A terrible night to be a child.

Mika sat down on the floor, next to the low, ramshackle table.
     But no food tonight.  Tonight, Mika would feast instead on tears, tears unrivalled by any he had ever cried.

A thump at the flimsy and draughty door. Large plastic bags and a bright pink dress, drenched, were visible through through the holes in the planks of the wooden door.
    The door swung open, and it revealed a girl with two grocery bags in one hand, and another on her hip.
She was wiping her glasses on her navy coat with her other hand, and her long, blonde plaits were almost brown with water.
  She looked slightly sheepish, but it was clear that she was happy to be there.

    'Hello, Mika!' she exclaimed, closing the door behind her to minimise the rain that was coming in.
Mika leaned unenthusiastically around the thin partition that marked the entrance off from the rest of the house.
   'Mm.'
'How are you today?'
'You shouldn't just barge in. Don't you have a family of your own?'
   The girl just ignored Mika's words. They were dejected, cold, and listless. They were tinged with hate and stained with deliberate provocation.
She just continued on, cheerful and perky.
  'I'm great. I hope you don't mind, I brought you some food again!'
'I do mind. I'm just fine without it, go waste your money elsewhere. I'm not some charity case.'
Mika was expressionless, uncaring and distant, but pride showed clearly through his apathy.
  'Uh-huh. Let's see what you have in your kitchen, then!'
'Just call it a cupboard. It's a cupboard.'
   That was not quite true. The 'kitchen' consisted of a small box, that acted as a bench, a bucket full of dirty water, that acted as a sink, and a cupboard that stood in for a pantry.
The girl opened the tiny cupboard, and clicked her tongue.
  'There's nothing here, Mika.'
Mika stood up, angrily, his hands bunched into fists of hubris.
   'No, there isn't, so just get out! I don't need your pity, Shinai!'
       He lowered his head, glowering, and pointed with one icy finger towards the feeble excuse for a door.
Shinai wiped her eyes and smiled. Her fingers were wet, so she wiped them hurriedly on the inside of her coat.
    'I brought a soup for you to eat tonight!'

Mika slumped and sat down behind the table. He avoided all eye contact with Shinai.
 Shinai unpacked the groceries, stacking cans neatly in the cabinet. She brought over two tin bowls and a thermos of soup.
   Shinai poured the soup and handed Mika a spoon.
Mika frowned and took it, pulling the bowl close to him, but not eating.
     'It's alright, Mika. You can eat it.'
Mika looked at Shinai, then began to shovel spoonfuls into his mouth, like he was on the point of starvation.
  'So, Mika, I think we need to talk about your behaviour.' Shinai treaded carefully while Mika was partly distracted.
     'You didn't have any food, so I gave, brought you some. Is that really so wrong?'
Mika finished, and looked up, suspicious.
    'Why do you always eat here? I told you to eat before you come, if you really have to come at all.
          This isn't a restaurant, and it isn't a zoo.'
'Mika, are you frightened by the truth?'
   Mika stood up, taking his spoon with him, and walked outside.
Shinai stood up, slowly, leaving her food untouched, and followed to stand at the open door. Rain was spreading through Mika's home, so she stepped outside and quietly closed the mis-shapen door behind her.
  She walked around to the back of the house, seemingly unbothered by the rain, and sat down in the mud, leaning against the wall.
Mika stood some distance away, in the trees, flipping the spoon in his hands, sometimes holding it as a weapon, sometimes as if he wanted to eat with it.
Shinai sat in silence for a while, and Mika stood in silence for a while. 
  
Shinai didn't want to interrupt Mika's brooding, but she was worried he might catch an illness, so she stood up to talk to
       him, mud and water staining her skirt.
Mika straightened up, and took one step forward.
     'Yes, I am.'   It was a quiet mutter, barely audible, and full of thinly veiled contempt.
'Mika?'
Mika turned, and with all the strength of anger and fear, he hurled his spoon at Shinai.
    It hit her arm, and she winced, rubbing the spot.
Mika started to yell, loud and furious, like a pot boiling over.

     'Yes, yes I fucking am! I'm afraid, afraid of what has happened, and and afraid of what will happen!
          Afraid of guilt, and those who act on guilt, afraid and very much fearful of my future!
              Afraid of where my next meal will come from!      I... don't want to be a thief again.'
He trailed off, and, looking uncertain of himself, ran into the dark forest behind his home.

Shinai stood for a while, rubbing her arm. She fell to her knees, letting out a short yell of pain and grief, then took to her  
       heels, rushing through the forest in search of Mika.

When Shinai found him, he had dropped to his knees, and was coldly contemplating a rusty shard of a knife.
     His dark hair was soaked through, and Shinai couldn't tell if it was tears or rain running down his face. Probably both.
Shinai ran to him, and kneeled down in front of him.  She gently took him in an embrace, ever watching with fear the fragment of metal.
Mika snarled, and new water welled in his eyes. 'Get away from me.'
  Shinai held him tighter. 'Don't you dare say that ever again. Don't you dare, don't you dare ever refuse my help, or turn
       me away, or steal, and don't you ever cut yourself again.'
'Why? What's the point in it all?'
       Shinai tried to prise the metal out of his fingers, but he pulled his hand away.
'Mika.' Shinai continued. 'Mika, what a beautiful name. The name your beautiful mother, who looks down in heaven, gave you, such a beautiful child. The name 'Mika' means gift from God, and from my heart, I truly believe that you are.
 A gift that taught me how to love, taught me how to smile. A gift that taught me the meaning of pain, and what it truly 
 means to care for someone. A gift that taught me that I was already being hurt, and a gift that taught me how to live again.'
Shinai stood Mika up, and he offered her the knife. She threw it away.