Streets of New York
– PROLOGUE –

At the age of fifteen I lost my father, accepted I was gay, shunned by my family, became a high school dropout, and lived as a prostitute.  Thankfully my life wasn’t always like this.  As a child you could probably say I had a pretty good life.  My parents loved me and I had a great connection with my sister and brother.  It all ended the day I lost my father in a car accident, crushing our family.  My mother couldn’t bear to be in Ohio, the place where she fell in love with my father, so she decided to move the family to LA.  After that my life started to change, but unfortunately it was for the worse.

After the death of my father, I thought I had created a stronger bond with my mother.  We were like best friends, and she always promised that I could tell her everything and anything without judgment.  So the moment I accepted that I was gay, I told my mother but the outcome was not what I expected.  I could say I was happy that she didn’t knock me out or hurt me physical, but she hurt me emotionally.  She screamed that I wasn’t her daughter anymore and that I was a shame on the family.  She kicked me out of the house at the age of 15.  I had no place where I could stay, so the streets were the only option.  

With the savings I had, I flew to New York.  I thought a new city would be better, so that I could make a fresh start without people knowing about me.  I tried to find a job, but being a high school dropout and young made it just about impossible to secure employment.  After 4 months in my new city, all of my savings were gone and I still hadn’t found a job.  I was kicked out of my motel room, leaving me homeless.  I thought about calling family in Ohio but they think just like my mother.  I’ve been shunned from my family as if I never existed.

With nowhere to go, I walked around the streets all day and night, and that’s where I met Skye.  She was a tall woman with very short blonde hair and soon became my best friend.  She was 18 years old and also lived on the streets.  Skye lost both her parents at a young age and was sent to foster care.  The family she was placed with was horrible and only wanted the money they received for taking children in.  They didn’t care about Skye or any of the other foster children so she left.  She sneaked out one day and never went back.  That was 4 years ago and since then she has been living on the streets.