Time Bring Us Together|EPEX|

Sudden reunion

It was already morning by the time Dawit woke up from his slumber. He's lucky to have found a place to rest for the night. He made a makeshift bed made out of flattened cardboard boxes he found near a dumpster.

Rubbing away the sleepiness out of his eyes, his little tummy started to grumble due to the lack of food he had while at the orphanage. He stood up, dusting away some dirt on his clothes before proceeding to find some food for himself.

Several minutes passed, after taking every turn at every corner, he found a market that sold a variety of things ranging from foods to goods. Dawit's eyes sparkled when he saw the different types of food that have been sold by several stalls.

He went to the stall that sold bread. His eyes were shining at the well-wrapped peanut jam sandwich. The owner of the store spotted him, flashing a welcoming smile. "Hello kid, what would you like to buy?" He asked with a child-friendly tone. Dawit stared at him for a moment before looking back at the peanut jam sandwich.

"You want it? Wait a minute, I'll put in a paper bag for you" The owner left the counter to pack the sandwich. The hungry boy licked his dry lips. Finally, he'll get some food after nearly two days of starving.

"Here you go" Dawit grabbed the paper bag that was given by the owner. "It's 3000 won"

Dawit froze in his place. He didn't have any money to pay the price. But he was so hungry at that moment. He could collapse at any time.

The soft look of the stall owner changed to somewhat unpleasant. The heartwarming smile that he gave suddenly vanished. "You know that you have to pay for it, right?" He talked in a low-toned voice. He gestured his hand to Dawit, demanding the money.

Dawit tightened his grip on the paper bag. He slowly shook his head, refuse to do so. He needs the sandwich to survive. He had no choice except for running away. He took some steps back as the owner coming closer to him with a fierce expression. Dawit mustered all his strength and ran away a full speed.

"Come back here, you mischievous kid!" The thunder-like voice of the man caught almost the customer's attention. He tried to chase after Dawit who was barely in his sight.

Dawit running to the entrance of the market. He took a glance behind, hoping for the man to finally stop chasing him. He slowed his pace as he felt the energy in his body decreasing.

"Kwak Dawit!"
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Dawit devoured the last piece of a chicken sandwich made by Ashley. Ashley eyed the boy with a gentle smile on her face. For the first time in her life, she got to see this poor boy eating a big amount of food eagerly, filling his empty little tummy.

"Is it delicious?" Ashley asked, which she received a little nod from the boy. She chuckled as her hand playing with the boy's hair.

"Dawit, even though you're starving to death, stealing is not good. The other way you can do is ask for some food. People in this town are kind enough to give you a loaf of bread. Okay?" The boy nodded, feeling guilty of his action before.

"I'm glad that I found you. How about you live with me starting now?" Dawit cluelessly stared into Ashley's eyes. He took a great amount of time to think before accepting the offer. Ashley smiled broadly.

"Whose house is this?" Dawit questioned. Ashley looks around the house. "This is my childhood house once. After both of my parents died in an airplane crash, my aunt came here and take care of me. Not until one day she chased me out due to unclear reason" The expression of the young lady turn to blue.

"I'm waiting for the time to get you out of my sight. Now that you're old enough, you can get out of this house"

Ashley remembered it vividly when her aunty that she put full trust in her and threw the luggage her aunt had packed for her, right in front of her. She remembered crying until her eyes were swollen, thinking of a place to stay in at least for a night. She remembered the first time she steps on the 'welcome' carpet of the hell-like orphanage house back then.

She also got treated the same as Dawit before when she was young. No friends, not even a person that can lend a shoulder for her to cry. Until she was 14, she was forced to be one of the caretakers in the orphanage. The reason is she was old enough to take care of the youngers.

She understands how did the boy felt. That's why she tried to be close to him.

"She passed away three years ago as I know from the neighbor next to us. Now that I got back my house so we can stay together here" Dawit eyes shone bright with hopes. He could start a new life with Ashley and everything will be alright.

"Thank you, Ashley!"

Ashley pats the little boy's head lightly while smiling, feeling happy that she can save the boy from everything he didn't deserves.