The Camden Tales

50 - Mouldy Bread

-=₪ June 1904 ₪=-

Alf had spent as many hours as he could at the clearing the week following the miraculous appearance of the girl in the yellow dress. For years the clearing had been his haven of safety from all others, his sanctuary, his sacred place of solitude, but now he found himself betraying his place of contemplation for the dream of sharing it with her.

He was desperate for her return, to see her again and find out more about her. She had bewitched him with her feminine voice, her gentle touch, delicate beauty, and kindness. She was the air that he now breathed, her image burned into his brain and breast. He was sure she had lit a permanent fire in his heart that could never be quelled. But day after day there was no girl, no yellow, no air, no Malka, just nothing. Nothing but him struggling to breathe and the quacks of the hungry ducks.

He glanced over his shoulder to them as they quacked loudly while searching for the offering hand of bread.

"You miss her too, eh?" he said to them, "How about, next time I'm at market I get some bread for ya?"

They stopped quacking and looked at the boy as if he were peculiar. He felt peculiar as he caught himself talking to the ducks and considering giving his food away like he was some kind of rich man. No, he would be wanting to eat that bread himself.

All week he had been trying to think of new ways he might be able to find Malka to the point he had even been asking random strangers at Somers Town market further down the canal if any of them had heard of a girl named Malka, or seen a pretty girl in a yellow dress with shiny black hair, but nobody had. If anything, they looked at him similarly as the ducks did, only with more judgment.

-●=»>◆<«=●-

Camden High Street / Camden Town / 10.03am

"Don't forget who gave you everythin' ya got mate, eh?"

Thomas Fisher was pushed against a wall and being dressed down by three considerably larger men than him.

"If you don't deliver the goods to the boss as arranged." continued the main aggressor who then grabbed Thomas' groin firmly, "then ya really will become the Fisher King, eh?" he stated, flashing his yellow teeth as he grinned.

The other two men that completed the offending trio, laughed while their leader gave Thomas a few firm pats to the side of the face that were bordering on hard slaps.

"Tomorrow sunshine." he said and then they departed.

Once they were out of sight, Fisher sighed a deep sigh of relief.

-●=»>◆<«=●-

Lyme Street / Camden Town / 10.47am

Alf's trousers and shoes were soaked through. With each push on the water pump lever and the deeper the water became in the bucket, the more the clean, cold water splashed over him. Picking up the two heavy buckets, he began to carry them back to the tenement.

"Ya look like you're about to snap like a twig Jew." called John, laughing at how much Alf's small frame struggled to heave the buckets.

Lucy and some of the other girls giggled with John as he teased Alf.

"Fuck off John." Alf shot back aggressively without so much as a glance.

They all stopped laughing and John became instantly angry at the insolence. Never, was when John expected and accepted retorts and he wasn't about to start now.