The clueless boy continued to wonder how the money pouch made its way towards him. His hand holding the heavy pouch was shivering, whether from fright or excitement, no one knew.
On the other hand, Nnah, the girl sitting beside him was left gaping. Her face, though not pretty, could be considered pleasant in a neat way. Her cheeks still had baby fat on them, making her look hands down adorable.
"Uh, cousin," she asked after chewing on her lower lip, "what do you mean whose pouch?"
Her big, bright eyes tried to understand the complex yet dazed expression oh her cousin's face.
It was this paternal cousin of hers, Kala, who persuaded her time and time again to steal whenever their budget reached all-time low. This time was no different.
Yes, she and her cousin are pickpockets. They weren't months ago, but the times had been trying. The two of them, both young and illiterate, couldn't find steady jobs in Gaelsworth.
This was also the reason they decided to head out to Enqeton, a place much more prosperous than this tiny port town. Even if they were both to become servants, it wouldn't matter as long as they had sufficient food and shelter over their heads.
Most of the time, Nnah was terrified of being caught red-handed. However, the Spirits had been kind to her and none of her victims had ever found out her crimes.
Nnah Urduja was raised by a kind but sickly father who passed away due to poor health just the summer of last year. Afterward, it was her paternal aunt who kindly took custody of her, despite being a single mother to her cousin, Kala. Her aunt was a woman who sells dried fish for a living, barely able to meet ends herself.
Her cousin, who used to bully her a lot, bullied her less. He would only make fun of her and call her ugly whenever she cried because of her father.
Nnah was an idiot, but even she could understand that it was only Kala looking out for her. This kindness caused Nnah to believe that good times lie ahead.
After overcoming the grief for the loss of her father, she decided then that she would devote the rest of her life to make her aunt and cousin happy.
But Fate had other plans for the Urduja family.
Kala resorted to smalltime robbery when his mother collapsed one morning, only to be diagnosed with weak lungs and malnutrition. As her health continuously deteriorated, Kala had to steal more and even convinced Nnah to do the same in order to support her aunt's medicines. It was here that they realized that Nnah seemed to have especially quick hands, much to her chagrin.
However, her aunt succumbed to illness three weeks ago.
This broke both their hearts, and her cousin, now orphaned like her, changed into an altogether different person.
He refused to stay home. Then, he packed his measly belongings and after kowtowing to his mother's grave until his forehead bled, he decided to head out while muttering, "Chen Wuqing," over and over again.
Back then, Nnah had asked him who Chen Wuqing was. Kala simply smiled at her, dotingly rubbed her head, and told her that they have to go to Enqeton to turn over a new leaf.
Today's incident, Kala told her this would be the last time he would request her to steal.
"We've struck it rich! The Spirits are helping us!"
Kala burst out into a roaring laughter as he checked the contents of the pouch, yet tears streamed down his cheeks as if he had remembered something painful. This caused some passengers to look at their direction.
"C-Cousin! Calm down!"
Nnah was afraid that the pretty lady would find out that they have her money pouch. She didn't understand why Kala would act this way.
Weren't they supposed to stay low-key?
Had he gone crazy?!
"Why?" the boy asked, puzzled by Nnah's reaction. "With this much money, I can send you to school! You can learn how to read. Maybe, we can even start a small business. The Spirits are not blind!"
"It's not that!" Nnah stammered. She then lowered her voice, sending furtive glances at the pretty lady seated two rows ahead of them.
Hmm? Why was she staring at the lady again? Nnah blinked. Was it because she found her very pretty?
Kala frowned and flicked Nnah's forehead when he realized her daze. "Why should we not rejoice over this fortune? Maybe the Spirits felt bad about us so they gave us this money! You know, I prayed hard over mom's grave before we left. This must be her blessing us."
Nnah pouted as she covered her forehead. "It's not only aunt! My father must have given us his blessing too!"
"Okay, okay, so both Mom and Uncle gave us blessings! The Spirits are amazing! I wonder how they managed to get this delivered here."
"Cousin!" Nnah wanted to stomp her feet, but since she's sitting, she could not do it.
"What?" Kala frowned once again, sounding annoyed. "Are you not happy?"
Nnah tried to remember why she cut off her cousin a while ago. She could not remember why. "I'm just, uhh, scared that people would be jealous if they heard that the Spirits gave us money. Yeah, that's it! You know, birds die of food, while men die of wealth!"
Kala then quickly hid the money pouch inside his backpack.
"You're right, Nnah." He then dotingly rubbed her head, messing up her short hair. "When did you become so smart?"
Nnah flushed. "I-I-I, it's because you taught me, cousin!"
"I did, didn't I?" Kala nodded, feeling proud at the same time. "Maybe I ought to study as well and become a teacher!"
"Oh! That would be wonderful!"
"Both of us need to study!"
"Yes, yes."
"But if both of us study, who will work to pay for our expenses?"
The two simple youths stared at each other, obviously perplexed by this problem.
"How about the two of you work for me?"
The two of them raised their heads to find a very pretty lady standing over them.
Cass overheard the two youths' conversation. Not that they were really trying to keep their voices down.
She realized that they had stolen one of her money pouches, the one filled with loose change. She recognized the insignia of the Vega family stitched on it before the boy kept it away.
Though she frowned upon their action of stealing, she also realized that she did not mind it too much.
The two youths, obviously younger than her by a year or two, were orphans. What would it be like to not have them? Cass could not even start to imagine. Even if her parents no longer recognize her, at least they are alive and Cass could still see them. However, for these two, they had to rely on each other to survive.
"How about you work for me?" Cass repeated. "What do you think?"
While she pitied them, she also wanted to test some of her guesses about the scope of the curse. If she kept them around, she would have two guinea pigs.
… and at the same time, she was scared of being alone, though she would rather die first than admit that.