A tiny, pitifully skinny little girl was staring at the food stall where delicious fat was dripping off the skewers straight onto hot coal, only to sizzle out, unleashing a mouthwatering aroma.
She had light, grayish hair and mud-brown eyes. She looked five or six at most, although she could have been older and simply malnourished.
Her brown dress was patched and worn down, comparable to a rag, although shockingly clean. Most likely, the dress was made out of an empty flour sack… and passed as a hand-me-down at least a couple of times before the girl received it.
The child must have been terribly hungry. Her stomach was rumbling with each and every whiff of the aroma.
Each whiff would make her more hungry, but she couldn't stop herself from smelling it as if attempting to fill her stomach with the scent and sight alone against all odds.
The little girl wasn't alone. She was actually holding hands with a slightly older boy who was taler but just as skinny as her.
He had short, dark blond hair and gray eyes that seemed like those of an adult. His clothes also were fashioned with the coarse fabric of a sack, although even more patched up and worn out than the girl's dress.
Truth be told, the two of them were on an errand.
Well, they were supposed to be, at least.
They tried to sneak out of the city walls to forage the surroundings for some roots or edible plants but were chased away by the scary people from the worse part of the slums.
And so, with empty stomachs, they were on their way back to the orphanage, but right then, the girl noticed the stalls and… well… she seemed too smitten to move.
"..."
The boy looked between the juicy skewers and the little girl, opening his mouth only to close them.
He then closed his eyes too and furrowed his brows as if having an inner fight with his own morals before breathing out and making a decision.
"Anna, wait for me over there."
"...eh…?"
He lightly shook the girl's hand and said, causing her to flinch and let out a fearful gasp before leaning to the side to check where the boy was pointing.
"...big brother… you're going to leave Anna…?"
"No, no. You were so helpful today that I'll go get you the skewer as a reward."
The girl trembled and asked, terrified, but the boy hurriedly shook his head and explained.
"...but we don't have any money…"
"Actually, when you were so busy admiring the skewer, some nice old lady gave me a small copper coin!"
Anna gulped her saliva and pointed out as if convinced she was going to be abandoned again, but her brother shook his head and lied, curling his empty hand into a fist behind his back and then pushing it forward and shaking it triumphantly to deceive the girl.
"Eh! Then! Then you and Anna can go and buy a skewer!?"
The little girl's eyes widened and sparkled with hope and amazement as she gasped.
"Nu-uh. If you go with me, you will want to carry it and drop it. I don't want my part to taste like dirt!"
"No..! Anna won't drop the skewer!"
The boy refused, acting all grumpy and making the girl cry out.
"You won't because I will get it while you wait over there. Or I won't buy it. Understood?"
"...yeah…"
The boy declared sternly, and his little sister folded instantly because of the threat, letting go of his hand and trotting over to the alley they were supposed to go through anyway.
"...hooo…"
After making sure that Anna huddled herself behind the space where two buildings were connected, the boy took a few deep breaths, trying to hype himself up, and moved toward the stall.
There was no nice old lady giving orphaned children money.
The boy was going to risk it and steal the skewer.
He knew he was looking suspicious in the first place and that the shopkeeper would keep an eye on him, so he had to be quick and stealthy.
Or at least he thought that's how he should do it since he never stole anything in his life.
Such action would go against everything that the priest in charge of the orphanage taught his pupils, but virtuous words alone could not fill one's stomach.
The boy would somehow brave through hunger, but the empty stomach of his little sister triumphed over his own morals.
"I'll take ten… Wait. After all, I'll take the whole batch."
"At once, kind Sir!"
Just as the boy made it to the stall, about to pass by and discreetly snatch one of the sizzling skewers, a bespectacled customer with unique black hair said, making the shopkeeper exceedingly happy.
"!!!"
The boy flinched in panic, if all of the skewers were bought, the shopkeeper would have to prepare new ones, which means that he would have to hang around longer making it that much more obvious that he was up to no good and…!"
"Keep the change. I want some kind of container to carry all of it instead."
"As you wish, Sir!"
"!"
The exchange between the black-haired customer and the shopkeeper gave the boy the chance he needed!
He struck when he thought that the shopkeeper was too busy looking for a box and…!