Violet

Chapter 1

     

             I run my fingers along the bowstring. It is strong and sturdy, and I pluck the string as I walk down the road. The three rabbits I shot bounce against my back as I walk, and my black pack hangs over my right shoulder. The butchers shop is just ahead. He always buys my game. The people around me are like animals. All they ever think about is themselves. At least that's all I see when I look at them. I know a few people who are kind and sometimes polite, but there aren't very many. I see a carriage coming down the street and by instinct I jump behind the biggest object I see. Which in this case, is a wagon full of veggies.

            I pull up my hood and crouch down. I see the wheels of the carriage go by from underneath the wagon. I wait for a few seconds after it turns a corner before I decide to get up. "Are you okay?" I hear. It is a male's voice. Judging by the sound of it, he's is probably a guy in it older teens or early twenties. I turn and stare at his feet as I stand. He wears brown boots that look worn and dirty. Don't look into his eyes.

             "Yes I'm fine thank you." There are those odd people who are nice, but I actually tend to dislike them more because they might give me away. I'm not like the others. And if I get caught, all I know is that the others who got caught didn't come back. I try to walk past him, but he sidesteps in front of me.

            "Hold up, What's wrong? No one just crouches next to a cart for fun. I reach up and pull my hood down so he doesn't see my eyes and try to go around him, but he just keeps getting in the way. I glance up at him from underneath the hood. He has dark brown hair and unnatural blue eyes. That's all I have time to see before I stare at the ground again.

            "Please move." I say.

            "Not until you tell me why you were crouched next to that wagon." He points at the wagon for emphasis. Ugh. Why won't you just move and ignore me like everyone else! I reach in my pocket and pull out a coin.

            "I was crouched down over there because I saw this coin. Money's a little tight, so I do whatever I can to get as much as possible." I've been getting good at lying ever since I found out what I was. The guilty feeling it gives me though is still there, but not as much as it was when I was younger.

            "Then why were you bent over so long?" He questions.

             "I couldn't pick it up at first. Sometimes we all have fat fingers that won't work! Okay? Can you just leave me alone!"

            "You don't have fat fingers. They're skinny and bony."

            I glance down at my fingers. They are skinny and bony, but that gives him no right to say that. "Figure of speech." I roll my eyes and try to pass him.

            This time he lets me pass, but as soon as I think I'm done with him, "Hey, Nice looking rabbits. Are they for sale?" I press my lips together and walk back towards him. Making sure not to look into his eyes.

            "Yes. But unless you can pay higher than the butcher-"

           "I can."

          "Then fine. Twenty each. He pays me eighteen."

          "Nineteen. Don't push it."

           I let out a puff and start to pull the rabbits off my shoulder. "Not here. I don't have the money with me. Just follow me back to my house and I'll pay you there." I consider just going to the butcher but times are tough. Even if it is just one unit more it will help.