The next day, the little girl woke up, allowing herself to feel something close to hope for the first time in a longtime. She then wondered the streets clutching her hundred bill planning on buying more food as she knows that the little she has won't hold up for more than 3 more days if she isn't cautious. As she walked, she admired all the beautiful dresses she saw adorned with diamonds, gemstones, and crystals that shone under the sun just like the stars she could only admire at night — always out of reach.She saw stalls filled with pastries that she had never tasted such as Croissants, cupcakes, cakes and cookies. Mouthwatering cuisines such as rice and peas, curry mutton, shrimp, lobsters, beef, pork, French fried chicken and more. The aroma emitted from these dishes made her mouth water uncontrollably. She saw dolls, toy cars, and kitchen play sets that she could only dream of.
As the walked around in a daze feeling as if she stepped into another world, she bumped into an elderly man with a stern, cold expression on his face. "You little rascal watch where you're going!" His face twisted in disgust as he dusted the area where she had accidentally touched upon the impact . "I-Im really sorry I didn't see you." She said in a timid, almost vulnerable tone. As she said that, she tried backing away and slipped. As she slipped, the hundred dollar bill flew from out of her arms and ontu the ground. The old man noticed it and immediately accused her of stealing from him. " You little thief!!! How dare you steal from me!" This drew the attention of the passers-by and in less than a minute a crowd had gathered to watch the spectacle. She could feel the judgemental stares of the crowd around her piercing deep into her bone. Their anticipation buzzed in the air as they were all eager to see how this would unfold. Seeing so many people gathering around staring at her with accusatory gazes, she unconsciously shrank back in fear stuttering as she tried to explain " I-I-I didn't steal from you. I got this from-" "From what?! Stealing from me?!" Said the man cutting her off with righteous fury. Her eyes widen in horror as he lifted his hand and slapped her hard across the face making her stumble on the hard ground, reopening her old wounds. Almost immediately red, angry finger prints bloomed across her cheeks. He then took out a piece of wipe and wiped his hands and looked at her with a scornful glare. " I will teach you a lesson you will never forget. You lived on the streets all your lives so it seems to me you have never heard of the term proper etiquette or maybe you forgot and that's probably why you think it's okay to steal from others." Bum! Bum! Bum! Bum! The pounding of feet against bones rang out loud. He kicked her repeatedly with brute force while the on-lookers laughed and some even joined in "punishing" her. The street dogs came out and when they saw the little girl being beaten, came into the center and growled at the strangers and barked as they tried lunging at them. They crowd of people who were on the girl were no backing away from the dogs, others screamed and scattered while some persons started throwing rocks, while others cursed at her with vile words. " You rotten piece of sh*t! Trying to play Snow White with your street maggots?!" " Eww!! These dogs stink! No wonder they're coming to her rescue! Dogs of pack stink a lot!" Some even threw rotten eggs and tomatoes at her and the dogs screaming, "go to hell you disgraceful child! Don't forget to bring these disgusting animals with you! " Another chimed in, "Even my poodle has more self respect and awareness!" The crowd started inching in as the dogs tried their best to keep them away from her. The crowd started closing in on them and started kicking the dogs and the little girl, hitting the dogs with stones, and anything that was in reach. After they finished, she laid there limp, too battered to even move an inch. Blood flowed from every part of her body but not one person stopped to help her. She laid there eyes seemingly devoid of any sign of life. The dogs around her battered and bruised, howled in pain and despair as they used their paws and tongues to try and bring back the girl. The dogs' cries stretched across the streets as if begging to be heard and helped by anyone but to no avail. She blacked in and out of consciousness breaths becoming more shallow.
Despite the surging pain that threatened to devour her, she had to force herself upright. She gently picked up the hundred dollar bill and limped her way back into the alley, wincing as her nose bled, eyes swelled like air balloons, lips split in half, ankles swollen, head throbbing, and as she walked, she coughed and a bright, thick red liquid that
fell at her feet. The dogs followed closely behind, limping on three of their legs, 3 of them bleeding from their backs, legs and faces. When she finally made it back to her sleeping area, she collapsed and rolled herself into a tight ball while flies buzzed around her occasionally landing on her bruises. The effects of blood loss finally took ahold of her as her body collapsed from exhaustion and fatigue. Even breathing, which required no strength at all felt as if it would tear her lungs open at any moment . Every breath carried overwhelming pain. Her stomach felt as if it had been crushed. Even the slightest movement causing tremendous pain.
Hours passed into one swift , blurry motion as the streets emptied once more filled with the chirps of birds, their wings fluttering hard against the wind as they lifted their bodies into the air, gliding through the sky like they belonged, as they did. The little girl observed all of this thinking to herself, "just look at how free those birds are . They fly so high up in the sky as if they know that's where they belong." Lowering her gaze she thought to herself , "I wonder if I'll ever find somewhere where I'll belong." As she said this, a bird flew by and a large, wet, white splatter fell on top of her head while a few of its feathers danced gracefully through the wind until it landed before her in a slow, gentle motion.She then forced herself to stretch and reach out to the 2 pieces of bread in the corner. But no matter how hard she tried, she still failed to reach it. She had to drag her still injured body across the rough, cracked ground filled with shattered glass and stones which sent fiery pain exploding against her skin like fireworks. It felt as though her body was being consumed by an intense, burning fire that refused to relinquish. This created a trail of blood behind but she didn't care as long as she got something to eat. Finally, she reached the bag with the two pieces of bread. She devoured the first piece like a hungry wolf finally consuming its prey. She knew best than to eat both pieces as she would starve if she did not save the little she had. Some of the animals that were there, gently made their way to her where they licked the wounds on her body. She then broke off a piece of the bread left and broke it into many pieces and lifted a weak, shaking hand to the dogs where she placed the small pieces of bread next to them and signaled for them to eat.