Rosa's Haul

Rosa looked into the mud. If she squinted enough, maybe she would be able to see it properly. There was nothing. She dug more mud up, standing knee-deep in the rubble. Bits of plastic and metal came unearthed and small ants and bugs crawled out, chased away from their home, but there was no food. No bread. Not a crumb.

Rosa wondered if she had been hallucinating about the bread. It had happened quite often back in the days of the famine. She would often see her mother sitting atop a tree or a pond on the road. Some of them were dead giveaways because her parents had passed away long back. However, sometimes it took some time to realise that it was a figment of her imagination. There was a time she had gone running down a road for hours, chasing that pond of water, only to hit her head and pass out. It was when she had woken up at night on the sidewalk, that she realised it had all been an illusion.

She sighed. At this rate, her body would only be able to hold out for a few more days. She needed to find food, and fast. However, there was barely anything for them in the slums. Their only source of food was the truck that would come to distribute food every Monday and rich people from the kingdom who wished to look kind and generous. It was Saturday and there were still three more days till she could eat, so Rosa decided to call it off for the day. She would only waste more energy if she went about like this. She had to conserve her strength.

The sun beat down upon her, a fourteen-year-old severely malnourished girl from the outskirts of Kaoiro, the Kingdom of Hope.

The girl slipped into the spaces between walls, winding through crumbling houses, looking for a safe place with shade. The sun was sapping the energy out of her. It wasn’t difficult to find many places with shade, but finding a safe one was difficult. With a lack of food and supplies, the crime rate in the slums was at an all-time high. Besides, the place was ideal for gang get-togethers and criminal safehouses. It was not unusual to see robbers or gangsters roam around in the alleys of the slums. However, through years of experience, Rosa had learned how to avoid such people and escape from them. In fact, she had memorised the faces that were dangerous and sneaked away whenever they came. That’s what the years of survival had taught her.

The walls were getting further apart, which meant that Rosa was heading in the direction of the main road. There, the houses were placed farther apart so that they looked good to the passers-by. It wasn’t of Rosa’s concern. All it meant to her was that she was going the right way. To her house.

Suddenly, Rosa heard footsteps. She quickly jumped onto the nearest roof (which thankfully wasn't very tall) and made herself small. The footsteps grew louder. It seemed that the person coming her way was running. 

"Those fools," said the person. The voice was deep and smug, so she assumed it was a man. Probably a bandit. "They just got tricked! Coming all the way here to look loving and caring was a mistake on your part, but thanks to that, I'll be making some good money after this!"

The man laughed and mumbled to himself, but he didn't go away. Throughout it all, Rosa sat there, as still as a mouse. If the bandit were to be alerted of her presence, she would be done for. She had no clue how long it had been. She had waited for what seemed like hours after it went quiet. After what seemed to be an eternity later, Rosa quietly made her way down the roof. She landed softly on her feet and looked around for strangers. Rosa almost screamed in fright.

The man was right beside her.

Thankfully, he was fast asleep, so it wasn't much of a big deal. all she had to do was sneak away from there. She slowed her pounding heart and went to leave, but was stopped by the bag beside the bandit. It was small in size and looked light enough for her to carry. Rosa acted on instinct. She sneaked the bag away from the arms of the sleeping bandit and ran. When she was at a safe distance, she peeked inside it.

It was bread. It was bread enough to last her a few days.