[ WP ] Make me jealous of someone with a terrible life

He used to sleep in front of the abandoned building. It'd be warmer inside, but he did n't want to break in. The walls of his tent would shake as the rat pushed against the fabric. The rat tried to claw its way in; *this is my place to sleep. Mine. * He pushed back, pushed back until even he outlasted the rat, emerging triumphant with his prize - a patch of dirt-stained concrete. He tucked into himself, wedged his hands beneath his armpits, warmed himself with his own frosty breath. It had been warmer in Arizona. It had been unbearably hot. Suffocating. Even with the way the cold bit his skin, he did n't mind. Beats Arizona. At least he can breathe. 
 
 They had bussed him out of Phoenix with all the others. It was the beginning of his quest. *We do n't want you here. * They did n't make him leave when he got to the next town over. They passed laws instead. No sleeping in public. No sleeping anywhere. *We do n't want you here either. * He counted himself lucky though. His quest continued. He found a train and hopped on the back with nothing more than the tattered bag on his back. Like something out of a book, less real and more like fiction. The wind whipped through his hair and he forgot that he had n't eaten more than half a burger in two days. He was riding a dragon. It breathed smoke and barreled down the American landscape. The dragon took him past state lines. There were n't any buses after that. The cops always took him to the next county over. There'll be facilities for you there, they said. *Leave us alone. We wo n't help you. * His journey winded through the Mid-West, over chariots and through fields of gold. But New York. He had never been to New York before. It was like a floating castle in the sky. 
 
 He toiled until he could reach it: the castle. He found the abandoned building two weeks later. His quest did n't end, though. He battled the rat. He fended off the little trolls who took to his tent with knives and heavy bats. He had to leave there too. The patch of concrete he had won. The men in blue shuffled him away, and he had to move on. Not in public, they said. *Not where we can see. * No matter. The quest ca n't end. 
 
 He found his princess beneath the bridge of the castle in the sky. He smiled and she smiled and she showed him her corner of the little world beneath the bridge. A place to lay your head down. Behind the pillar, the wind wo n't be so bad. *I'll help you, if you like. * A place to sit. To read if you find a book. You can look over the river, and at night, the lights are like stars. The cars like like comets. *You can stay. * They began a routine, him and her. They ventured out into the world as the sun met the sky. Faced the world together. They returned at night and settled in. Dined and slept like kings and queens. *I'd like you to stay. * 
 
 He found a TV once. A relic of plastic and glass leftover from his young childhood days. He carried it back to their home on his back, sweating and making the cold go away. They hooked it up to an outlet built into the bridge. They held each other as they light flickered on, and they watched the moving pictures. Together. Always together. It was a life, and they shared it. 
 
 There were others, too. The others came and went, but they welcomed them with open arms and bid them farewells when they left. Join us behind the pillar. The wind wo n't be so bad. A place to sit. Read if you find a book. We've hooked up the TV. We've got one channel. Knights of the round table. His merry men. 
 
 They were living. They were really living. 
 
 *We'll do this together. The quest will never end. *
