Chapter Text
Ever since Chan was 16 he has been alone, but it wasn’t always that way.
Before Chan found himself alone, he had a family at one point, whether he would actually call them a “family” was up for debate. His life at home with his “family” was rather sad and depressing. He would call his childhood unhappy and distant.
Chan never had any siblings, but of course he had his parents, but they were just his parents on his birth certificate. His parents didn’t really care for him or show him the love that real parents would show their children. Chan’s mother never showed him what it meant to be loved by her, instead she was emotionally absent. His father wasn’t any better. He never acknowledged Chan as his son. His father had wanted a daughter, but had received Chan in the process. Chan’s father was never kind to him, and never showed him affection, another copy of his mother but worse.
Although Chan could get away from them at school, school wasn’t much better. He was bullied and had no friends, save for the teachers that pitied him. Chan liked his teachers and wished that he could spend the entire day with them, but that wasn’t feasible.
When Chan got into high school, it was a fresh start for him and he poured himself into his schoolwork. Chan wasn’t bullied like he was in elementary and middle school, which was a huge relief to him, but he still had trouble making friends; therefore, Chan spent most of his days at school alone.
When the day would end and it would be time to go home, Chan would find something to stall himself from going home. Either way, Chan still would have to come home. He would rather be at school in a club than being at home with parents that didn’t even acknowledge his existence. Chan had learned early on to ignore it to the best of his ability and try to look on the bright side. At least he had a roof over his head and food to eat, that’s what mattered. That all changed when Chan woke up one morning to the house being so quiet.
It was a Saturday and it was odd for the house to be quiet. He liked it quiet in the morning. Not having to hear the noise from the TV or his parents arguing was nice. Chan got up, made his bed, got dressed, and headed downstairs to the kitchen. He first went to the fridge to start his breakfast when a piece of paper on the counter caught his attention. Chan closed the refrigerator door and walked up to the counter and picked up the piece of paper. It was a letter from his parents. Chan read through it, then sat the paper down. He stared off into the distance, not really knowing what to feel.
The letter was short to the point and contained no affection in it whatsoever. His parents had simply left him. They took what they could carry in their arms and walked out the door, never to come back.
Chan didn’t know what to feel. Should he be sad, angry, happy? He felt a mixture of all; happy that they were gone; sad that they didn’t love him enough to stay; and angry that they cared for themselves and deserted Chan. He found himself starting to laugh, softly at first, then hysterically. Chan laughed and laughed at his situation. Of course this would happen to him. Everything bad happens to him. Why would anything good happen when he has such bad luck and was born unlucky?
The hysterical laughs turned into sobs, and tears rolled down his face. It all came crashing down, and it felt like 16 years worth of emotion just came pouring out of him. He never really processed all those emotions he felt as a child, up until now.
Chan knew his parents were dirtbags, but it didn’t hit him until now how horrible they really were. He felt such a heavy sadness in his chest that he wasn’t blessed with parents that loved him dearly and that would never in a million years do this to him.
Chan didn’t know how long he cried, but he found himself on the kitchen floor leaning up against the cabinet. He composed himself and got up to make his breakfast as if nothing had happened.
At first the days passed like normal, and Chan got used to his parents being gone fairly quickly. He thought that he could get used to this, but life had other things that it wanted to throw at him.
It never really dawned on Chan that bills would continue coming regardless if his parents were here or not. So, when the bills came in the mail and Chan opened them, he quickly realized that he had no way of paying for them. No matter if he got a job he wouldn’t be able to afford everything, and the short term feelings of being alone without his parents were quickly replaced with anger and anxiety.
Chan was furious that his parents left him to fend for himself. He had no job and he was in school. Chan had thought of getting a job, but that would have been in the summer. His parents left him no money, and Chan only had $20 saved in his piggy bank from when he was a child.
As the days went on, then turned into weeks, Chan started losing things.
Food ran out pretty quickly, and Chan rationed or skipped meals. His only source of food was at school and he would eat as much as he could until he felt like he could throw up. He quickly ran out of toiletries, and laundry and showering became less and less. Chan was thankful that there were showers at school, so sometimes he would get there super early and shower there where nobody could see him.
After school, Chan would look for jobs, hoping any place would hire him. Most of the employees or managers said they were full or weren’t hiring, but would keep him in mind. Chan knew that they would never contact him, and he would leave every restaurant, grocery store, or other shopping center disappointed and sometimes fighting back tears.
Chan had been alone for a month now, and more important things were at stake. One day Chan had come home from school to find a yellow envelope with red lettering on it saying, “Urgent!” on his porch. His stomach dropped. He knew this was something big.
When he got inside, reluctantly opened it up, and read it, he dropped it on the counter. Chan was in shock. The bank was going to take away his home. Apparently, his parents had not been paying the mortgage and they were going to take the house. Chan had 30 days to find another place to live before they took it.
So this was it. Chan was going to become homeless now, and he had no idea where to go or what to do next. Food was gone, toiletries were diminished, and Chan would soon be homeless.
Chan had no reason to stay in his home. There was nothing valuable that he loved or cherished. The only thing he remembers was a loveless, distant home. Not a place where good memories were made.
The 30 days came quicker than anticipated, and Chan found himself taking what he wanted and leaving everything else behind. It pained him to go, but he looked at it as an escape from the prison.
On Chan’s first night, he actually slept at school under the bleachers outside. It was cold and hard.
He walked into school the next morning feeling so tired and his body ached from the hard grass. Chan had rinsed himself off and got dressed for the day.
