I am in a dark place. I don't want to be here. I feel my time is coming to an end. I stray further away from myself and who I used to be when I was happy. I wasn't made for this. I never thought my life would be as empty and unfulfilled as it is. I didn't grow up with my parents. I grew up with my grandmother until she passed away a couple of months ago. She was the only one who cared for me and my sister. She was there when we were sick, she would try her best to make sure we had a meal each day of the week. After she passed, things started to change. I had no choice but to take on the responsibility of both my sister and myself. I used to daydream about having the perfect, happy family. I stopped when I figured out that would never happened. My sister Yume is about 10 now, she is a naive child, very sensitive but loves to be reckless. She's always getting into some sort of trouble.Yume and I had always struggled with getting along but now that grandmother is no longer with us, we are always together. We ́re inseparable and always together. Our parents, they never loved us. They never cared for us. They just stick to each other like magnets and leave us out of their lives. Occasionally they come back to Yume and I when they need us to steal for them and if we say no, they beat us and threatened to kick us out for being ungrateful of having them back in our lives. Yume and I have slept in the streets for days at a time because we refused to do such things, after days of starving we gave in and agreed to steal whatever they needed. Tonight they had asked us to steal some bottles of alcohol. Yume and I were hesitant but we agreed knowing that it was better than going to sleep cold and hungry. We got ready and walked down to the gas station. It was about midnight and we were in the middle of winter, I had grown out of all my winter clothes that I had but at least it fits Yume now. I tried to tell her to stay home so she wouldn't have to be out in the cold doing this but our parents demanded we both go. We quickly walked down the 4400 block of West Monroe. Welcome to the west side of Chicago. This block is full of drugs, shootings and homicides. It's not safe for people to be here at all, especially not in the middle of the night when crime is at its highrise. Our parents clearly don't care as long as we get back with what they asked us to steal. We walk past a group of older men walking with anger in their eyes as they clutch their weapons under their jackets, luckily we were not who they were looking for. They ignored us as we walked faster, attempting to get out of their eye level. We cross the street and arrived at our local gas station. Immediately I observe the absence of the cashier, he must have gone on a quick break to the bathroom. I take my chance and shove 3 bottles in my backpack before time runs out and we are seen on the cameras. I turn around and catch my sister deeply staring at the junk food, savoring a bag of chips with her eyes. I give her an approving nod and she takes the chips and candy and quickly shoves them in her bag. We freeze up as we hear the voice of an older man yelling so harsh his voice cracks. We dash through the doors and start running as fast as we can, I turn back to hear the high pitched scream of Yume as she trips and scrapes her knee on the solid concrete of the gas station parking lot. Blood from her knee gushes everywhere leaving a stain on the concrete and through the jeans she had now ruined. I turn around and help her up as fast as I can. 

̈ ̈Yume we have to go he's catching up to us cmon!¨

̈ ̈ I'm trying, It hurts!¨ 

¨A bullet through our backs is going to hurt more if we don't start running now!¨

She snaps back to reality and gets up with a fast pace motion and bolts across the street leaving me behind with a smirk of excitement on her face, she wants to race but this isn't a time for games. I turn back around and see the man running straight at me as I run to try to catch up to Yume running across the street. The next thing I saw was Yume flying over the hood of a car going so fast that the driver ran the red light. I stumble backwards careful not to cross the street in case there was another car following. I scream her name at the top of my lungs as I run straight to her once I see the road is clear. The car comes to a complete stop on the side of the street. I see the man reach in the glove compartment before he gets out. I didn't think much of it. I had just seen my sister, the one who was there with me through everything, even when we didn't get along. The one I was supposed to care for and watch for, get ran over. This is my fault. All my fault. Her face bleeding, her head leaving bloodstains on my sweater as I lay her in my arms. 

̈ Yume talk to me. Answer me, please!¨ I say choking between tears.

The lump in my throat feels like i'm swallowing a boulder. My body shaking uncontrollably with the image of her body flying and landing on the street. I try to shake the image but it stays on replay in the back of my head. I whip my head around as I hear a car door slam and footsteps approaching closer and closer behind me. I see a man wearing all black with a hood over his head staring at me with no expression. I stare back at him with hatred for what he has done. I want to scream at him but all I can do is cry my pain out as im hunched over yumes lifeless body. I slowly lift my head back up and notice the man is now standing right behind me but this time I feel hard metal pressuring the side of my head. I sit still as I make an attempt to remain calm and collect the thoughts jumbled inside of my head. I give in and make peace with death. I have nothing left to live for. I had just lost the last person who had given me hope for a better life. I take my last breath and close my eyes as my body falls back on to the curb hearing chicago's streets fade away into silence.