An abused teenager finds a glimpse of hope in the rain...
 

 
I knew I wouldn’t get much older if I could not get out of the rain and cold. I’d come to the alley behind the restaurant soaked to the skin with my teeth chattering. I had planned to sleep under a pile of waxed cardboard produce boxes but someone had carried them off during the day.
 

 
When we stopped, I started a bit and almost lost my grip. The light in the cab went on, then off, then on again as the passenger side door was opened and a blast of misty rain came in.