1

When the night started to fall, gradually submerging the streets into darkness, that was when she emerged and started to wonder up and down Queen Street.  Her head lowered, her back bent, dragging behind her a half-broken shopping cart filled with garbage to the rim.

Most passers-by would not pay much attention to such a lonely bag lady, but her lonely journey was often accompanied by an imaginary alter ego, who conversed with her, often even involved in a heated argument with her, her bizarre behavior thus attracted curious, often frowning eyes from the passers-by.

Who was this alter ego in her brain? Why and what were they arguing about?  Would they be able to sort things out? 

Perhaps only the most observant psychiatrist would be able to deduct certain truth from such bizarre and encrypted signage.

She bent her head and back as she traveled from the darker West-end of the Queen Street, to the busier downtown commercial district; until suddenly, she was startled by the bright neon lights, and was curious about the posh store fronts, and yet, was scared by the crowd on the street.

“Come here! … Look! Look! …”a woman called her man to the store window; the man almost bumped into her.  She tried running away; dogged another woman with several shopping bags in both hands; and stepped onto the street…  A honking car nearly missed her. Dangerously she crossed the street, almost halted the traffic flow.  She scurried into a dark alley.

Coming out from the other side of the alley, two women almost brushed shoulder against hers. One of them was pregnant.  “I haven’t mentioned it to Rodney yet!” 
The other woman answered: “I haven't talk to Allen about that either!”

They turned at the corner and went into a shop.  She followed them in. It was a theatrical costume rental and novelty shop.

“We need some party hats and whistles…”
“For baby shower, I believe?” A shop clerk remarked.

She was mesmerized by the collection of strange masks on the wall; green witch, pirate with only one eye, red devil …
“Don't touch that! … You have to leave … please leave…”

Thrown out of the shop, she started wondering around again, avoiding bright streets and hiding in the dark alleys.  Gradually she stumbled upon this children's playground in the Grange Park.

Like a child, she was so excited; she climbed up and down all the beams and steps.  She played the swings and seesaws, and then she felt tired…  she took out from the cart a red devil mask, put it on, and curled up on the sand and went into sleep.

2

Next day, early morning, police came to this playground to investigate.  There were several scared kids reporting seeing a demon.  This playground facility belonged to Grange Park Community Centre and its Child Care Service.  Parents and Caretakers surrounded a policeman, helping him to understand kids' description of the demon.

The pregnant woman of the previous night, slowly walking out of the Community Centre.  She just finished a prenatal session at the Centre with her friend, Pauline.
“Stella, wait up…”  Pauline gave support to Stella, they walked to a park bench not far from the playground. 
Grange Park is a very beautiful park.  Even in the early morning, it was busy and alive with exercisers, joggers, dog walkers, and children on their way to school.  As Stella and Pauline sat on the bench, the bushes behind them suddenly rustled a little.  Pauline turned her head to check, and then a red-winged blackbird flew over their head and onto an adjacent tree.

Stella enjoyed the morning sunlight; Pauline extended her arm around Stella's shoulder.

“How's Rodney behaving these days?”

“Concentrating on his work… came home later and later.”

“We discussed the break up, Allen and I…”

“Allen is a good person, very reasonable.”

“Is Rodney still blaming you for the pregnancy?”

Stella suddenly broke into tears.  She rested her head on Pauline's shoulder.

“Let me talk to him.”

“No, I don't want you two confronting …”

“I am not afraid of him!”

“No, let me handle this.”

“Stella, listen to me, recently, he … sometimes stayed out overnight?”

Stella nodded.

“Then, you needn't notify him, just move to my place, today, let's move you over today, don't even tell him!”

“Ah…”

“What happened?”

“I … feel uncomfortable.”

Stella pushed herself up from the bench, with Pauline's assistance, they walked away.  In the bush behind the bench, a red shadow seemed peaking through the branches.

Deep into the night, a quite Grange Park bathed in a yellowish mist from the lamps.  Suddenly, a man in a suit appeared under the lamp beside the bench.  He held his head with both hands, then raised his head and yelled out: “Stella…! Stella…!”

