Chapter 19
“How long have you been living on the streets?” Sheiji asked Suyo.
“As long as I can remember,” Suyo replied with a shrug.
“What happened? I mean, how did you become a street boy?”
Suyo stiffened and looked offended. Then he said, “I suppose you wouldn’t know.”
“Know what?”
“We, meaning most of us boys, have a law—.”
“Street boys have laws?” Sheiji laughed. “How absurd.”
Suyo didn’t smile, “We have many laws, Kitu, and you’d best learn and obey them. We have a law, or rather an agreement if you’d like to call it that, which says that no boy shall ask another boy any question about his past. If he does, and if the other chooses to answer, the other gets to ask any question of the first boy. Do you understand?”
“So if I ask you a question, then you get to ask me anything you like?” Sheiji asked.
“A question about my past,” Suyo corrected. “The same goes for me. But I expect that you will ask questions to learn our way of life. If you ever want to survive, you’ll learn to ask questions or figure things out for yourself.”
The words of the man on the road into Shijotsu suddenly appeared unbidden in Sheiji’s mind, “Not everyone can be trusted. Remember that.” Perhaps this street boys’ law was a good idea. It kept anyone from discovering the real identity of “Kitu.”
“Why do you have this law?” Sheiji asked.
“You?” Suyo scoffed. “You mean ‘we.’ You’re one of the boys now too.”
Sheiji’s cheeks burned.
“Many of the boys are here because they ran from their homes. To many of us, the streets are better than parents who beat us or starve us or work us to death. For others, their parents are dead and they have nowhere else to go. And for still others, it is simply a life of adventure.
“I’m not saying that street life is easy. I’m not saying we never go hungry or are never cold. And I’m certainly not saying that we never get caught and beaten. But if you can learn, if you’re quick on your feet, if you’re tough and willing to risk a few beatings; you’ll survive and maybe even enjoy life,” Suyo explained. “If you’re ready, we’ll go out and I’ll teach you a few things.”
Sheiji wasn’t sure what those “things” would be, but he nodded.
“The first thing to teach you,” Suyo began, “is how to get out of here.” Suyo reached for the crack which was only a foot above his fingertips and jumped, grabbing hold of the edge and pulling himself up by his strong arms. Sheiji doubted that he could ever do that.
“Now it’s your turn,” Suyo said, peering down from above. “Just do what I did. You’re almost taller than I am.”
“I can’t pull myself up like that,” Sheiji replied.
“You didn’t try.”
Sheiji stretched his arms and jumped. He caught the edge and hung there, too weak to pull with his arms. “I can’t,” he said and dropped to the floor.
“Very well, stay here and starve,” Suyo shrugged and pretended to walk away.
“Wait,” Sheiji called after him. Again he tried to pull himself up, but failed. He tried twice more, each time getting more and more frustrated. Finally, Suyo dropped back down beside him.
“This is the only time I’m going to help you,” he warned. He cupped his hands and Sheiji put a bare foot into them. With a grunt, Suyo heaved upward and pushed Sheiji halfway through the crack. Sheiji wormed his legs through and was up.
Suyo climbed up behind him. “You’ll learn to do that if you want to survive,” he said. “Follow me.”
Suyo peeked over the low wall of the roof to the street below. Then he motioned Sheiji to follow him. As nimbly as a cat, he leapt from building to building. Sheiji followed the best he could, but Suyo often had to stop and wait for him to catch up. When they finally came to the last house in the long row, Sheiji was panting for breath. Suyo looked hardly winded.
“You’ll learn in time,” Suyo consoled Sheiji. “It takes a lot of this sort of running to get you into shape. But you’ll be able to do it soon. Now, we’ll go down from here.”
Suyo stood on the ledge of the house and dropped. He landed and rolled, jumping to his feet as soon as he hit the ground. It was so quick and so natural, that Sheiji hardly saw it. “When you land, try not to land on your feet. You can break an ankle by landing like that,” Suyo explained. “Now, you try it.”
Sheiji took a tentative step towards the edge and stepped over. He felt himself falling. Then he hit the ground with a thud, as ungracefully as possible. The breath was knocked out of his chest and he lay still for a long time.
Finally, Suyo prodded him, “Up, Kitu. A shop owner is chasing you and he’ll catch you if you lay here like this.”
“What?”
“Make believe,” Suyo replied. “But if there really was someone chasing you, you wouldn’t stand a chance. I have more to show you now.”
“I hope it’s less painful,” Sheiji muttered under his breath.
“I will not teach you to steal until you can get away quickly,” Suyo thought aloud. “For now, we’ll concentrate on climbing, running, leaping and falling.”
Sheiji sighed.
For the rest of the day, Suyo and Sheiji wandered the city. Suyo taught Sheiji all he knew about street life. Sheiji was more than weary by the time they returned to the empty house that Suyo had turned into his home. He was covered from head to toe with bruises and scratches. His muscles ached and his belly rumbled for food.
“Stay here, now,” Suyo commanded him. “I’ll be back in a while with our supper.”
“Don’t leave me,” Sheiji mumbled, half asleep. For a moment, Suyo’s expression softened, and then he turned and disappeared through the crack in the ceiling.