***

        Eadmund was seated at the park bench with a duffel bag at his feet. He had got off the bus at it's last stop for the day, which brought him to a suburban looking area of the city. Possessing no definite destination in mind he's been sitting on the park bench for hours.

    The park was filled with plenty cheerful kids and watchful parents or nannies and what seem to Ed a guard at the time, but he soon found out that the guard was the owner of a karate school,  and was just keeping a watch full eyes on his student.

        As the hours flew by Ed sat still on the bench, the number of kids at the park seem to drastically reduce as the cool air of the evening seem to creep in and the hours went by. The guard looking man approached Ed and caught his attention.

        "Hello young man are you waiting for someone in particular?"  the guard looking man asked with a smile plastered on his face, as he took a sit beside Ed.

      "No not really .... am new in town. Looking for a place to stay and a job will be more like it, but I don't seem to know were to go from here."

      The man stretched out his hand to Ed  "Am Lee" he said

    The look on his face seem to show understanding of Ed's situation or so he taught , he believed the boy ran away from home for some reasons and since Ed looked to be over eighteen years of age, he felt it was not his place to ask why.  He had watch the younger man enter the park earlier in the day just before his last class for the day, and when he took some of the kids who's parent where taking a little more time to pick- up over to the park, he notice the young man still sitting looking aloof and watching his surrounding with little or no interest . At first he thought the boy was just a weirdo of some kind sitting and people watching for hours on end but when he came over to the park and got closer look at Ed, he saw the boy was well dressed, only looking lost and afraid of something he could not guess at.

      "Am Ed" said Ed bring the man sitting beside him out of his trance as he starched out a hand to the stranger beside him.

     "Nice to met you Ed "  said the stranger pulling his attentions back to the younger man beside him and putting a smile on his face, he grabbed Ed's offered hand in a firm hand shake before saying...

      " Ed am not going to ask questions that you are lightly not going to answer any ways , but if you need a place to stay for tonight at list, you could stay in my spare room. It's not a guest room per stay it's just a small attic room, and it is yours for the night if you wish."

       Ed looked at the man sitting beside him first with suspicion in his eyes, then with disbelief and finally with some sort of appreciation plastered on his face. Ed took a good  look at the man ,he was middle age may be in his mid thirties, for he definitely looked a little younger then his father was. The thought of his dad brought tears to his eyes but the pushed it aside and finally gave the waiting man a response.

      "But you do not know who I am, and I don't know you."

       The older man looked at younger with a smile still plastered on his face as if trying to reassure Ed.  "That's true" was his only reply as he waited in silence for Ed to decide.

       " Thank you for the offer... I will take it, you don't look like a serial killer or anything, so I guess I should be safe"  Ed smiled up at the older man who was now on his feet.

      " And what makes you think that, for all you know, I could have a den of lions waiting to mutilate you in my attic"  replied Mr Lee as his laughter rang out into the night. He gestured indicating  the direction of his house so Ed could follow him. Ed was on his feet in seconds, picked up his bag and they both walk toward a roll of buildings about a block away from the pack.

      " I don't think you are capable of being any thing but a nice man Mr Lee"

      "Lee is just fine Ed"

        The two men walked side by side still the came to a two story building  painted white, the first floor had a sign nailed to the side  which read 'Lee's Karate School' in bold gold letters on a black background.

       "Come I will show you up to the attic for the night and we can talk more tomorrow" said Mr Lee as he guided Ed toward the front entrance.

      The inside of the house was well kept and more like an office area than a living abode. Ed followed the older man up the stair case until they came to the top and was led into a simply decorated room which reminded him  of the rooms from his camp days back in high school. Ed smiled and turned to face Mr lee.

"Thanks once again I was not expecting it to be this big and there are no lions insight"  The older man smiled and said good night as he made his way out of the room.

  Ed dropped the duffel bag on a side table by the bed as he lowered his tired form on the bed, it had been a very tiring couple of days and sleep for now was all left on his mind.

       Rays of sun  light coming into the attic from the tiny window on the left side of the room woke Ed up. shaking his head to keep from going back to sleep, Ed stood up and stretched. Taking a while to recollect his surrounding he remembered the events that had lead him to the attic of a complete stranger, a very kind stranger he thought to him self.

Standing up from his bed he looked at the small alarm clock by the side of the table and saw it was already past eleven, putting on his shoes he nearly ran down the steps when the laughter and muttering of what seem to be kids reached his ear, following the direction of the sounds he stole his way down the stairs and through the long corridor which led him to the apart of the house that looked like a small gym.

In the day light he could better observer the interior of the place ,it was a large room fitted with mirrors on the walls and some equipment he was later to find out were for the kids use. Two rooms opening to the hall way he came from, were fitted with small lockers to serve as a dress room for the student. Every inch of the fist floor was padded with a very cushion carpet like foam of some sort ,aside from the main room which had a bouncy rubbery cushion on the floor.

"Hello I didn't expect you up the early" a voice which he recognized as Mr Lee reached him, drawing his attention to a form of a man and a woman sitting at the far end of the room, they seem to have been looking at some document the Petite lady was holding.

"This is Mandy" Mr Lee said "Mandy met Ed he will be staying up stars for a while".

"Nice to met you young man" Mandy said, she gave him a once over and seem to look over to Mr lee for more explanation but the man ignored the her or pretended not to understand her questioning look.

"Let's go  to the kitchen Ed, I will leave the kids in your care Mandy " said the older man as he lead Ed towards the kitchen.

"You don't mind me saying you will be staying do you?"

"No I- just am-" Ed tried to say something but seem to be to shocked to come up with a sentence.

Mr Lee took the opportunity to continue the conversation "You can stay for as long as you like in return you can do some chores around the school. As you noticed the front part is where I run my business and I live at the east side of the building which is quite separated from the main house. You can pay me back for your lodging by cleaning this main building and tiding up after the kids , that will spare me and Mandy of those minor but tedious tasks and give me time to do more in my office. The kitchen is also at you disposal as long as you're not picky, it's always packed"

Turning to face the direction they came, he paused to look at the speechless boy standing by his side and smiled.

" Am not going to pry Ed, I promise. so feel free to make your self at home, but if you ever what to talk I will always be here to listen OK". Seeing the skeptic look on Ed's face, Lee felt he needed to validate him self more in the eyes of the younger man if he ever hope to gain his trust.

   "Look I will make you a deal, when ever you ready to tell me your story I will tell you all about my self too deal?" Stretching out his hand to the younger man wanting to shake hands on the proposed alliance. The younger man took his and held it for a time before letting go.

" Am going to take the kids to the park in a few  you can come with if you have any questions for me or you can save them for later and go wash up, the bathroom is to the right  from the stair case on the top floor".

Ed watched the older man walk away in dismay. He was almost at the brick of tears but he fought the urge and decided to take the mans advice  and go use the restroom, he was in dare need of a shower.

Ed made his way back up the stairs to located the bathroom, after a long shower and helping him self to the extra towel he found in an open shelf by the side of the sink and applying body lotion from same shelf, he headed back up to his small new room in the attic to change.

       Thinking over what Mr Lee had said down stairs he had no idea how to tell the older guy how much indebted he was to him or how grateful  he felt, so he decided he show him instead , vowing in his inner most heart to be hard working and also  try to get what ever life he had left back on track .