I was really excited, I got off work almost an hour early today because there is a blizzard outside and the store was pretty dead. I packed up my things and bolted across the road to catch the earliest bus possible. I settled into my usual seat (2nd from the back), put my ipod on and started staring at people. (People watching is one of my all time favorite things to do.)

After the group of 4 immature idiots that were stoned out of their mind hopped off the bus I had a clear view of a mother and her daughter that had gotten on the stop prior. The little girl was really cute and was holding a giant pink bunny that was wrapped up in a clear garbage bag, I assumed to protect it from the wet blizzary snow. When the bus stopped downtown most of the people got off, including the mother - but not her daughter.

Confused by this, I watched a little longer. …The daughter waved furiously out the window to her mom and then slumped back down into her seat. …As the bus started moving again I was anxious about the situation. I moved up a couple seats so that I was directly behind the girl. I asked her why her mom had left her alone.

“She does everyday” the little girl answered. …So I asked her how old she was … “four”. We got talking a little bit more, I learned that her bunny’s name is Thomas, and that she was indeed protecting him from the snow. I also learned that everyday the little girls mom leaves her to take the bus from downtown to her stop (only 3 stops before mine) where she then gets off and walks about 10 minutes all alone to get to her house. “Did you want to walk with me today?” …Relieved that I didn’t have to look like a weirdo adult asking her if I could walk her home I said “absolutely”.

So we got off and tracked through the snow (I had to pick her up at least 3 times to get her over snowbanks) to her house. I expected her to just walk right in because her father was home, but instead she picked up a rock and this little four year old girl picked up her spare key and unlocked the front door. The house stank of cat piss and dirty laundry - the walls were littered with pictures of Harley Davidson paraphernalia, crosses and pictures of Jesus. (Just for fun I asked her “that” was and pointed to Jesus, she laughed at me and said “My Lord, silly”. …I mumbled under my breath “oh, so that’s who watches you after school I guess then, eh?”)

I didn’t walk past the front mat, and kept the front door open, I asked her a little bit more about her situation. She told me her dad lived far away, and that her sister often stayed overnight at her “boyfriends” (did I mention the sister is 10 years old?…I don’t think I did.) She said that her mom usually comes home around 8 pm, but sometimes it’s a lot later if she “goes out”.

Sad and heartbroken I called child services who gave me permission to go into the home until one of their representatives got there (which, surprisingly, was only 20 minutes later).  After spending 20 minutes in the house I saw a lot of evidence of drug use (alcohol, pot and coke at least), a lot of dirty dishes, three cats that looked nearly dead and a dog who was too scared of me to even come a foot close (I think it was abused). Me and the little girl played Barbies and she showed me her favorite shoes.

When I went to leave she ran to me and asked if she would see me again. I told her I didn’t know, but I’d be happy if I did. She made me give Thomas a hug goodbye and called me her best friend. It was by far the saddest 3 hours of my life. I walked home and cried a little (not a lot because I’m tough like that *grrowl*) and thought about how many other children are living like that.

*sigh*