I felt a kind of happiness the moment I saw them. They were exactly how I wanted them to be...in a group.
They were conversing and smiling amongst themselves. Trust me, kids were happy people.
I began walking toward them until I finally reached them. And the moment I reached them, they glanced at me.
Damn! Look at their cute faces, just that the suffering in this place was reducing their cuteness.
"Umm...so how are you guys doing?". I inquired of them hoping for an answer.
"We're fine". They responded in unison, not all responded though.
But at least, some of them did, that was enough to make me glad. If you utter something to kids as a stranger, and they don't respond, that means they aren't comfortable with you.
I did the same thing to them, I bonded with them by asking them their names, their ages, and so on. Now, there were some that refused to answer the questions I was asking.
They were the ones that refused to answer when I asked how they were doing. And I already discerned that they were bad vibe kids...
..What do they think? That I was doing this out of my own will? I was only doing it to accomplish a quest.
But I got to discern something, those kids that weren't answering my questions weren't comfortable with me. Today was the first day of seeing me, and I was a complete stranger.
So they weren't just comfortable with the way I approached them and started conversing with them. It's normal, not everyone would get comfortable with a stranger.
Though I knew the reason why they were acting out and ignoring my questions, I still took them like a bad vibe...
What I did was to focus my attention on the ones that were responsive and comfortable with me to an extent. And when I was sure that I'd bonded with them properly, I began scanning through all the kids.
I was glancing at them looking for the one I'd persuade to take me to his family. Who looked poorer? Yes, that's what I focused on. And I was trying to confirm this by glancing at their clothes.
..There were both boys and girls there, but it was a boy I planned on persuading to take me to his home.
And after about a minute of glancing at all of them, I saw the one that I'd persuade to take me to his family. I just hoped he was living with his real parents and all that.
Why did I choose him? That's because his clothes were looking the poorest among the other kids. This wasn't a situation where he and some other kids' clothes looked the same.
His was looking the poorest among all of them...
I called him out and asked for his name again, and he didn't waste time to tell me. Then I inquired of him,
"You're living with your parents, right?".
"Yes, but my mum is dead, so it's remaining only my dad". He responded.
I felt so sorry hearing that, and I was somehow regretting why I asked him that question. But the question needed to be asked though.
"So sorry to hear that". I said to him.
Then I glanced at the other kids and saw that they've got their gazes focused on us. I took my gaze off them, focused them on the boy, and voiced out once again,
"Do you have siblings?".
"Yes, I have two sisters, and one brother".
I nodded my head a little, that's making them four children in total. These kids were supposed to be in school, but due to the poverty in this ghetto, they couldn't afford to.
..And the officials aren't doing anything about it.
The things they are supposed to do, they neglect them and focus on the things that aren't of much importance.
It wasn't long since I began my journey to acquiring wealth and affluence, so I couldn't help out in the kids' schooling. If only I'd become filthy rich, then I'd see what I can do.
"So is anyone at home?". I inquired of the boy once again.
"I don't know, but what I know is that my dad, and one of my sisters were still at home when I left the house". He explained.
"Where did the others go to?".
"To their day jobs. There's a high chance my dad would be at home today 'cause I think there was a certain break at his work place. But I'm not fully sure though".
The dad and most of his siblings were working, so how come they weren't able to send him to school?...
That only means one thing, the salaries they were receiving were peanuts that weren't enough to achieve much.
"Can you take me to your home to see if your dad is around?". I inquired of him once again.
He didn't say anything, he only nodded his head meaning 'Yes'. The boy was a cool boy, and I definitely liked him. After telling the others that he'd be back soon, he began walking as I followed him from behind.
Right now, I wasn't following him from behind anymore, the both of us were walking side by side now. I was sure his family were definitely in great need of help.
And the help they'd need the most was financial assistance...money was very important. Helping his family wouldn't be a problem, the thing is, would they deserve it?
..Was there a valid reason why they were in the situation they were in?
I was hoping there'd be a valid reason so I'd be able to render help to them. And with that, I was done with one, what remained was for me to do the same to another family...and I'd accomplished the quest.
But would it go that easily? I was doubting and hoping at the same time. Let's see how things play out though.
I was still walking side by side with the boy when I inquired of him,
"So, you aren't going to school?".
It was evident he wasn't, but I just wanted to ask...
"I was going before, but had to drop out at some point". He responded without even glancing at me.
"Why?". I inquired once again.
"That's 'cause we are dirt poor. At some point, my father couldn't afford to foot the bills anymore. There was a certain time when things increased in prices, and that made it really hard for my dad,
His job doesn't pay much at all, he was barely struggling to send me to school. Then they increased the school fees and so on, and my dad couldn't keep up anymore, I had to drop out,
There are many of my friends in this neighborhood that aren't going to school as well, many of them had to drop out. Their families are just too poor to keep up with the school bills,
Even feeding can become a problem sometimes not to talk of going to school". He explained.
While he was explaining, I was glancing at him. And the moment he was done explaining, I took my gaze off him and shook my head a little.
..Trust me, the ghetto isn't a nice place to live in.
Look at this boy that seemed intelligent but was not going to school 'cause of the poverty of his family. He didn't ask to be born into a poor family, but that's where he found himself and had to live with it.
With this kind of situation, you'd give up on achieving anything big in life. You'd give up on success 'cause there was no foundation for you at all.
So many potentials would go to waste...and there was barely any help in this life. Either you help yourself, or you die there, that's just it.
As I was walking, I was hoping there'd be a valid reason why this boy's family was so poor...I mean, look at the clothes he was wearing. I wanted to help out this boy to the best of my ability.
If I can't get any valid reason, then I wouldn't be able to help out his family and him...
We kept on walking until we arrived at a certain building, it was a bungalow building. But it wasn't a family house, there were different apartments in it which were rented by tenants.
The apartments in it weren't that much though 'cause it wasn't a storey building. A storey building would be able to contain far more apartments than a bungalow.
After arriving at the house, the boy said to me,
"So, this is where my family and I are residing. Let me show you our main apartment".
..And with that, he began walking toward their apartment.