Did you catch Monday's feature announcing with Classic Author & story we are highlighting this month? If not, go check the reviews from some big fans of Dabeagle's story, Things We Lost, as well as downloading a graphic for your signature if you want to share your love of Dabeagle's story. In the meantime, check out why Timothy chose this story and excerpt to share with other readers!

Timothy M. said: 

Ehren has lost most of the things many of us take for granted: loving parents, a home, the chance to have friends, go to school, have enough to eat, clean clothes and a shower s needed. Living on the streets is a hard life, but he’s clever and resourceful. On the day we meet him, he makes a snap decision to help a girl in need, in spite of being scared of the potential consequences. The ripples from this first stone are complicated further when Ehren flings another daring missile, and life as he knows it unravels around him.

I’ve chosen the moment when Ehren is confronted with the desperate plight of a stranger. How would you react in his stead?

As a street rat, I tended to roam quite a bit. Even though this street wasn't one of my usual hangouts, I'd passed through at some point. It was a college neighborhood with some fraternities and a few, scattered dorm buildings. This area was off campus, technically, and there were several rental houses that were scattered in with the student housing. With my breath steadying, I started to mentally plot a safe way back to my place but was startled by a scream.

“No! Get off!”

It was a female voice that echoed off the buildings in the still neighborhood. I heard a male make a sound of surprised pain and another voice breaking out in laughter, again carrying in the still air, and then the female appeared around the corner awkwardly running. I had been bent over while catching my breath, but as I stood I realized that the streets weren't her normal place—clothes looked like they fit and she wasn't wearing everything she owned, for one thing— and that something bad was going down. Pushing off my knees, I straightened my back and, with that movement, she spotted me.

“Help! Please!”

I debated for a second, no more. Helping someone is usually the right thing to do, morally, but sometimes sticking your nose in somewhere comes with big repercussions, especially out here. As she homed in on me, a man's voice called out, and then another did. They were cat-calling to her, asking where she was, telling her to 'come back and play'. If they came around the corner, they'd see and catch her. I realized this as she lurched into me, grabbing me in desperation.

“Please! Help me!”

To read more, check out the rest of the story here.