Willow's Story

Willow stood at the bus stop, the tip of her nose pink from the cold and her hands bundled in her scarf. She barely had a penny to her name and recently had outgrown her only pair of mittens. It was a normal afternoon in Galway, Ireland. Muggy skies and freezing temperatures. The houses around her were closed up, their inhabitants warmed by their fires. Exhaling, her breath visible in the cold, Willow willed the bus to appear. It just had to come around the corner - then she could get on and be warm. But it was ten minutes past its usual arrival time and there was no sign of the bus.

Lifting her bundled hands up, she covered the bottom half of her face, blocking it from the cold. To warm her body up she bounced on her heels, her messenger bag bumping against her hip with each jump.