After a long night of wasting herself with a bottle of vodka, Alice fell sound asleep on a park bench. It wasn’t that comfortable, but she put up with it as always. Some nights she didn’t even sleep and instead just stared at the sky and watched the night turn into day.

The cool wind woke Alice up. She grabbed her bag, full of only a tooth brush, her wallet holding twelve pounds, half-a-pack of cigarettes with no lighter, and made her way to Piccadilly Circus. Of course, she never forgot her old guitar strapped to her back.

Alice had dreamed of becoming a singer, so at age 18, she made the mistake of dropping her life in Essex and moving to the city where she believed it could all happen, London. But for her, it didn’t happen. She didn’t have much money and rented a closet-sized flat. Instead of getting a job, Alice started out by auditioning at local pubs to be night singers. One night, while she was still whole, she attended an open house party at a flat in her building, hoping to make some friends and get familiar with the town, because as she was told in the music business, “It’s all about the people you know.” It went great at first, and she acquainted herself with a small girl with long black hair named Kelsey. Kelsey knew everyone at the party and they stuck together that night. They laughed and shared beers throughout the night, but when it turned into the darkest hours, things took a change.

Kelsey dragged Alice into the bathroom and showed her a bag filled with a white substance.

“You wanna hit this?” Kelsey asked.

If Alice had been sober, she would have probably said no to the offer. But Kelsey kept going on about how singers in the area were doing it all the time. Alice finally gave in and since that night, her mind revolved around cocaine. After months of spending all her money on drugs and failed auditions at local pubs, she got kicked out of her small flat.

Alice was so hooked that she didn’t care where she was living, just as long as she got her “stuff”. The fact that Alice was in trouble never hit her until one night; the night she was taken advantage of. It was right on the streets, and nobody was around to help.
…

Spotted walking down the streets in ripped jeans, sneakers duct taped together, and a figure so unhealthily thin, Alice gives the impression that she struggles to pay her rent. Her lifestyle is the last thing she, or anyone else, would want, but she learned to live with it. She’d much rather be on the streets, playing guitar, starving, and begging for food, than be living with her heroine addict mother back in Essex. When Alice was fourteen, her father moved out and her broken-hearted mother turned into an abusive junkie who eventually shut everyone, even Alice, out. When Alice moved out she didn’t even give a proper goodbye to her mother. Instead she took her things, stormed out, and said, “I’m not coming back, ever!”. They haven’t been in contact since.

She continued walking and made her way past a fruit stand. When the cashier was looking the other way, Alice snuck an apple and kept on walking. She did this every morning as it was her only breakfast. On days where she had absolutely no money, Alice resented herself to stealing food. On most mornings, Alice stole a few magazines from the newsstand and sold them to people on the street. Very few people approached her, afraid that she would steal their wallets or worse. That, of course, was never her intention. Sure, Alice stole from the Tesco shops and newsstands, but she didn’t like it.

After her luck of selling only two magazines, she used the money to buy a sandwich from a Tesco. Not the same Tesco as before, of course. At the counter she gave a weak smile to David, the cashier.

David was in his early twenties working at the Tesco. He was pretty tall, about 6’2 and had mouse brown hair that matched his brown eyes. He was very friendly to everyone at the store, and a very good employee. The only time he had gotten in trouble at work is when he would change the station on the radio. Alice liked David because he was the only person she knew that didn’t look at her with disgust or treat her like a disease. He was always friendly to her because he felt sympathy towards her. David has seen her walk into the store almost every day for the past few months, and every time she left the store he always wished her good luck. He wished her to one day, find good hospitality.

“Pleasure to see you today, Alice,” he said with a bit of humor.

“Thanks, it’s nice to see a smiling face once in a while. Especially when they’re giving a smile to me,” Alice said back as she handed him the sandwich.

“Hey,” David said with a snap, “I’ve told you before, if anyone gives you trouble I’ll kick ‘em right in the arse!”
He earned a little laugh from Alice, which relieved him a bit. Knowing the horrible life she lived, David tried his best to make her smile.

