Ruben awoke with a start. It was quite a common occurrence for him to have disturbed slumber - he hadn't always been, but he was certainly a light sleeper now, after spending a couple of months on the street you learn that you have to keep on your guard, there are all sorts of things out there just waiting to get at your neck. The mattress was, by no stretch of the imagination the best he'd ever slept on, it looked cheap and felt uncomfortable, but it was by far the best thing that was available to him and he was thankful. He sighed, wiped his brow and got off the bed.

The last month or so had treat him well - after being homeless for some time, he found his way to Open Roads and settled in. Over the period of a few weeks, he became a resident of the shelter and had several chats with the therapist, clearly wanting to face his demons involving drugs, booze and his family issues. In whole, his life went from it's lowest point on to a steady climb back up, and that pleased him. Although he had not finished his education and he had no passion to continue it, he finally felt a spark of hope for the future that had been stamped out by his father and then shown to be almost impossible when he was without a place to stay, having a strand of belief that his dreams and aspirations could actually come around. One of the workers had given him their old guitar, which, like his bed, was old and poor in quality, but far better than anything else he could ask for. In his spare time he would sit outside and play, or maybe walk around for some fresh air. He'd not yet found time for friends.

Not only did Open Roads offer shelter, but also good food - for his standards at least, so after he cleaned himself up at the showers and changed his clothes - two luxuries he had not had until arriving here, he left his room and headed for the dining hall to get some nourishment. When he arrived, he took a tray which soon had a small breakfast upon it. He didn't eat much anyway, so as long as he was getting what his body needed to keep going, then that was okay with him. He took his tray to the corner of a table with nobody around him - he felt awkward approaching people and, honestly, he didn't really want to anyway, he was fine as he was. Nevertheless, he considered the fact that he hadn't really made any friends since arriving and it might be an idea to have at least someone to talk to other than a shrink.