Dreamcatcher

Photo by Oleg Ivanov on Unsplash

Ellie stands at a crossing. The little red person still occupying the sign. Her head bops along to the latest track by Paper Rabbits. Hands in the shoulder straps of her backpack she watches the traffic rush by, her headphones so loud she can barely hear the cars. She yawns and squints at the setting sun streaming through the high rises downtown. The light turns green and the hordes of hungry and weary souls stream across the road. Outside the coffee shop on the other side is an old woman, the same old woman who has sat on the pavement for the last two weeks, in an old green anorak too large for her and a muddy pair of shoes. The old woman clings to a plastic bag, likely her only belongings, and has a few… things laid out on a threadbare blanket by her feet an upturned hat to one side with a few silver coins inside. Ellie looks ahead at the man in front of her, clean cut hair, nice sunglasses, and a cute denim jacket.

‘Dreamcatcher?’ The old woman’s voic…