The empty shop smell of damp concrete
Mara leaned her head against the wall, the rhythmic thud of her own heartbeat loud in the hollow silence. Beside her, Kiara was in the dark. Every few seconds, a small, involuntary shiver would rack Kiara's frame—not from the cold, but from the lingering electricity of terror.
she would shake from fear every second
We survived," Mara whispered. Her voice was dry like sandpaper on stone.
Kiara didn't look up. She was staring at her dress and her legs as tears flowed down her eyes She looked like a broken doll someone had tossed into the gutter and forgotten.
she held mara's hand in the dark and Lean to hug her shaking, mara am scared what if he comes back Kiara said. Her voice was so thin it barely reached the walls when dawn broke Kiara was still asleep.
Get up," mara said Kiara slowly opened her eyes adjusting to the light mara was standing up already Her legs felt like heavy rocks had been placed on them we need to get something to eat
They walked into the market, two shadows drifting through a sea of busy, indifferent souls. The air was thick with the smell of roasted meat and fresh oranges
Mara watched a woman, draped in expensive lace, struggling with three overflowing bags. The woman's face was twisted in a minor annoyance
"Please," Mara stepped forward. She didn't beg; she offered the only thing she had left: her strength. "Let us carry those. We're fast. We're careful."
The woman glanced at them, her eyes skittering over their matted hair and the
filth beneath their fingernails as if they were a stain on the pavement. She handed over the bags with a grunt of dismissal.
The day became a blur of agony. Mara's spine felt like it was snapping under the weight of crates that were too heavy for her frame. Her fingers became painful Kiara trailed behind her, her face a mask of exhaustion, her small hands clutching bags that dragged along the floor
They went about carrying bags to get tips to help them pass the day Kiara was sweating really hard from the sun some people gave them there bags while others tossing coins at them not out of kindness, but to make them go away.
By dusk, the market was a graveyard of discarded vegetable peels and husks. Mara sat on a jagged stone, her breath coming in shallow, ragged bursts. Her vision blurred as she looked down at the few crumpled notes in her palm.
She bought a single loaf of bread. It was cold and hard,
Mara tore it. She didn't look at the pieces; she just felt for the one that felt heavier, the one that had the most crust. She pressed it into Kiara's hand.
"Eat," Mara said
Kiara stared at the bread, a single tear carving a clean path through the dust on her cheek. "You're shaking, Mara. Your hands... they're bleeding."
Mara closed her fist, hiding the raw skin. She forced her cracked lips into something that resembled a smile.
"It's just dirt, Kiara. It'll wash off." Mara took a tiny bite of her own portion, the dry bread catching in her throat like a sob. "As long as you can stand, I can stand. We do this until we don't have to anymore. Do you hear me?"
Kiara nodded, her teeth sinking into the bread with a desperation that was painful to watch
They crawled back into the shadows of another abandoned shop, pressing their bodies together for warmth.
As sleep finally claimed them, the silence of the city felt less like a threat and more like a shroud. They had survived the day, but the night was long.