Watching space junk shoot across the sky is my least favorite activity. The only reason I'm even here is because I had a sudden urge to step outside of that pathetic house I can barely afford to live in and have some fresh, artificial air. Whatever that was. 

  A small voice erupts the thoughts. "Miss?" I turn my head to a young child pulling at the hem of my shirt with melancholy eyes. "What D'you want, kid?" The kid, letting go of my shirt, shuffles their weight from one to the other and begins to speak. "What are those?" They point to the sky where the space junk shoots beside one another. I snicker. "Space junk." 

  "What's that?"

  "Trash but in space."

  They move closer, standing in front of me and stares blankly. I stare back wondering where they'd even come from. As far as I know, my neighbors don't have any children and the ones who might wouldn't let their children out at this time. Especially not one who's this young. 

  Quietly, the child asks, "Do you think my mama and papa are there?" The kid's eyes are glossy. For confirmation I ask, "Are they dead?" They nod, looking away to the shooting space junk. 

  For a moment I'm debating on how to respond to this. I ponder over telling them that space junk is just trash. That mama and papa are probably forever gone where no one will ever find them. They're simply just dead. 

  Instead I say, "No, kid. But I'll tell you what. You see that space junk, yeah?" They nod. "Beyond them are stars. Bright, white, and shining stars. That's where they are. They're gone. They won't be coming back because they can't. But kid? Know that whatever you're doing, they're rooting for you. They want to see you smile wide and move on to the path you're meant to take until you've gotten to the end and can't go any further. You got that?" 

  Their lip trembles and they nod, forcibly wiping tears away. I shake my head, saying, "Cry. Cry so that you can smile." 

  They choke out sobs, their face turning blotchy and red. They ask to hug me and I hesitantly abide by their wish, wrapping my arms clumsily around their small head. Their grip is tight and unbelievably desperate. I stay there, holding the child and look up at the space junk from above.

   It's starting to die down and when it finally does, the stars pop out from the deep navy blue sky. In a whisper I say, "Look, kid." I kneel down, slightly turning the child's body and point up to the sky. Meekly, they look up. 

  Upon seeing the sight, the tears stop and they blink them away in awe. "Look kid," Their head turns and their brows furrow. "you're gonna be okay. Alright?" They bob their head. I sigh, taking the kids hand and leading them inside my house. Cautiously, they look around and wipe their eye's. "Are you hungry?" They nod. 

  "Use your words please." 

  "Yes." They squirm and I laugh, rummaging through the mostly empty refrigerator. "I'm just messing with you. Would you prefer macaroni and cheese or..." I look at the pathetically done spaghetti and take it out to present it to them. "or this?" They cringe, "Macaroni and cheese please." I nod and prepare the macaroni and cheese. 

  As it's being plated, I ask, "Do you have a home?" 

  "No," They mutter. "they took my house away when... Well. You know..." I nod, scoffing at the child care system. Ever since the transfer onto this platform, there hasn't been anything to keep track of lost children like this one. Hesitantly, I make an offer to the kid. 

  "If you want... You can stay here. It's not that big of a place and sometimes there's not enough food, especially if the two of us are here but-" I pause, thinking about the rent deadline. "I should probably also mention that I can barely afford to even live here, and if we both end up homeless, then you'll have me but if we don't--and hopefully we don't--then you'll be safe here and-" 

  "I want to stay." They plead. "Please let me stay." Tears brim the edges of their eyes and my heart caves in for them. "Okay. You can stay." 

  I move a plate of macaroni to them and watch as they thank me and gulf it down. I release the tension in my shoulders and place the plate in the fridge, noting to eat it later. 

  "I'll be in my room over there," I point to a room across from us. "so come get me when you're done, okay?" They give me a thumbs up and I move to my room. 

  As I walk in I spot the homework I've been setting aside and sigh as I sit down to put myself through misery. 

--

  I jump when a squeak is heard outside of the room, only to remember that I've taken on a new challenge; taking care of a child. I turn, raising my voice. "Hey, you can come in, you know." After a few seconds of silence their head peeks into the room. 

  I offer a smile. "Let's get you cleaned up, yeah?" They smile back. "Okay." I get up, passing them to the bathroom only to hear nothing behind me. I turn around. "Are you coming?" They hesitate before whispering, "Yeah." and follows after me. 

  I show them how to use the knobs and tell them that if they need help to yell for it. 

  "I'll be back, I'm going to get you some clothes to wear while I put those in the wash. When you're out of those clothes, crack the door open and place them on the floor, okay?" 

  They fidget with the edge of their loose t-shirt. Yawning, they say okay and I step out to get fresh clothes. 

  Unsurprisingly enough, I have no clothes suitable for them. They'll have to wear my clothes until I wash theirs. I grab an extra large tee, a pair of boxers, mismatched socks, and head back to the bathroom before leaving again to give the kid some privacy.

  When they come out, they're awkwardly shifting and messing with the tee that was expected to be--and is--too big for them. We meet eyes and I laugh because it's just too funny. 

  Their cheeks heat up and they storm off into the bedroom causing me to erupt into an even bigger fit of laughter. When my little show has played out, I make my way to the bedroom to see that the kid is looking at everything in the room. Not that there was much to look at. 

  "Snooping around are we?" They jump, spinning around like a robber caught in the act. Their shoulders tense and they stutter, "I- I just wanted to see what t- this was." I smile. "I know, kid. It's alright." Their shoulders drop. I walk over to what they were staring so deeply at. My homework. Of course. I pull my hands up to my face and press my palms against it in an up-down motion, pressing the tips of my fingers down to stretch my cheeks. Looking over to them, they're watching every move I make. 

  "Let's get you into bed." They climb on top of the bed and wiggles themselves into the covers. I giggle, helping them get more comfortable in the bed. "What's your name, kid?" They smile. "My name is-"