Sin Fronteras Spring 2017 Sin Fronteras Spring 2017 | Page 38

Egocentric
Andrea González
He stares at her through his expensive sunglasses,
through the expensive polarized glass he sees this
feeble creature,
so innocent.
One who has not yet fully experienced life.
Her messy, damaged, lifeless hair,
her skin only visible through the cracks where her face is not covered with dirt,
her old, ragged, dull clothes.
He stares at her feet,
bare,
unprotected,
exposed to the streets.
Filthy feet,
blistered from walking on burning pavement.
Contrasting with his shiny luxurious Ferragamos.
He looks disgusted,
He walks away.
He sees another boy,
his exposed rib cage,
skin sticking to his bones.
The boy’s yellow eyes,
contrast with his dark and dirty skin.
The boy asks for food.
He says no,
“And please don’t touch me with your dirty hands.”
He walks away.
He sees a stray dog.
The dog has a limp.
The creature smells the panini he is eating.
The animal walks near him,
slowly,
smelling it,
38
Suddenly,
the creature feels the man’s foot in his ribs,
then wails with pain,
as the man continues kicking him to make that sound stop,
until the dog collapses, whimpering,
and the man walks to his Mercedes.
It starts to rain.
Through the car window he sees homeless people getting soaked,
as the wind rips apart their damp shelters.
He arrives home,
to his secure penthouse.
He looks down at the streets,
high above all the less fortunate.
The people he has mocked, with his heartless laughter.
He is removed from the people who are exposed to theft and violence in the street.
Exempt from the recklessness of the large city he lives in.
From the height and safety of his apartment, he spots her.
A gypsy.
She seems to be looking for shelter.
No.
She is looking for something else.
The rain is the perfect distraction.
Unnoticed, she takes advantage of the weather
to steal anything that might help her lead a better life,
clothes, food, anything.
She doesn’t care.
She does the same thing everyone else does.
Everyone thinks they need it more than the other person.
How selfish they are, he thinks.
How has the world become so selfish, egocentric, and violent?
And he truly did not know.
39