Rain.  The rain was going to soak my hiding place.  Curling tighter, I pushed myself deeper into my cardboard box as I tried to hide my growling stomach.  Just turned ten and the streets and starvation were all I knew.  My mother had long abandoned me.  My father was nonexistent.  Again cursed her.  How could my mother allow this to happen?  Why did she have to be one of them?  I hated her.  I hated that she didn’t care.  I hated that she brought a different man home every night.  Sometimes more.  None of them stayed.  Not one looked at me.  As soon as I figured out that mother was a prostitute, I ran.  With nowhere to go, the streets became my home.  Sleeping under bridges.  Begging for scraps.  Running from others.  All I wanted now was a blanket.  It was another cold, wet night.  The kid I knew a few blocks over had succumbed to the night’s bite recently.  Two weeks ago, he never woke.  Would I not wake come morning?  A piece of the cardboard caved, flooding my small space with water.  Frustrated, I kicked out, sending the flaps to the ground.  There went my shelter, my hiding place for the past week.  Poking my head out, I glanced down the alley.  No one.  Good.  I had tried to steal a watch from a man earlier.  Failed.  Guess I wasn’t meant to be a pickpocket.  Just a thief.  When the man noticed, I ran, refusing to look back.  Since I was still alone, he must have thought that I wasn’t worth his time.  Now, rain and hunger was driving me out again.  Maybe I could make it to the restaurant nearby?  They had wooden crates stacked out back that could be shelter.  Then I launched myself forward.  People stepped aside.  No one wanted to touch the filthy street boy.  No one wanted me.  Everyone looked at me with disgust.  Diving into the alleyway, seeing the trash cans, hope filled me.  Perhaps they threw out the scraps?  Stopping at the trash, my hands were about to dig in when the door creaked open.  Moving further into the alley, crates fell.  “Hey!”  Fear filled me.  Looking up, I saw the men.  One with a white apron, the other just standing by the back door.  “Get the hell out of here!”  Scrambling, I slid backward.  Praying that they wouldn’t see me behind the crates.  The men exchanged a few words before the door closed.  There was food nearby.  But I had to wait.  What if they didn’t leave and were waiting for me to show?  Lure me out?  My stomach growled.  Food.  I needed food.  Last I ate was two days ago.  Crawling along the ground, I didn’t think about what my hands touched.  Only about the possibility of something to eat.  Then I heard the door open again.  I froze.  So close.  Footsteps moved closer.  Again I shoved myself back against the wall.  Don’t find me.  Please, don’t find me! 
A face appeared.  The man smiled slightly before squatting in front of me.  Oh no.  Holding out a napkin, his sleeve slid back.  That watch.  The man I tried to rob was here.  “Take it.”  My eyes went to him.  He was… giving me something?  Did he not recognize me?  I could see my hand shaking as I reached out.  Snatching the napkin, I pulled it closer.  As I untied it, I could smell the food.  Meat, cheese, even an orange.  My mouth watered.  Looking up, he was gone.

The following night, I found myself again hiding behind the restaurant.  Would the man be willing to give me food again?  If not, I’ll just take the scraps.  When night had long fallen, the cold had crept in, sleep was about to take me.  Hearing a door close woke me.  “Come back again?”  My sleepy eyes opened to see the man.  He didn’t look like the man in the apron, maybe he was a waiter?  “It’s going to be cold tonight.  You plan on staying here?”
“Where else am I to go?”
“True.  Come.”  Holding his hand to me, again me seeing the watch, I moved further away.  What did the man want?  Last time I accepted someone’s help, they had hurt me.  A lot.  Abused in ways I refused to relive.  I was still hiding from him.  “I won’t hurt you, kid.  I can give you a warm place to sleep for the night.  As well as some more to eat.”  Swallowing my fear, and my better judgment, I crawled out of my hiding place.  Though I still refused to take his hand.  Mine were covered in grime and haven’t been washed in weeks.  He seemed to understand.  Soon, I found myself in an apartment above the restaurant.  The man seemed amused at my reaction to everything.  Warmth.  Dry.  The smells.  He even let me take a shower!  I couldn’t remember the last time I was this clean.  Dirt still stuck under my fingernails, but at least most of it was gone.  Could finally see the color of my skin again.  The food on the table, the best I’ve ever eaten.  “Slow down.  Eat too fast and you’ll get sick.”  I nodded, listening, stuffing another bite of the sandwich in my mouth.   After taking the blanket he offered, I glanced at the bed, but chose to curl up in the corner.  He chuckled.  “Boy, you’re an interesting one.”  As he spoke, I glanced at the watch he wore on his left wrist.  “Ah, you still want it?”  He did recognize me.  Panic flooded my veins.  I had to get out of here.  Stupid.  How could I have let myself trust him?  Right, he gave me food.  Shaking his wrist, a grin filled his face.  “Let’s make a deal.  I’ll give my watch to you when you’re able to take it.”  My brow furrowed.  How was I supposed to take the watch?  Last I tried, I failed miserably.  “I’ll let you stay here, but only if you do as I say.”  Instantly, I feared what he was about to tell me.  “I can train you to become strong.  You’ll never need to sleep in an alley or scavenge for scraps again.”  Never need to sleep in an alley again?  Or scavenge?  Nodding, I wanted what he offered.  “Then you’ll need to know about what you’re getting yourself into.”  The man pulled a gun from under his jacket, pointing it at me.  Fear flooded my veins as I tried to hide behind the blanket.  Trapped in the corner, I had nowhere to run.  Where had that come from?  “You, my boy, are going to learn how to properly handle one of these.  Once you learn how to do so, amongst learning other skills, you will become a Ghost.”