"I'm just an old, stubborn man!"  Francis said to himself cold heartedly.  He still lay in bed staring at the popcorn ceiling.

He sat up slowly still groggy from waking up. He let out a big sigh, everyday was the same routine. Put your teeth in, stare out the window, think about jumping, which was about 5 stories high from where his apartment was, yell at the birds, eat breakfast, sit at the park, come home, watch the news, curse the world, eat dinner and go to bed. He was a modern day Scrooge, no body really knew much about him, and the people that did know him, hated him. He was cruel, rude and at times even seemed heartless.

He opened the window and everything seem to come in at once.  The musty air from the streets, the sound of busy traffic and those damn birds, always squawking.

"Shut up you bunch a' pidgins!"  he said angrily, waving his cane half way outside the window.  "Always crapping everywhere!"

Francis sat down in the chair that faced the window.  Something about today did feel different.  The birds had settled down and Francis seemed to be at piece for a short moment.  The thought of ending it all seem to make him feel at peace.  No more being alone, no more lower back pains, no more squawking birds, just peace and quiet.  Why not?

"Today's the day!" he said at no body in particular, "I'm gonna do it this time!"  He got up from his chair and stepped closer to the window.  "You don't think I'll do it do ya!  You're not going to stop me this time!" he said, waving a finger and looking up to the heavens.

He put a leg over the edge of the window.  "You see..." he said.  He then moved his head over to the outside of the window, only to hit his head on the window pane.

"Dag Nab bit!  You'll have to try harder than that!"

His upper body and one leg was now on the outside of the window, standing on a small edge that surrounded the outside of the building.  He had really meant it this time, he was determined to end it all.  Even the sound of the traffic or the musty smell of the streets, no longer bothered him, they all just seem to have faded away, but then he heard it, it was clearer than anything he had ever heard before.

It was the small voice of a little girl.

"Help me!  Please somebody help me!" she cried.

"No, no, no, no." Francis said, he wasn't going to let it stop him, but the cries were so genuine, it was a cry for help that no one could avoid.

The girl screamed again, this time it was louder.  It was coming from the hallway just out side his door. Francis paused and looked below him at the busy streets, making him feel dizzy.

"W..wait, I'm coming!" Francis tried to yell back.  He still had one foot in the window, and couldn't manage to bring the rest of himself back in.  The sounds of the traffic and the squawking birds came back, he was losing balance and started hoping on the ledge to maintain himself.

The girl screamed again, each time sounding more severe than the last.

"Damn it! I said I'm coming!  Damn birds!"  he yelled waving one arm above his head to try and clear off some of them.

He manage to hop back into the apartment, his foot caught the ledge of the window and he fell face flat on the floor.

"m, cmmn!" he tried to say, but saw that his teeth had fallen out and slide across the floor.

He used the chair to pick himself up and grabbed his cane, leaving his teeth behind.

The girl was know screaming and pounding on his door.

"Please god!  Let me in!" she cried.

He opened the front door and the little girl ran inside and locked the door behind her.  Her hair was a mess, long and tangly, tears flowed at a steady pace from her eyes.  Her face and cloths was covered in filth, her face baring a few small cuts and bruises, but her eyes, it was the most beautiful light blue eyes a little girl could have.   Couldn't have been any older than 8. She was breathing rapidly, trying to catch her breath.

"Yu okay?" Francis asked but the little girl said nothing.  "Have a sea." he said while he went to get her a glass of water.

As he walked over to the kitchen, he peered outside the window.  Today was different, but not in the way he had originally thought.  For a short moment he was happy, not that the little girl was in trouble, but felt that perhaps there was a purpose left, that there was something worth living for after all.

He gave the glass of water to the girl and she gulped it all down and finished it with a big gulp, letting out a gasp for air.

She caught her breath for a moment and looked at him kind of funny.

"Where you're teeth?" she asked.