The Orphans

33

I shoved my hand through the garbage can and felt something squishy. I pulled it out and beamed when I saw what it was, "Tony! Look! Sandwiches!"

"Really?" He asked and rushed up beside me.

"But there's only one piece," I replied.

The sandwich was half eaten and dirty, but it looked heavenly to us. It's been about a week? A month? A day? I can't tell. But we got used to the sound of guns every night.

Every night, we ran from place to place. Palace guards were searching everywhere and there was no safe place for us. We've become so pathetic these days. Searching for food in the garbage, begging for money, and crying to ourselves.

"Then you eat it," Tony said, a hint of disappointment laced in his voice, "I'm okay. I'm not hungry."

I furrowed my brows, "No. I'm not eating if you aren't. Let's split it."

"Seriously," he said, "I'm not hungry."

I rolled my eyes and split the sandwich. I gave the other half to him as I ate mine. The piece was as large as a 1x1 picture but it'll suffice our hunger for now.

I observed him as he ate his piece. He turned thinner. I wasn't even sure if that was possible. But I guess it was.

"You beggars!" Someone yelled and threw a slipper at us, "get out of here! Loiter somewhere else!"

Tony held my hand and ran somewhere else. I barely had time to catch my breath before another person screamed at us to scram. I had to resist the urge to tell them how they were wrong. We had come across a shop when I heard the news.

"A new decree was made by our wise king," said the reporter, "all citizens may be allowed to get rid of the homeless, beggars, and poor how they wish. The king said in an interview: 'I believe we all agree that we have no need for these kinds of people, yes? It would do our economy no good. I say, we eliminate them and make a better Illéa which is filled with good people who can support their children's needs.' That being said, all citizens of Illéa will not be charged any type of lawsuit of harming the weak. That is all for this morning's royal report. Back to you, Phil."

"That jerk," Tony muttered and balled a fist.

"He's provoking us, isn't he?" I asked.

"Get them!"

We looked back behind us to see an angry mob chasing us. No, they weren't holding pitchforks and torches, but they did hold other dangerous things. For example, knives.

Without another thought, we dashed away from them. Ducking the knives that were thrown and dodging fists that flew.

"What did we ever do to them?" I asked in agitation.

"You pests!" One man yelled, "you steal from my shop!"

"What?!" Tony exclaimed, "we've never done that before!"

"You make all the customers leave with your horrible smell!" Another said, "my business is failing because of you!"

"I just hate people who are under me! They look so horrible!"

We didn't have any time to spare to reply again. We ran as fast and far away as we can. My feet hurt from all the running. I didn't even have shoes. Tony had shoes a while back but he lost them to some street thugs that wanted to steal our clothes. Our clothes still had high value even when damages in case you were wondering. We managed to escape them by rushing to a dark street. We held our breaths so they wouldn't hear a thing from us.

After a few seconds Tony broke the silence, "I think we lost them."

I sighed in relief and laid my back on the cold wall and sat at the dirty street. I looked up at the sky and thought about the hardships we went through. I didn't mean to think about it, but it somehow wormed its way into my mind. I put my hands to my face and cried, "What now? People are out to kill us. How can we survive?"

I figured that the little piece of sandwich we ate gave up on sustaining my hunger. My stomach growled in protest. I pulled my knees closer to my chest and cried into the skirt of my dress.

What would've happened if I just hadn't delivered the roses? What would've happened if my family were alive and healthy? What would've happened if Gabriel didn't appear?

Maybe my life would be happy and peaceful of I didn't deliver those stupid roses. I might've lived until I was an old woman, taking care of my grand children. I might've been with my brothers longer. They might've been good uncles to my kids. My parents would've been overjoyed at my wedding day. The kingdom might've been as prosperous as Queen Eadlyn left it to be.

Then, a comforting hand rubbed my back, "Shh. It's okay. Everything will be okay," Tony said.

I shook my head, "No! Everything won't be okay. Can you see me? Can you see us? Look at us!" I barely saw him with the tears running down from my face, "we're homeless. We're beggars. We're orphans!" I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, "I don't know how we can resolve this anymore."

His eyes brimmed with tears as he pulled me close to him and placed a kiss on top of my head as I cried on his shoulder, "I know everything might not be okay, but a little hope is all we need to survive here."

Then I remembered all the memories I had since I went to the palace. The laughter. The balls. The singing. The dancing. The silly cat fights. The drama. Celestiana, William, Claire, Queen Eadlyn, Prince consort Erik, Julianne, Fidel, Eldora, Louise, and even Gayle. They've all given me memories worth treasuring. And Tony, he was the best of all.

I hugged him tightly, "You won't leave me, right? You won't make me leave again, right?"

"I won't. I won't ever again." He said.

I buried my face in his neck and hoped that someday, we'll be seeing this world in a brighter atmosphere, where the homeless are given safe havens, where the hungry are given food, and where the needy are given their needs.

"Then," a female voice said, "would you accept a proposal of making a rebel army against the king?" My eyes widened as I saw the girl walking towards us. Her hair that has always been tied up was let loose. Her usual outfit was gone and replaced with normal clothes. She stepped in front of us and held out a hand, "Would you accept?"

In front of us was the highest commanding general of the king. The lady commander. General Firman.

"Yes," Tony replied.