Seventeen years ago, in the early morning of dawn an infant could be found lying beneath a great ash tree soaring into the sky but a mere shadow of the heart the tree belongs to. The infant found itself staring into the tree's crown, with the branches and leaves swaying in the breeze. And the fading stars' lights shone upon the child's face as the sun came over the horizon.
The shadows swept over the child's face and if one looked into the golden eyes of the child, they would feel a weight the child holds but not remember. They gave the child a sense of pain and wisdom no child should have to bear.
Present Day
“Hah hah what did I end up stealing this time?”
I glanced down at the bag hanging from my hands, as I tried catching my breath. It’s not the first time I’ve been chased, delivering goods from shady dealings in the underworld is dangerous. No one would notice someone like me missing, except for the librarian who was widowed at a young age.
The librarian acted like an older sister to me who was alone since I can first remember.
When I was found beneath the ash tree seventeen years ago, I was brought to a run-down orphanage, that stood in the center of the slums. The church organized an orphanage that took in any child they could afford before the age of fifteen, when they turn fifteen they would then be forced to survive by themselves in order for another child to live. To survive they would then have to start fending for themselves, the lucky ones are able to join stable jobs. But the untalented or unattractive tend to join illegitimate and shady businesses. The church hopes they are successful not only in survival but to make enough money to help donate back to the church and make room for another child.
The Church tries to take in as many children as possible but it’s running deeper into debt every day. I call it a church but it’s only a kind old hag, that cares for the children deeply but won’t admit it even as she becomes weaker each day. She works hard to earn more money for the children but it’s not enough. The children are forced to work as runners for the underworld at the age of seven, for information dealers and others merchants that lie in the dark.
Even though the old hag says no to these jobs she can’t stop it, not only because she knows without it half the children wouldn’t live through winter. But she also wouldn’t have the time due to the amount of work she does for money from public bathroom cleaning to laundry in the freezing water to earn an extra coin.
The church stood long before the slums started to form, which now had holes in the roof from old age. One would expect the building to be falling apart from the discard of maintenance but luckily the foundation and walls were created from stone allowing it to still stand. The hierarchy formed by the children was known even by the youngest of children and forced upon the lowest members as long as they were physically capable or outcast by the rest of the orphanage.
I was that child with my short white hair and dull yellow eyes that looked like the eyes of a feline. The children treated me like a freak and a monster the entire time I was in the orphanage, I was bullied by my peers from hiding my possiens to beating me in the alley till I can’t move nor feel pain. I’ve gained a number of scars from my time being bullied but they always made sure to keep the injuries off the face to keep their actions hidden, but one thing I was proud of during my time is that I never gave them the reactions they coveted nor did I fall unconscious to their fists. Over the years my emotions have grown cold and I have become far more tolerant of pain, but one emotion that was never suppressed was my curiosity.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Even when the work was offloaded on me I was always able to find something to experiment with. When the church roof formed holes I was able to patch these holes with scavenged materials that came from the junk in dumpsters to steal pieces off the others building, creating the same patchwork look as the others buildings that surrounded us. Allowing me to gain a basic understanding of makeshift tools and thievery. But I have always hungered for more knowledge, a distinct urge that has come from inside myself.
Coming out of my pondering I remain hiding behind a stack of pallets that were left abandoned in the alley in which I hid. I knew better than to even take a peek at the package, no matter how curious I was. It was better to not end up getting killed by an employer in order to keep the information quiet. Or to have an alibi if you were caught by police, as I crouched behind the pallets I peeked around to see outside of the alley and counted a number of silhouettes running across the alley way. By the time the number of shadows I saw running across the opening reached six.
I was becoming even more curious, to what the package was. It’s normal for the rival to try and stop each other's packages but that is only two to three people and not as tenacious as the people now. It would not be my first time becoming part of a scuffle but I did not want to confront these people. I waited there, keeping my breath as silent as possible. Trying to recover from my escape, the business was supposed to be normal in and out. Grab the package and be on my way to the drop off point. It looks like the information was leaked, and just thinking this was supposed to be my last gig. Fuck! I might die today, I have to get out of here.
When I came to a conviction, I slinked out of my hiding spot but quickly returned. Damn it, nothing is going well today. I looked down the alley seeing a person entering the alley. With the moon’s light draping down from behind him he advanced further into the alley without a sound.
As he progressed I was trying to piece together a plan of action, in order to escape from the current situation with the least amount of injuries. When the person was a meter away from my current location I was able to make out the figure to be a female. From the outcrop on her chest and the alluring curves of her body. As she stepped in front of me, I prepared myself to tackle her by hitting the back of her knees.
And I did, the plan I created worked flawlessly, better than I could have hoped. My feet sprung me off the ground, directing my shoulder into her knees. She collapsed with me under her and my face became her butt cushion. I could feel a sense of warmth on my face as I laid their shocked.
Even though I’ve always been great at keeping my expression and emotion suppressed. This was not an event I could have ever imagined. All I could think about was why this had to happen today when I would finally have a stable job by tomorrow. After all my hard work to climb from the rags I was born with to riches. My cheeks didn’t turn red from embarrassment, well not much! But from rage, at the number of events that brought forth this consequence.
Normally, I might have enjoyed finally getting to have such an experience since I was always trying to learn something new. I never tried having a personal life due to being bullied about my appearance.
Admittingly, though I enjoyed not having to deal with relationships. It allowed me more time to study and not have to worry about the drama of others.