David sat alone. He positioned himself on a hard park bench amongst the sea of busy Christmas shoppers in the center of King George Square. He wore his grandfathers’ 70-year-old navy and white military jacket. Swarms of families and city-goers passed him by, their brightly colored clothes in step with the jingly Christmas music crackling through the speakers. David’s clothing set him apart, but they barely noticed him. He pushed his greasy hair from his grimy brow, smudging the dust on his sunburnt forehead. David looked like a troll in a fairy tale. David felt lost. People walking near him scowled and lifted their heads, mothers mumbled warnings to their children and businessmen shot looks of pity. David just smiled at them and watched as they passed his …show more content…
David’s pocket was the best place to keep it safe when he was sleeping rough. A smile crept across his face as he shined the medal with his jacket sleeve until it glimmered like the night sky. David’s jacket and medal travelled with him even when he first set out on his own journey to war as a young man. The jacket from which he was inseparable, and the medal that went wherever he went. He glanced down at his jacket and medal and thought of his family. They were his home. They made him proud. David reached into his tattered sack for a piece of bread to eat. Suddenly, a flock of pigeons began gathering around his feet in hope he might share his meal with them. David broke off crumbs of bread and fed it to the pigeons until they had their fill, and as the remaining birds disappeared into the sky, David spotted one pigeon left behind. This pigeon stood out from its flock. It’s feathers were untidy, being scuffed to one side and his foot was retracted under his wing. David was the pigeon, different from the rest of the crowd, unkempt and an injured soldier. “You’re in the wars too mate?” David