The Lone Wolf

It was the summer before grade 10, we had been at the shelter for a week, and mom had to go back to work. I wasn’t allowed to be at the shelter without an adult present, and since my brother was working, I couldn’t stay. There was a van that would come into the shelter’s parking lot and collect about five people, then take them to the Newmarket Terminal. We would have to get to the stop early, otherwise the van would already be full. We would get to the terminal, take the bus into Aurora and get off at Tim Horton’s, where mom would get coffee and head to work, and I would stay for a while.

I would leave and walk around town, sometimes going to the library, using the wifi or reading, and other times I would go to Town Park, and hang out there, listening to music, or swinging on the swingsets, doing anything to try to pass the time until mom got off of work. I felt like an Omega, a lone wolf without his pack.

This became a routine for about a week, when one day, about a week before school, we walked into Tim’s and I saw one of my longtime good friends, “C”, sitting at a booth with someone I had seen in school, but never talked to, “G”. I was offered a seat as mom left, and I gladly accepted.

I was looking forward to spending time with people my age for the first time in weeks.

We spent at least an hour just sitting in the booth, talking about random stuff, and just having fun. It was the first time I’d enjoyed myself in a while. We left the Tim’s and walked to the nearby high school, around the soccer pitch, and G decided to climb one of the posts, while C and I just stood there, because neither of us were able, nor willing, to climb with her. We walked to Town Park, they went home, and I went to the library, as always.

I realized just how much fun those couple of hours of hanging out with friends was. It was the first time I felt actual joy. I didn’t feel alone. I was a wolf who had found his pack, only for a brief time.

I met up with mom, went back to the shelter, and continued the same routine for another week, until school started. On the first day of grade 10, I woke up at 6:00am, before the breakfast that was provided was even prepared, and waited at the bus stop to get picked. I got on the bus at the terminal, and went to school. It was the first day that I got to see more than three of my friends, and I just happy to be out of the shelter and actually doing something. I saw people I had known for years, but felt like I was an the only human on a planet of Martians.

For another month, I woke up at the same time, leaving before the sun came up, getting to school almost an hour before the first bell, then spending the time after school at the library, doing homework, or at the terminal, waiting for my mom. For two months, I left the shelter at the crack of dawn, did nothing, alone for the day, got back, did nothing, and repeat.

We eventually found a place to stay. I saw my dog, my best friend, for the first time months. I slept somewhere I felt safe. I was no longer the Omega, I had reunited with my pack and found my cave.

Finally, I had a home.