Have you seen a person placing his palms on his stomach due to hunger? Yeah, that's exactly how James and Simon placed their palms on their stomach while sitting on that chair. The worst thing was that they were feeling this hungry and there was no hope of eating anything as for now. Do you know how bad that is?
The people passing by didn't even care, most of them noticed the hunger and sadness on James and Simon's faces, but they didn't give a f**k. Their mindset was, 'Why can't they just go find something to eat and wash that sadness off their face'. The both of them still sat there placing their palms on their stomach, they were expecting at least someone to come over to meet them and ask what the problem was...but no one did.
James felt like he was about to faint due to the hunger, he was now feeling pains in his stomach...seems like the worms in his stomach had started feasting on his intestine. The pains and rumbling became so much that James had to voice out something that he wasn't that good at doing,
"Simon, seems like we'll have to beg for money".
"Beg for money?". Simon questioned.
"Yeah, beg for money. Aren't you feeling the extreme hunger that I am feeling? We'll definitely die if we go to sleep like this, I wouldn't even be able to sleep 'cause I am in so much discomfort. Since no one wants to employ us, let's try begging for money, maybe people would feel empathy for us. I really do hate begging, but at this moment, I am ready to beg like I was born a beggar".
Simon does hate begging for money also, but at this point, he was willing and ready to beg for money for as long as possible. The both of them stood up from the chair carrying their backpacks with them. They were f**king weak, their walking wasn't stable, they kept on staggering. They were so weak that even the breeze was moving them about, their eyes were turning. But they were gonna beg for money even in this condition.
They weren't experienced in begging, they didn't beg in their previous lives with their parents and the lives of the people they transmigrated into...so this was gonna be a bit hard for them. The first person James begged for money was a woman in her thirties, from her dressing and handbag, it was evident that she was coming back from work...a white collared job most likely. This was what James said to her,
"Please ma, help me and my friend over here, we are really hungry, and we've got no money on us. Please, help us out".
The woman eyed the both of them and voiced out, "Do I look like your mamas? would you guys get the f**k out of my way so I could pass".
And with that, she walked past them though they didn't move out of her front, they didn't need to make way for her to pass...there was more than enough space. Her audible tone of voice seemed to gather some people's attention, they stared at James and Simon for a while, then they looked away and continued with what they were doing.
They had to stroll over to another person to beg for money, a young man, but he just walked away. And so they kept on begging, and so people kept on walking away...no one was willing to help them out. They had become so weak that they couldn't even walk straight anymore, the pain and rumbling they were feeling in their stomachs made them bend a little.
They'll most likely not make it if they don't eat something today, they might expire. They saw a man coming out of a restaurant in which they had entered to get employment, but the normal stuff happened, they were rejected. The man was potbellied and he was huge, he held a purse in his hand. They'll have to try their luck with this man to see if he'll help them, the purse he was holding made them even more eager to ask the man for money.
They stood in the man's front and knelt, then Simon pleaded,
"Please sir, help us out, we are so hungry right now, and we've got no money on us. We were swindled of the last money we have on us. Please, help us out".
The man noticed the hunger on their faces, but he wasn't sure if they were feigning it or not. Then he inquired,
"You both are young boys, where are your parents?".
This question again? But James and Simon had plans of telling him a bit of the truth, they were so hungry that they had no plans of telling him 'It was a long story'. The both of them glanced at themselves, and from James' facial expression, Simon understood what he was gonna tell the man, he had plans of doing so before. Simon glanced at the man and retorted,
"Our parents are dead", Then he lied, "We are brothers".
The man sighed and questioned once again, "So, you both are homeless?".
"Yes sir".
"Well, am ain't ready to help any homeless person right now. I don't have enough funds to find accommodation for someone and also pay the rent for the apartment I and my family reside in. But am gonna give you guys money right now".
That statement put a smile on James and Simon's face, they managed to smile. The man opened his purse and dipped his hands into it, then he started drawing out a certain amount of money from it. James and Simon sighted the money though he hadn't brought it out fully from his purse, half of it was showing from the purse.
Then suddenly, the man stopped pulling out the money from his purse and dropped it back in. The little smile on James and Simon's face vanished the moment he took that action. Then he glanced at them and voiced out,
"How am I sure you guys aren't even lying to me? How am I sure you guys aren't even feigning this hunger?".
"No sir, we aren't lying and we aren't feigning our hunger. I personally, haven't eaten anything since yesterday". James said trying to explain to the man.
Then the man uttered once again, "You guys said you are homeless, but you are well dressed, and you both are carrying backpacks", Then he pointed at Simon, "Especially this guy, his dressing is too glamorous for a homeless person".
Simon spoke this time, "Yeah, we have clothes on us, clothes and some other essential stuff is filled in the backpack we are carrying. Let's show you".
The both of them took off their backpacks and opened them, and the man confirmed that what they were saying was true, but he didn't still believe them. He was forcing himself not to 'cause deep inside, he didn't want to help them. He had many other things he wanted to use the money he was about to give them to do, he had problems of his own and he had a family to cater for.
He said to them, "I don't believe you guys, I have come across other young boys like you that have made up stories like the one you both are telling me just to take money from me, and I've got no money to waste. I have my problems and I've got a family to cater for".
James and Simon tried explaining things to him once again, but he didn't listen to them as he just walked away. They managed to stand up when they took off their backpacks to show the man what was in them, but as the man walked out of their presence, they knelt back on the ground. This man was about to help them, then suddenly, he changed his mind, what was happening? This must definitely be a curse following them about.
Their past action of stealing money from the places they found themselves in and running away had come back at them. James' thinking was that those house mothers could have laid a curse on him after realizing that he ran away, not only that, he stole money before running away...money they could have used in fending for the orphanage.
After all the money they spent on him while he was in coma, all he could use in repaying them was to steal from them and run away. Due to their anger, they laid a curse on him, and it was following him wherever he goes...that was James' thinking. Maybe they laid a curse on him, or maybe they didn't...no one knows.