The bag lady struggled out of the bush.  Startled by her, he jumped back.

She said to him: “she's dead! … dead…”

Angered, he raised his fist to her: “Go... Go away… you crazy woman!”

She scurried away.

3

For five days now, she lingered in this beautiful

She was nocturnal, when everybody retired from the day; she started to work, at the sand box, picking up little things that were left there by the infants or kids during the day.  Tiny little baby shoes, little hair clips, pieces of ribbons, small handkerchiefs… There were so many little things she picked up and so many little things she could give to her own baby.

One evening, as she was just about to come out of the hiding bushes, she saw the pregnant woman Stella and her friend Pauline again.  This time, a young man was with them.  They sat on the bench, enjoying the worm sunlight.  She turned around and tried to exit from the other side of the bushes.  But the other side was the side
towards the sand box and the playground.  Certainly she couldn't have known that around the playground, parents and the police had dubbed her as “the Demon Pauper of Queen Street,” and they wanted this demon to be caught!

As she struggled to pull the cart out of the bushes, she saw a man yelling and running towards the bench.

“Stella! ... Where have you been! …” It was Rodney.

As soon as Pauline saw him, she said: “Oh no! ... Here comes the trouble! …”

Allen and Pauline sat on each side of Stella.

He came here to ask Pauline to maintain their relationship; even she decided to go with Stella.

As Rodney charging toward Stella, Allen held out his arm around Stella to protect her. 

Since Rodney and Allen did not know each other, Rodney immediately thought that Allen was the man Stella spent last night with.  He grabbed Allen's shirt, pulling him up.

“So it is you! Stealing my girl friend!”

He swung his fist at Allen.  Two men got into a fight.

“Rodney! Stop! Stop!!” Stella was hysterical.

Pauline wedged herself between two men and pushed Rodney away from Allen.

“Hey, Rodney, Stella and I are going to be married.”

Rodney stopped the action and stared at her.

“You heard me right, Stella and I are going to be married.”

Rodney was obviously disgusted by this news.

“So the baby will have both parents' love…”

His face turned red with fury and about to shout back at Pauline, suddenly, from the playground's direction a little girl screamed.  They all turned to that direction.

“Mommy… Mommy… the demon… is here again”

“The demon pauper… that’s her… ”

“Catch her… Catch her…”

“Call 911…”

“Call the police…”

Seeing people pointing at her, shouting at her, the demon pauper instinctively turned around and walked towards Stella's group.

Rodney immediately recognized her as the mad woman at the previous night as he came here looking for Stella.

“You… Mad Woman… You again…” He ran towards her trying to stop her.

But just at that moment, Stella suddenly called out: “Oh!... Pauline… I… I… the baby is ready… my… water… broke…”

Rodney jerked back to attend to Stella.

The demon pauper quickly discarded her cart and scrambled away, fleeting through the back gate of the park, as a police cruiser just pulled in at the park's front gate.

4

One of the police officer from the cruiser drove Stalla and the entire gang to the hospital.  The other stayed to investigate the legendary Demon Pauper of Queen Street.

He emptied all the contents from the deserted cart, and found among a distinctive collection of garbage, lots of children's stuff; baby shoes, small handkerchiefs, mini hair clippers, tiny
toys… and a Halloween Red Devil mask, also theatrical costume from “The Prince and The Pauper.”

There was a half-torn envelop at the bottom of the cart, inside, were several old news paper clippings, one of which bore the headline:

“Canadian Newest Supermodel – Daquita Maze

Amazed the Whole World”

She traveled on the dark street, her back bent low, dragging a half-broken shopping cart behind her.  The cart was empty.  Her facial expressions were more dramatic then ever, highlighted by her esoteric hand gestures.

She returned to her own corner in a tiny parkette.  Hiding inside a bush, she gave up the argument in her head, let her troubled though wondered away, and went into sleep.

She even dreamed.  In her dream, a voice was saying:

“Daquita… Daquita… it is a girl… it's a baby girl… but…”

But the baby was still… the baby made no sound…

“Baby, baby, say Ma… ma…”

Why the baby won't say Ma…ma…?  Why…?