That night proved to be hard.
Chan had tried hiding in the locker room and hoping nobody would find him, but later into the evening, a janitor had found him. He explained his situation and he begged the guy to let him stay the night. The janitor allowed it, but it was only for one night. Chan thanked him immensely, but he dreaded tomorrow already as to where he would stay next.
The days quickly turned into weeks, and Chan was starving and dirty. He tried finding places that were “clean” enough for him to sleep, but there were seldom any places. Chan would hang out near restaurants and would pick up scraps that were in the trash. It grossed him out and he wanted to puke, but he did it to survive.
Unfortunately, Chan stopped going to school and he dropped out. It killed him that he left, and he spent the night crying himself to sleep.
So this was Chan’s life now. Everyday he would spend his days wandering around the city looking for food and a place to stay for the night. He went to different parts of the city looking for anything, and would sometimes come across some dangerous people; he avoided those areas like the plague. Chan felt that this would be his life from now on. There would be no getting out of this.
On one particular day, and Chan will never forget that day, everything changed in an instant.
It was a very rainy day and Chan was soaked to the bone. He was cold and was starting to develop a bad cough.
Chan was in the bad part of the city, and he knew he should’ve been there, but he didn’t particularly care anymore. What else did he have to lose?
As he walked, he came across a restaurant that looked like it was straight out of the 50s. It was called the Diner.
Chan walked by it and stopped to look through the big windows. On the window was a “help wanted” sign. Chan hadn’t ever recalled this restaurant, but he decided to walk in and give it a try, although he knew he wouldn’t be hired.
Chan walked in the entryway, rubbed his shoes on the rug, and walked in. Looking around, Chan understood why this restaurant was called the Diner. It looked like a normal diner from the 1950s, from the counter to the jukebox in the back.
An old man was at the counter and he greeted Chan. “Where would you like to sit, son? Help yourself.” The old man gave Chan a kind smile and it helped to warm him up.
Chan walked up to the counter and sat down on the stool. He glanced at the menu and he felt his stomach clench with hunger pains. Chan was starving, but he had no way of paying for the delicious food that called his name.
“What can I get you, sonny?”
Chan looked at him and swallowed. He hoped that he could maybe get hired. “I actually saw the help wanted sign in the window and was wondering if you had any openings?” Chan waited in anticipation.
“Yeah,” he said. “If you can talk to people, take orders, and deliver food, then you got the job,” he said.
Chan couldn’t believe his ears, but he was also a little nervous to admit that he’d never worked in a restaurant in his life.
“Um… I’ve actually never worked in a restaurant before,” he paused for a brief second. “But I am a quick learner!” he quickly added.
The old man chuckled, and looked at Chan with a warm smile. Chan felt the familiar feelings of a lump growing in his throat. No one had smiled at him like that in such a long time.
The old man’s smile dropped, and he turned serious. Chan felt like he had messed up and lost the job. “Son,” he asked. “Are you homeless?”
Chan was taken aback for a brief second. He looked down at himself and figured that the old man made the connections with his dirty clothes and appearance. Chan looked at the old man timidly. “Yes, sir. I’ve been homeless for over 6 weeks.” Chan waited for the old man’s answer, hoping that it wouldn’t be bad.
“I kind of figured, son. Do you have any family?” he asked.
Chan shook his head. “No, not anymore. They abandoned me a little over a month ago.”
The old man nodded in understanding. “Have you eaten? How about I get you a hot bowl of soup and a grilled cheese, hm? Help to warm you up.”
Before Chan could say anything, the old man turned around and went back into the kitchen. Chan felt a little stunned, and questions started pouring into his head. Did he get the job? Did he say something wrong? Did he overshare?
Less than 10 minutes later, the old man came back out of the kitchen with a hot bowl of soup and a grilled cheese and sat them in front of Chan. “Something good to warm you up.”
The old man eyed Chan and read his mind before he could say anything. “And, it’s on the house. Don’t worry about it.” He smiled at Chan and walked away to the soda fountain.
Chan then felt the lump in his throat get bigger, until he felt his tears falling down his face. He gingerly picked up the sandwich and took a bite. Flavor exploded into his mouth and he took another bite, trying to eat slowly and savor it. He then took a sip of the soup and it warmed him from the inside out. Chan was so moved that a stranger had seen him and offered to give him a meal. Nobody had been this kind to him before.
The old man came back with a Coke and sat it down next to Chan’s soup. He placed his hands on the counter and looked at Chan.
Chan swallowed a bite of his sandwich and looked at the old man with tears still falling down his face. “T-thank you sir,” he said, emotion overtaking his voice.
The old man smiled at him fondly. “It’s nothing, kid. I’m glad that I could be of service to you.” He then patted Chan’s shoulder before pulling out a piece of paper and placing it next to Chan. “How soon can you start?”
Chan looked down at the paper, and it was a job application. His head shot up at the old man, and his emotions came back full force. “I-I can start now or tomorrow. Whenever you need me, sir. T-thank you so much.”
“Oh, don’t thank me. I’m glad that I can have more help around here!” he said. “You sit and rest now, then we can talk about the job.” He gave Chan a wink and walked away.
Chan stared at him as he went into the kitchen. He couldn’t believe what just happened. Chan just happened to be in the bad part of the city and came across this restaurant that he never saw before and he was hired. Chan actually had a job now. He would be earning money now and he could start providing for himself. Chan kept eating his meal, still feeling so emotional, but thankful that something good had happened in his life for once.