Building My Life

Chapter 4 The New Tenant

Josias smiles faintly at the right corner of his mouth. Here he was, shirtless, just in sweatpants and slippers, with less than five bucks in his pocket, without papers. (He had just got them after insisting a lot on his late father).

His life, as he knew it, was over.

Here, in the Happiness Slum, a new Josias was about to be born. He would build his life using Everaldo's words.

However, there was an excerpt from Everaldo's sentence that deserved attention: "you will have the willpower". It wasn't just a matter of waiting for God's blessings to fall from Heaven.

Josias needed to have the willpower to make it happen, needed to move and use his hands. He needed courage and confidence.

Gathering himself with both feelings, he takes a deep breath and heads for the building.

Upon entering, Josias noticed that the owner of the building took care of the entrance. It looked similar to the lobby of a hotel or a high-class apartment building.

The rectangular space, painted in light blue, had a counter on one side. The rectangular space, painted in light blue, featured a counter on one side, where a man in his sixties with a mustache and a round belly was working.

On the opposite side, there was a mail rack for residents, divided into several compartments, each designated for a different room.

Two sofas, a clock nailed to the wall, plant vases, and a rug that said "Welcome" completed the decoration of the place. Josias smiles widely. The owner of the building tried to do a great job.

Josias approaches the counter. The man was listening to a football match on the radio. When he noticed Josias, he turned to the young man.

"Good evening, boy." The old man speaks in a friendly tone, "How can I help you?"

"Sir, I need a vacant room," Josias speaks without being afraid.

The owner of the building scans Josias from top to bottom before proceeding, not believing what he heard. "Really, boy? How do you expect me to let you stay here?"

Josias takes a deep breath. He expected that. However, Everaldo's words didn't leave his head. "You'll get out of this and you will be successful."

He needed to try.

"Sir, here's the matter: I just ran away from home because they murdered my father while I was in my bedroom." It was the first time Josias spoke about what happened to someone. "They wanted money from my father; they were bill collectors for a loan shark."

"I didn't hear of anyone murdered around here." The man replies with a frown. Josias could very well made up this story.

Josias, however, tries to explain, "No, it wasn't here. I ran away from Rainbow Garden. I just took a shower and had time to put on my underwear and sweatpants when I heard the invasion, the argument between them... and then the shots."

The landlord looked at him with suspicion.

If he was a resident of Happiness Slum, it would be understandable if Josias didn't go to the police, for the reason they killed his father. But, being a resident of Rainbow Garden... "Why didn't you go to the police? Why did you just come here, to a rougher neighborhood?"

Josias shrugs. "I'm not sure... I just wanted to hide, and I wasn't gonna hide in Europe Garden." Europe Garden is an upper-class neighborhood in Lagoon City.

The word "hide" is what makes the building owner uneasy. "Look here, boy, how am I supposed to know if it's not YOU who killed, or did something else wrong, and now you're trying to hide in my building? If the police show up, don't expect me to lie to protect you. I don't want any trouble, and the 'scoundrels' living here know that. They keep to themselves, and I don't meddle with them."

Upon hearing that the old man wasn't one to get into trouble, Josias felt even more inwardly that this was the perfect place for him to stay.

The loan shark collectors, if they go looking for him, won't show up in the building where he is.

Josias leans over to the counter. He dips his hands into the plastic surface, and speaks with urgency and a pleading tone, "I know it sounds strange, sir, but everything I told you is true. See, I didn't even have a minute to mourn my father's death. I don't even know if the neighbors heard the shot; if anyone has found him or if the police are there. I only had time to put this on and take only a few bucks I had seen on my dresser. I took the bus without knowing where to go."

"And stopped right there!" The man can't help laughing. However, he analyzes the story told by Josias. It was too elaborate, with too much detail, to be a made-up lie at the last minute.

"Let me see how much you have." The man crosses his arms and makes this request, already aware that Josias is not going to put five thousand dollars on the counter.