02
s t o l e n
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Light shown through the broken window as I tried in vain to finger-brush the knots out of my red hair. I studied myself in the grimy mirror and cringed, giving up. I gave up on my appearance years ago. My cheeks were always hollow and the dark circles under my eyes made me look sick. I splashed a little bit of water on my face and tied my hair back with a thin piece of cloth.
The only thing I really liked were my eyes. Most of the time, they were green but sometimes they sparked then changed colors all together. Noah once said he saw my eyes turn purple, but I had a feeling he was just teasing me.
I walked out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. My mother stood there waiting for me with my cloak and bag in her hands. She handed them to me and kissed my forehead.
"Please be careful." She whispered to me.
I nodded, "I always am."
Noah ran out of the bedroom with his small wooden horse in his hands. I had bought it for him when we had extra money one month.
"You almost forgot this. Remember? I told you it was lucky!"
I smiled at him and tucked the little toy in my pocket. I gave him a long hug. I knew that sometimes when I went out I wouldn't always be able to come back, but I couldn't tell them that.
"Protect your mother while I'm at the market, okay?" He nodded, his eyes twinkling.
I turned around and headed for the door.
The streets were unusually quiet, and I cursed inwardly. I needed the crowd of people today. I drew my hood up and started walking towards the market. My hair would've made me stand out against all the neutral colors.
As I moved nearer, the crowd started to grow. I noticed a few guards scattered around the venues, and I prayed they wouldn't look at me. Carts of all shapes and sizes stood side by side waiting for customers. I looked longingly at the cakes lined up on the Baker's cart. I reluctantly drew my eyes away. I couldn't steal something that expensive. I scanned my surroundings until I found the cheeses.
I walked closer and bumped into the cart, making it shake. The vendor was too distracted trying to keep the cheeses from falling to notice that I grabbed a few pieces of cheese, stuffing them into my bag. I apologized quietly and continued into the crowd. I did the same to a bread stand, shoving a few rolls into my bag. I glanced around to make sure nobody was watching.
Once I grabbed all that I needed, I studied the people rushing passed. I knew that if I wanted to steal, I had to take it from people who had enough to spare. I wasn't cruel enough to take from those who had nothing.
I also knew I couldn't steal from the restaurant below our apartment because if they found out, they could easily kick me out as well as my family. The risk of being caught there was bigger than being caught here.
Trying to look as innocent as possible, I reached into the handbag of a woman examining a bruised apple. I felt 40 copper pieces on my palm and then placed them into my bag. A few others standing by wore slightly nicer clothes than the rest of us, and I drew nearer.
I went behind a young man looking at the meats and grabbed a silver piece out of his coat pocket. I quickly turned away, shoving it deep into my bag. It was surprising to see someone carrying that much money with them. People rarely brought silver pieces with them to the market for the fear of it being stolen.