“Thanks mate, but I’m a big girl and I can fight off anyone!” Alice playfully exclaimed.
She gave him the £7 for the sandwich and left as David watched her walk out. The guitar on her back caught his eye as his faded smile slowly faded back.
…

By five o’clock in the afternoon, Alice was sitting in the underground station, as usual. She was covered in a blanket against a wall while strumming her scratched up Fender acoustic guitar. Alice watched everyone in the underground pass by, ignoring her as they though of her as garbage. She continued playing and hopelessly looks at her cup, filled with a roughly amount £6.50 in coins. Each drop of change in that cup gave Alice a tiny bit of hope. One day she got lucky and a kind woman dropped a £10 bill in her cup. That was one of Alice’s happiest days, as it earned her a hot meal that night.

As Alice sat in the tube station, she found herself people watching, again. When you’re living on the streets it’s pretty much impossible not to acknowledge all the people passing by. She paid particular attention to one couple waiting for their train. A woman, early twenties, and a man, same age, were sitting on the bench holding hands. The woman was wearing a short, striped dress, wrapping around her small figure, heels at least four inches high, and her dark hair done in a messy bun. Alice found it more appealing than her own set of frizzy blonde curls. The man, presumably her boyfriend, was wearing a suit a bit too formal for the late afternoon. He seemed a bit timid, as if he was holding back something from his lady. Alice saw this opportunity to sing one of her favorite songs, in hopes of getting their attention. She hurriedly grabbed her guitar and tuned it fast, hoping the couple would hear her song. She knew a lot of songs, but this time decided to go with one of her favorites, sung by her idol, Soko. Alice began strumming a slow and steady rhythm and cleared her throat as she started to sing. First, in a soft raspy tone, then gradually progressing louder.
“Give
Me all your love now
‘Cause for all we know
We might be dead by tomorrow

I can't
Go on wasting my time
Adding scars to my heart
'Cause all I hear is
‘I'm not ready now’

So let’s love fully
And let’s love loud
Let’s love now
‘Cause soon enough we’ll die"
These lyrics poured out of Alice’s mouth as her guitar strummed beautifully. Slow and soft, but still powerful in meaning. This is when Alice feels most centered. When she is singing, she starts to feel like a whole person again.

Pretty soon her song ended and she looked up only to realize that the couple had left. Her hope faded to darkness up until she heard a familiar voice from around the corner.

“Nice song,” the voice said.

Alice turned around to discover David, the cashier from earlier, standing next to her. A smile spread across her face, even though she felt a little embarrassed. Surely she was blushing.

“Um-thank you,” Alice replied.

“I was listening to you and, you sing pretty well. In fact, too well for someone living on the streets.”

“No one’s commented on my singing in a long time,” Alice said.

“Well,” David replied, “like I said, it’s beautiful.”

Alice pulled the loose strands of hair out of her face and smiled to herself. David leaned down to Alice’s cup and dropped in a piece of paper along with fifty pence. Alice grew confused as the paper read an address. Before she could say anything, David cut her off:

“Look, I know I may not know you that well, but I see you every day and,”

David pause for a moment and took a quick breath.

“I know what you put up with. That address belongs to a soup kitchen. I work there some days and, well, if you ever need a hot meal one night, just stop by and we’ll take care of you. No charge.”

Alice was a bit confused about his generosity and yet, she felt a warm feeling inside of her.

“That’s so nice of you,” She choked, trying to hold back tears of happiness.

“And who knows, maybe it’ll help get back on your feet,” David explained. He noticed his train was just arriving and hurried along. “I have to go.”

He turned back one last time and said, “but please, keep singing.”

And that was that.

Alice had no idea that he paid so much attention to her. She had not felt cared for in the longest time and she almost forgot what it felt like. When Alice felt that warm, loving feeling inside of her again, she finally let out her tears. And it was the first time she cried tears of joy. She strummed her guitar and sang the same song again until her energy faded and slowly, gently, her eyelids closed and she fell sound asleep. It was the most comfortable she felt in a long time.