The boy started his daily routine. It wasn't anything worth mentioning, but he still made sure to do it every day.
It gave him a semblance of order in his daily life.
Reaching down, he rearranged his sleeping spot so it could be clean for him to use the next day.
He would sometimes roll around and mess up the metal things he slept on. He heard that these were called cans. And they were the most comfortable thing he had found so far.
Once he was done, he walked to a corner of the alley. Then, he bent down and cupped his hands.
As expected, he felt a lukewarm liquid in his grasp.
He quickly brought his hands to his mouth, drinking the liquid before it slipped through his fingers.
"Hahhh~"
A refreshed sound left the boy's mouth.
From the conversations he had overheard, this stuff was called water. He took two more sips to savor the earthy and slightly pungent taste of the water before stopping.
He couldn't waste it, after all.
This was the flavor that all those normal people got to taste every day. He would be grateful for it as long as he had it.
Once he finished drinking, he ran his hands along the rags that covered his body. The flecks of dirt and dried blood from the previous day had stained it, and he felt uncomfortable wearing it.
Taking it off, he brought it down to the water and submerged it. He heard that by doing this, his clothes would become clean.
After he felt it was long enough, he took the rags out of the water and squeezed any remaining water out of its fabric. Just like before, he didn't want to waste any.
He then put his rags back on and walked over to his next destination. The boy loved this alley for many reasons. One was due to the water he found here, and the other was due to the large pile of food that someone so graciously left here at some point.
He didn't know exactly what this food was, but it had a similar taste to the water, except it was more pungent. He liked this pile of food mainly for its contents, but also for the friends he made around it.
He discovered them a few years ago when he first started living here. When he was aimlessly wandering, he ran into one of them. Thinking they were just some trash, he took them off of his face, only to find that they could move!
These things actually had little arms that they flapped fast and it let them move around in the air. Whenever he came to get his morning meal, he would try to find some of these things and play with them. It was one of his favorite activities.
And today there were many of them. He ran around without direction, chasing the creatures. He knew that they swarmed around this area so they could also get a share of his food pile, but he didn't mind.
Everyone needed to eat, and he didn't want to be like those vendors.
After stretching his body, the boy left the alley.
If there was one benefit to being blind, it was the fact that his other senses were greatly enhanced. He could hear conversations from far away and even smell delicious foods that he wanted to try one day.
These senses were the reason he was able to steal from some of the vendors even without his eyesight.
And today he was doing it again.
The boy followed his nose until he arrived at a new smell since he could no longer go to the bread vendor.
He stayed within the alley, since he knew people wouldn't want him on the street, and listened carefully to the conversations going on. After 30 minutes, he heard what he wanted.
"I'm going out back to grab some more ingredients! Watch the store for me!" A receding voice shouted.
"Okay!" Another voice said, this time coming closer.
Knowing it was his chance, the boy rushed out of the alley. His legs couldn't carry him far when he moved fast, so he always chose a location that was close enough to the vendor.
Before the second voice could reach the shop, the boy reached for the cart and grabbed the item on it. Without another thought, he rushed away.
Now, sometimes people would notice his antics and chase him, but other times nothing happened.
This time, it happened to be the latter scenario.
The boy's mouth arched into what he learned to be a smile as he rushed into the alley he came from. Lowering his body to the ground, he took a long whiff of the item in his hand.
It smelled different than anything he had previously eaten. While the pastry and cake had a similar smell, the bread was like a muted version of it. However, he had no idea what this was.
Bringing the item to his mouth, he attempted to take a bite. His teeth didn't have too much power due to a lack of nutrients, but luckily, his food today was soft.
As he chewed, tears inadvertently began streaming down his face.
This taste…was heavenly.
He tasted some of the bread he had before, but there was also something else. It was savory and juicy, accompanied by a slightly painful sensation that, oddly enough, he enjoyed.
This was the first time in his life that the boy had tried meat. He took an entire hour to eat the small meal in his hands, savoring every bite. He knew that this would be his last joy of the day.
But contrary to his expectations, he was quickly met with good fortune.
"Hey look! It's that cripple!" A childish voice suddenly shouted.
"That's right! He wasn't in his usual spot today!"
"Cool! Cool! What game are we playing today?"
"How about we see who can hit him the hardest without him finding out where we are?"
"But we played that yesterday! Fine, it's fun anyway!"
The group of kids approached the boy and began playing their game. They started off with light slaps but quickly progressed into what was essentially a group beating.
However, the boy was still happy. Even if he was getting a little hurt, at least he was being included. Usually, people would just ignore him entirely or kick him out of the way.
"Haha, look at this freak! He's smiling when we hit him!"
"Hehehe! That means we can do this whenever we want and nothing will happen! He's really creepy!"
Sadly, the boy didn't have a good enough grasp on language to understand their words. He simply felt the excitement in their tones and assumed that they were happily playing with him.
By the time the kids left him alone, the sun had begun its descent.
The boy was bruised once again, but he didn't bleed the same as when the street vendor beat him. Perhaps it was why he never considered the children's playing as something malicious.
But even with this, fate seemed to especially scorn him today. On his way back to his alley, droplets of water began falling from the sky.
Knowing what this entailed, he rushed back to his home. He needed to fall asleep before the water began falling heavier.
But the biting cold didn't allow him to do so. No matter how he tried, he couldn't fall asleep. So he began dreaming even if he was awake.
He thought of the food he tried today, he thought about the emotions he felt, and he once again thought about the tower.
Today was a good day.
This was the thought process of the frail boy who was shivering dangerously in an alleyway during the ice-cold night pouring with rain.