Free Street Soldier 2 by Silhouettes

your future.”
    â€œI have, but when I do think about it, I see it right here. I’m not runnin’ from nothin’ around here, and nothin’ surprises me at all. I’ve seen plenty of niggas lose their lives and die right in front of me. I’ve seen it all, Nate, and this is the way of life, ain’t it?”
    â€œNot necessarily,” Nate replied. He turned his head as two chicks with very short shorts on walked by. He licked his lips and shook his head. “Did you see that gash on that skeeza? Umph, umph, umph!” He looked again, then got back to his conversation with me. “What you’ve been around and what you’re accustomed to ain’t always the way life is supposed to be. I like your style, Prince, and I like how you distance yourself from all of these hatin’ niggas around here. I know that comes from all that you’ve been through, and you’ve got a good head on your shoulders. Just keep that attitude you got. You’ll see what else life has out here to offer you. It ain’t necessarily what you’ve seen, it’s what you haven’t had an opportunity to see yet.”
    â€œI get that,” I said, stopping at a vender’s booth to get a turkey leg. I hadn’t eaten all day and was starving. “Do you want one?”
    â€œNah, I’ma get me some funnel cake and one of those Chicago-style hotdogs they be havin’. I’ll wait.”
    We stood in the long line, waiting to get my turkey leg. I truly did understand what Nate was saying, but St. Louis was the only home I’d known and would probably be where I would be forever. Besides, Mama was here and I couldn’t see myself ever leaving her. I paid for my turkey leg and we continued to talk, walk, and look at every pretty chick who swaggered by. There were plenty of them to see and many were showing all skin. The fair consisted of people from all races and backgrounds, as this was a time that everyone in the Lou seemed to come together.
    Once Nate got his funnel cake and hotdog, we found a spot on the stairs of the Gateway Arch to watch the fireworks. Horse carriages rode by and many vendors were selling balloons and unique lights to those passing by. I couldn’t help but think of my son, wondering what he was up to and where he was now living. He was almost two years old by now, and it bothered me that there was a possibility he might not ever get to know me. I remembered the first time Nadine told me she was pregnant. I denied him, wanting nothing to do with him at all. I guessed this was payback for my neglect, and payback for taking matters into my own hands after she was killed. Her mother called me an animal that day, and she blamed me for Nadine being killed. It was hard for me to live with that, only because I knew there was so much truth behind it. Those niggas were after me and, unfortunately, Nadine was in the car with me. I shut my eyes, thinking about a horrible day that would haunt me forever.
    We were riding in my car that day. I was teasing Nadine about her new boyfriend and she playfully shoved my shoulder. When we got to a stoplight, she turned her head to look out of the partially lowered window. I looked in her direction too, and when a burgundy Regal pulled up beside us, my eyes stayed focused like a laser. The rear window slowly lowered and I saw the tip of an AK-47 aim in our direction. My foot hit the accelerator, but because of the wet pavement, all I heard were my wheels turning in circles, burning rubber. I yelled for Nadine to duck, and she dropped down on the front seat, yelling and screaming.
    â€œMy baby!” she said, wanting to protect our son, who was strapped in a car seat on the back seat, between two laundry baskets. “I gotta get my baby!”
    As the bullets hit against my car, it sounded like a Fourth of July celebration going on. Glass was shattered everywhere, and as fast as I was driving, the car beside us kept