There is always rain falling somewhere in the city,

Vancouver, Canada.

 

In one corner,

there is a slum street giving off an eerie atmosphere.

 

Rats run around,trash is scattered on the road,

and many heroin addicts lie like rags holding syringes in their hands.

 

In Canada, where the temperature far exceeds freezing and freezes everything,

living on the streets is impossible during winter.

 

However, in this city of Vancouver, even in winter, the temperature stays around zero degrees,

which makes it a place where homeless people from all over Canada flow to in search of refuge.

 

Once heroin is injected into the body,

for several hours, all the anxieties and loneliness of reality are forgotten.

 

Consciousness drifts away,

and immediately a person becomes no longer human.

It is almost like an object shaped like a human.

 

These objects line up and fill both sides of the sidewalk,

and the sight of them gives you the feeling that

you are in a different world, not of this earth.

 

Every night on such a street,

someone dies from a drug overdose.

 

The sound of an ambulance siren is the signal for this.

Searching through trash bins for food or items that can be turned into money.

Looking for a place that can serve as a shelter to escape the rain and wind and sleep.

 

Chasing after the daily struggle to survive,

and being driven by the desire to inject again,

it becomes difficult to search for oneself.

 

In contrast, if you look up a few streets away,

luxury condominiums stand tall,

radiating a sparkling light.

 

Many of them were Native Americans, the indigenous people.

 

There is a significant background behind how they came to be this way.

 

Long ago, with the arrival of Europeans, the indigenous people lost more than 90% of their population.

 

Many were directly killed, but most could not adapt to the new viruses brought from other regions and died from disease.

 

The continent came to be dominated by European immigrants, who took charge.

 

Their traditional way of life was restricted, and they could not adapt to capitalism and business.

 

In response, the government implemented a policy to gather their children and separate them from their parents for several years.

During this time, they were educated to live as part of European society.

 

The young indigenous children, like sponges, absorbed the knowledge and habits necessary to survive in Western society.

However, the rapid changes in their environment and the stress led to mental health issues.

 

When these children were sent back to their villages, they could no longer coexist with their real parents.

 

As a result, many, with mental health issues, were unable to adapt to capitalism and business, nor could they return to their original culture, leaving their hearts isolated.

 

These people and their descendants were entitled to receive welfare from the government for their entire lives.

 

Because of this, few worked willingly, and many became addicted to drugs or alcohol.

 

Their children, too, grew up and lived in a similar way.

 

Some of them drifted here to Vancouver.

Just as everything has its cause and effect,

everyone has their own circumstances.

 

Just as there is always cause and effect,

each person has his or her own circumstances.

Without a family environment that provides

sufficient love and proper education,

people will have a difficult path.

They are very sensitive and cruel creatures.

 

The rain and tears that fall and flow through this city

seem to be washing something away,

cold yet warm at the same time.

 

Where will they all end up, I wonder?

The rain, the tears, and the people.