The week following my parents death was grueling. I didn't have the mind to do anything, as I sat around sobbing and never really moving. Due to my trauma, I wasn't eating or sleeping all that much and my body began to deteriorate.

It was awful, i let myself become as thin as a skeleton. However, i did have a saving grace. Mrs.Red was a kind woman, which is rare in this city, and she helped me out from time to time, back when my parents were alive, and i earned most of my xin from doing chores for her. When she learned about what happened she said that she would take care of me. She took me in, fed me, clothed me, and provided a warm bed.

Mrs.Red ran a restaurant, which is hard to do in this city as the costs would be huge and customers little. That didn´t stop her and when she first started her business she had no one coming in, but as of today a lot of well known and rich people come here to dine.

Due to her kind deeds and her warm personality, i began to heal mentally from the shock of losing my parents. eventually i was mentally able to work again and so during supper i proposed to Mrs.Red that i work in the mines so that i could pay her back for her kindness.

She refused at first and stated ¨A young boy such as yourself shouldn´t be put to work just yet, especially not after such a traumatic event.¨

Even after she refused, though, i pleaded with her many times and i told her that i wanted to repay her, because without her i probably would have stayed in that house until i withered away and died from lack of sleep, food, and water. After many attempts and a few minutes of pleading, my case to her she finally agreed.

¨But only on one condition¨ she said before smiling. A sort of smile as though she had outsmarted me. ¨you will only be allowed to work once you are 14, until then you must stay here and be taken care of by me¨ And when i tried to argue about the age she said that if i didn´t like it then instead of 14 i wouldn't work in the mines at all.

This didnt sit right with me, though, and the thought of freeloading off of someone so kind, and who took great care of me, was eating me away. I had tried to negotiate the age down a little bit but she wouldnt budge.

If she decided on something then she became akin to a brick wall. Unable to be reasoned with or persuaded, something i had learned in my almost year of staying there.

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¨Choose, child. work at 14 or don´t work at all.¨ she said with a stern look and after weighting the options and thinking about the choice, i eventually agreed and with that affirmation, she smiled and said ¨Good choice, now hurry up and eat your supper, its going to get cold¨

*******

Though I wasn't allowed to work in the mines, I was still keen in helping out. I asked if she had any chores I could do and she told me about a few that she needed help with. It was a few manual labor tasks and a delivery that I needed to make. Ofcourse I accepted and set out to do them immediately.

After finishing the tasks within 5 hours, I went back to Mrs.Red's restaurant and told her my success. She was delighted and I told her to keep the xin that she offered as payment. "I won't accept payment because I still owe you" I said to her with a smug grin. I knew that she figured out my ploy of doing her chores for free to repay her, and I also knew she couldn't stop me.

Life continued on for a while. Everyday I would do chores, refuse the payment Mrs.Red wanted to give me and then helped out around the restaurant by doing whatever I could. Time passed by quickly and I had grown accustomed to this warm and cozy life.

I never forgot about my parents but my brain forced the thought of them away due to the trauma I suffered. Years had passed since my parents death and I the day I turned 14 was a day I had been looking forward to.

Mrs.Red, who told me to stop addressing her so formally and said to call her by name, had prepared a mini birthday. Birthday celebrations were unheard of down here. Who would spend money on expensive things like cake or gifts when it yielded no money in return. However, Mrs.Red could afford it.

She had bought me 3 presents and a mini cake. I told her I didn't want a big cake and I would settle for the smallest one they had. After eating the cake I was eager to open the presents as I had no idea what she had gotten me. The boxes I saw were 2 small ones and a huge box

I opened the biggest box first and my eyes widened when I saw what was inside it. A pickaxe had been inside the box. "I picked out a very durable one" Mrs.Red said with a smile. "Go on and open the others, I'm sure you'll love them"

I did as she said and with a huge grin, I opened the other two boxes. In the first box was a set of leather gloves, that was designed to have good grip and durability, and the second one had a mining helmet, with a light attachment on it.

After seeing the amazing things she had gotten me I ran over to her and hugged her tightly. She embraced me back and I thanked her profusely and I told her "now I can pay you back even more quickly" with a grin, not forgetting the whole reason I wanted to work in the first place.

"Be sure to work hard then. you might want to hurry though, the mine registration for the week closes in about one hour." After hearing what she said I had slightly panicked, I did not want to miss the registration.

With one last hug, I put on gloves and helmet grabbed the pickaxe, and after hugging Mrs.Red one last time, I raced out the door towards the mines, a smile plastered on my face.