Chapter 2 #2
He closed his eyes and petted the dog. Maybe he fell asleep.
Bazel wasn’t sure, but he woke to the smell of hot food, and his belly rumbled.
“Come in and eat,” Atlas said, and Bazel sat at the table as a bowl of noodles with sauce on it was placed in front of him.
It smelled good, and he picked up one of the utensils and began to eat.
As soon as the food hit his belly, his hunger kicked in and he ate faster, not able to get enough.
“It’s okay,” Atlas said. “There is more if you want it.”
Bazel slowed down. He did not want Atlas to think he ate like an animal.
“Is good.” He drank some water and ate with concentration, and once his bowl was empty, Atlas offered more.
Not knowing when he would eat again, he took some and ate until he could not eat any more.
Then he wondered if Atlas thought him selfish, but it was too late.
Atlas took the bowls to the sink and led Bazel upstairs to a room with a white bed and chest. The blankets were clean, and the room was cool and dry. He sat on the side of the bed, the softness calling to him. “Would you like to shower?” Atlas asked and motioned to the bathroom.
Bazel felt dirty, and he nodded because the bathroom looked so nice.
He had not washed in days… many days. So he went in and closed the door before taking off the clothes he had been wearing for days.
He wondered if he could wear them in the shower with him.
But instead he folded them and got under the water.
It was cold at first, but he did not care.
Bazel used the soap and washed everything twice.
He felt the door open and close again but looked out and saw no one.
Bazel stayed under the water for a long time.
Then he turned it off and wondered what to dry himself with.
At home, he would dry fast because everything was dry.
After dripping for a few moments, he got out and found a towel and some fresh clothes on the counter, including socks, something he had been going without.
They smelled like flowers, and after drying himself off, he put the clothes on.
They were big, but he knew Atlas had left them for him.
The upstairs was quiet when he left the bathroom, and Bazel crossed the hall to the room he’d been given.
There was a comb and a toothbrush along with other items on top of the dresser.
He used the comb to tame his hair and then got onto the bed and lay down.
He wasn’t sure if he could sleep, but now that he was clean and his belly was full, he was at least content.
Bazel knew it was useless to worry about the future.
He had very little control over it anyway.
Since getting on that boat, he had learned to take each day… and sometimes each hour… as it came.
He heard Atlas moving around downstairs and hoped it was okay that he was lying down.
Maybe there was work that he wanted Bazel to do.
He heard a soft clinking noise, and then Evie stuck her head in the room.
He watched the dog as she slowly came inside.
Bazel still wasn’t sure about her, but she nosed his hand, and he gently rubbed her head as she sat by the side of the bed.
Then he closed his eyes. Bazel fell asleep almost immediately.
HE WOKE with a start because something was wrong.
He wasn’t moving and he was on something comfortable.
It took him a second to remember that he was at Atlas’s house and that he had been rescued from that truck.
He was also warm, and there was someone in bed with him.
The dog lay curled by his legs, head on her front paws, eyes staring at him.
“Evie,” Atlas called from downstairs, and she rose and slipped off the bed and out of the room. Bazel sat up, rubbing his eyes. A little light still came in the windows, but it was muted, and he realized it was from a lamp outside.
He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood before leaving the bedroom to go downstairs.
He was hungry again but tried to ignore it.
Atlas had been so good to him already, and he was in no position to ask for something more to eat.
After all, he had gone to bed hungry more than once, so he could do it again.
Still, he went downstairs but paused at the bottom.
“Are you hungry?” Atlas asked and didn’t wait for an answer.
“Come on. I have chips and salsa.” Bazel had no idea what that was but followed him into the sitting room where stuff had been set out.
Atlas brought him some water and then took a triangle thing and dipped it into red sauce.
He popped it into his mouth, so Bazel gave it a try as well.
The stuff was spicy but not too hot, and Bazel liked it, so he took some more, being careful not to spill all over. At home they had dipping foods all the time, so he was well aware of how to eat them.
“It’s good.”
“Salsa. These are tortilla chips. It’s Mexican-type food.” He took some more, and they shared the bowl until the tortilla things were gone and Bazel was full once more. “Do you want to watch television?”
Bazel shrugged. He had tried watching before Atlas picked him up, but he didn’t understand all that much.
They talked fast and used weird words. Atlas changed the channels until he came to a show about fish.
Big fish. He stopped, and Bazel watched something called Blue Planet.
It was pictures from all over, and he was fascinated.
They spoke more slowly, and he was able to understand more of the words, especially since they explained things as they went.
For the first time in a while he found himself smiling and a little excited.
The water was so blue and the fish were so big, it seemed like a fantasy. He had never seen anything like this.
“You like it?”
Bazel nodded. “Yes. Is really nice.” After a little while, the program ended, but Atlas found another one, and he watched that until he started to get tired again.
He did not know if it was okay to fall asleep, so he stayed awake until Atlas put away the dishes and said he was going to bed. “I go too.”
He went upstairs and to the bedroom, closed the door almost all the way, and climbed under the covers.
The bed was even nicer than before. It was warm and soft, and the room was cool, so he snuggled down.
There was no movement and no sound other than Atlas as he moved outside.
Then the light from the hall went off and everything was dark.
“I’m okay, Mama and Papa. I made it to America,” he said quietly into the darkness.
“I don’t know what will happen or if you really care or not, but I am safe for now.
” He smiled and sighed, letting himself give up on the worries that threatened to plague him.
He listened to the sounds of the house, but it was very quiet.
Atlas was in bed, and eventually his eyes grew heavy.
He did not know what would happen tomorrow, but for now, he was safe.
Atlas was a good person, and Bazel was starting to hope. But not too much; that could be bad.