Cautiously, Willow watched from the side for another two hours as the light began to rise from the east indicating dawn. All the same, the teenage girl and the elderly woman was beginning to grow weary from all the work. Seeing the two start packing away clothing that has yet to be sold, Willow then stealthily walked past the boxes like one of the customers leaving their store while her finger quickly caught onto to a dress folded neatly upon the bottom of the display table pulling the fabric out and hidden it under her dress.
Having then walked from alleys to alleys, she felt that she put a good few blocks between her and the store before the sought out a hidden place between two garbage disposals and changed from the Qipao into what looked to be a denim dress a little too big for her as the collar dangerously reached the edge of her shoulders revealing her top undergarment.
Quickly, she readjusted it till she felt that she was proper enough to walk near the main streets, at least. Her dirty black hair was covered in dirt, but she can attend to that later. Instead, she took off her remaining shoe and tossed it into the garbage disposal with the dress before wiping her face clean of the remaining dust and dirt plastered on her skin.
Willow didn't look the cleanest, but it was at least passable for a poor girl on the streets. Li Fei had, no doubt, never experienced anything like this before and, most likely, feared such an outcome the entire time she had been alive, but now was not the time for that.
Right now, she wasn't allowed such a lax lifestyle of a human, after all. She needs to focus on her survival, even if it meant dressing up like a beggar and begging on the streets. Her first step would have to be earning enough to at least help her prepare for her mission, not lavishly, but barely before she can focus on her new life and goals.
With this in mind, she found worn-down sandals from the trash and put them on before she quietly left the alleys and onto the main streets. Even at night, the number of people was still many and the majority of which were making their way home.
Rather than following them blindly, she followed them till she came upon a park entrance. She thought about entering the park and blending in with the beggars there when something suddenly grabbed her shoulder.
Startled, she spun around only to accidentally apply pressure to her wounded torso. With a groan, she quickly stepped back and sheltered the area with an arm. She saw that she was faced with a tall businessman who stared at her with emerald eyes behind thin glasses. She raised a brow in surprise and asked in English, "Is something wrong, sir?"
The man looked to her with wide eyes before raising a brow back at her and said in return, "The park isn't a safe place as of late. A girl like you shouldn't wander in there."
Looks like someone studied their foreign language well. Willow stared at the man swearing that she had seen those eyes somewhere before. It wouldn't surprise her if she heard that he had a family member who was a foreigner since nearly all Chinese people had either brown or black irises and hair color. Her former appearance was no different till she focused too much on her work that her hair lightened to that of brown indicating her lack of nutrition.
Yet, despite the normal black hair, his eyes bothered her. She frowned at first but shook off the feeling in her heart and smiled back, "Oh. I understand. Thank you, mister!"
With that, she quickly turned and made her way far from the park entrance. However, she didn't walk far before she had felt her long hair pulled. She grimaced in pain and turned around with a scowl to see that the man had stopped her again!
What was he? A stalker?!
The feeling she initially shook her quickly returned as she narrowed her gaze on the man. The man still was that confused look on his face as he spoke as if choosing his words carefully rather than hesitantly, "Are you not a natural-born citizen here?"
Oh.
Of course, it'd be weird for her to speak in a language not native to the land. Thinking this, she nodded, "I came to visit my distant relatives, but I became an orphan not long after. I don't have anywhere to go but wander the streets. Nobody wants to hire a Chinese girl from a foreign land, after all. Not to mention, I'm still trying to pick up the native language here."
The words flowed out of her lips like water initially until she mentioned that she was an orphan. In the past, she was brought to her parent's family during vacations, so her parents could adjust to changes in the family life, such as the addition of her first little brother when she was very young. Her family had been really close then and she struggled to use the limited Chinese vocabulary to communicate with those around her.
However, before she was brought back here as a doctor years later, she hadn't seen this land her parents came from for over a decade.
Hearing her words had the man stare at her as he spoke, "What is your name?"
She frowned. Isn't it polite to first introduce yourself?
"I'm sorry, but I don't believe I should be sharing my name with strangers." She responded sarcastically with a smirk.
The man scowled in disapproval but didn't say anything in response as she quickly pulled her long hair out of his hands and hurried away without giving him another chance to reach out for her. She wanted to scream when she accidentally placed pressure on her injured ankle a few times as she raced away back into an alley.
Yet, like a fly, she could hear the man run after her from behind. However, she was faster, or should she say smarter? The alley was the one from the entrance of the market place which was now empty and waiting for the news of the morn. As much as she wanted help, this man gave off a rather bad vibe in her guts and she certainly felt like trusting it over the man at this time of dawn!
Using the boxes of junk and trash, she threw behind her and continued as quickly as she could through the alleyways until she recalled that the next intersection across another main road was a one-way route. She was certain that she would be capable of throwing off her pursuer if she had just put in a little more effort, but, with her sprained ankle and the pain in the side, she was severely restrained from putting too much effort in her movements. With a scowl, she could only throw herself forward and think of a way out as quickly as she can right there and then.
After having chased the young woman through many alleyways and stray paths, the man finally came to an intersection of a dead end and a path to the main road. He turned from left to right looking for her. He was certain that the woman was only a little further away from him but have now vanished into thin air.
With a frown, he turned to the dead-end that had been clogged by junk piled up by the poorer citizens and the trash tossed into the stinky bundle of trash. Ironically, recyclable cans and bottles were tied together and placed next to the disposal bins. appliances were in poor shape and rusted with engravings made by that of children and gangs with knives.
From sinks to open refrigerators, all were used to create the wall cutting off the alley way. Considering that the girl had suddenly vanished, she could have just gone out to the main road. He'd have seen her running to the main streets, which leaves that she was hiding amongst the trash. Thinking this, he took a deep breath before turning from disposal bins to appliances big enough to fit the size of a child. As the passable was rather narrow, the tall apartments were filled with people living stable lives, yet harsh ones as well.
Even though it was night, the night was not silent. Arguments radiated from certain levels of the apartment complexes. Some cursing others for the noise and some yelling over their own powerlessness. Some running out to the fire escape threatening to throw themselves over before being restrained by their roommates. This part of the city certainly isn't the most peaceful parts. Still, he sucked up his complaints and went into the search. With such an injury, the woman shouldn't have gone far.
He continued flipping over broken-down appliances and opening bins. However, each container turned out empty or filled with trash after an hour of searching with rolled-up sleeves. Wiping off the sweat with the back of his arm, he breathed in a sigh of air before scowling over his futile efforts. He then turned to the other side of the intersection and grabbed the brown bag he had thrown aside. He picked it up and glanced back once more hesitantly before he sighed and walked towards the main road.
An hour later, Willow carefully crawled out from behind the boxes of flowers and struggled down the ladder of the fire escape as she quietly cursed under her breath the moment she landed back down. It simply amazes her how simple it was coming down than it had going back up. It was then that she realized that this can not keep going.
Even if she were to run around with a broken rib bone, she can't possibly keep running on a sprained ankle. With that in mind, she looked around the garbage disposal and found a tattered piece of clothing. tearing it into strips, she tied it together and quickly bound a long piece of plastic to her leg. It was only after doing so that she found a wooden pole and tied the remained of cloth for the handle.