He’d found the ideal place to stash his gear and sleep under a roof.
When he discovered it, the room was empty accept for a few bits of rubbish. It was at the back on the upper floor of an old derelict building; abandoned not condemned. In fact although it was in bad need of repair, it had been built to last. The room was one of many, but it was all he needed. Sure it was messy, but he liked it that way. At least he no longer had to listen to his mother’s constant complaining about his untidiness. He had been squatting there for several months and had kept this fact to himself. When he’d spent a day begging in the town and eating when he could, he would take the long route back to the house, in case he was followed. He would look back from time to time to make sure. This was his place.
Then, quite out of the blue one day, he returned to find that the back door, his entrance, had been opened. The small piece of paper he regularly wedged in the gap at the bottom of the door had been moved. At the top of the stairs he found the door to his room was slightly open. He made a point of always leaving it closed when he left. When he entered, he was pleased to discover that no one was there. However, he found evidence that someone had been. In the relatively clear corner of the room he found a number of items that were not there when he left.
There was a bucket of water, a mop, a broom, a sponge and a cloth. A piece of paper was wrapped around the broom handle, held in place by an elastic band. He took it off. It read:
‘Note from landlord
I own this property.
I’ll let you squat, free of rent, if you clean your room.
Property inspection – one week.’
The added note.
‘To the owner
It’s true that it’s hard for a leopard to change its spots.’
He packed up and moved out the next day.