what was no doubt going to be an onslaught of insults he interrupted with, "Listen I'll just go." He looked down at the boy. "Take care of yourself kid."
J.J. broke his mom's hold and ran to Richie delivering a huge hug to his legs.
"Bye Richie. We'll come see you soon!"
"J.J.!" His mother pulled him off and dragged him away.
"Well," Richie thought to himself. "Seems like that'll never get easier to talk about."
He looked up to see the mother and son getting ready to cross the street, and just beyond them what looked like a truck moving way too fast to be coming to a stop.
Like a lance through his head the two vision images stabbed at his mind once again. The realization of what it all meant came crashing together in that instant as he bolted toward the mother and son crossing.
For a moment he felt no pain in his back or knees, no ache in his bones, no fog in his mind. He felt like a young soldier again. Then it all happened in the blink of an eye.
The two were half-way across the street when Rich dove forward shoving them with all of his strength. Simultaneously he felt his skeleton shatter.
When he finally woke it was to insurmountable pain. He heard people screaming for help as he tasted nothing but blood.
Just as he realized his legs wouldn't move someone leaned over him to say "He's alive!"
"Can you hear me?" The man's voice asked.
Rich barely managed to get out "The little boy...Is he ok? And his mom?"
The man leaning over him looked to his left and said, "Ya they look fine. You saved them, man. You're a hero!"
"Good." was all he said.
"Hang in there bud the ambulance is coming. Don't worry you're going to be just fine."
Ignoring this Rich managed to turn his head to see J.J. crying in his mom's lap. He had a little bit of blood on him from some minor scrapes no doubt, but he seemed fine.
Through the pain he felt strangley content. And as he looked up to watch the snow drift lazily down towards him he thought, "Hehe, guess this was my last one afterall." He closed his eyes and never opened them again.