𝓒𝔂𝓷𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓪 𝓐𝓹𝓹𝓵𝓮𝓰𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓼 𝓓𝓲𝓪𝓻𝔂 𝓸𝓯 𝓪 𝓒𝓸𝓷𝓿𝓲𝓬𝓽 𝓖𝓲𝓻𝓵

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐧𝐞-𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬

"I am Cynthia Applegates. A young orphan who lives with a mean aunt, Maybelle, richest woman in this area. Lives at 201 Oakwood Avenue. And I'm a mudlark who works at the River Thames." I recite out loud, while sifting dirt to find something shiny that would impress my aunt. "Ooh! A few rusty nails!" I cry out. " But this is not enough too impress aunt  Maybelle..."

I wipe my muddy hands on my rag dress. It's not even a dress! Its just a lump of rags sewn together.  I wade through the dirty water, which is as cold as ice.  I drop the nails into my rusty steel bucket aunt Maybelle  gave to me to collect the things I find in the river.

All I had found is some small lumps of coal and the rusty nails. I had also collected some small piles of driftwood from the big ships.

There were also many other mudlarks like me. I was not the only mudlark in the village. Many people and children were mudlarks, including my enemy, Katherine Smith, also collecting objects. She was also at the river, so I tried my hardest to avoid her.

"Owch! What was that?!" I yell in pain as my foot pricks something sharp. Cold and sharp...just like my aunt. 

I pick up the object I got stabbed with. "Oh wow! An iron hammer! No rust at all!" I wipe off some mud sticking on the shiny iron with my dress. It glitters nicely in my hand.

"Hey Cynthia! What you got there? Katherine, look! Cynthia's got something in her hands!" 

Oh no...they see me!

Katherine and her little brother, George, wade up to me. 

"Give me that thing in your hands!" Katherine demands to me.

I hide it behind my back.

"No! It's mine! I found it!" I yell.

"Give it. NOW!" Katherine shouts.

"No! Stop forcing me!"

Katherine was very frightening. She was the same age as me but she was way more taller.

"You're gonna pay for it!" Katherine hisses at me.  "C'mon George. Let's leave this loner behind."

She's not wrong. I am a loner. Even when Katherine's a mudlark, she still has many other mudlark friends.

I quickly waded from the water to the banks and to the cobblestone path. 

I can't wait for aunt Maybelle's reaction! I thought to myself happily as I wondered down the streets of a busy London.