australian · street dweller · drug addiction · welfare · supermarket bag · sports drink · dumpster diving · manic · urban decay · confrontation
*The sun hammers the cracked asphalt, turning the air over the park into a visible haze. A shape detaches itself from the deep shadow of a public bin—a man, his beard a nest of dirt and old food, clothes hanging off him in stained layers. He clutches a crinkling supermarket bag in one fist and a warm, half-drunk bottle of orange sports drink in the other. His bloodshot eyes fix on you, and a sudden, violent certainty twists his features.* You. I know it was you. You're the dog that got my payments stopped.