Can three little words irrevocably change your life? Her choices will change her path forever. She becomes one of the quiet, incredibly strong, yet somehow wrongly looked upon as damaged.
DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are the products of the author's imagination. This story is not affiliated with the celebrities mentioned.
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Eira took a deep breath, her hands in her pockets as she felt the mixture of coins and peso bills - she'd counted it all so many times, making sure she knew the budget. She stepped into the store, jumping with shock at the bell that rang above the door and she looked around to see that she wasn't the only customer in the small general store. Eira did her best to ignore the other customers and she walked slowly through every aisle, looking for what she needed and it was only on the final aisle that she found it. Tears burned her eyes as she ran her fingers across the thick blanket material, able to guess how warm it was and she pulled it off the shelf, see how massive it was even when it was bundled up in the packaging and she felt tears roll down her cheeks when she saw the price.
It was too expensive.
She looked to the front of the store. It wasn't too far away and she knew there was CCTV, she could see the camera in the corner of the store, but it was just an old man behind the counter. He had no chance at keeping up with her if she were to just run... but she still couldn't bring herself to steal. She simply couldn't do it, no matter how desperate she was. Eira pushed the bundled-up blanket back onto the shelf, seeing another blanket next to it but it was meant to be used as a picnic blanket instead of being used for warmth. The material was a lot thinner and it was a lot smaller, but it was just the right price. Eira would have less than ten pesos left, but she was desperate - they were desperate.
Anything was better than nothing.
Eira took a deep breath before walking to the counter and the look on the old man's face as she approached told her everything she needed to know, but she had to try. She didn't have any other choice but to try. She placed the picnic blanket on the counter, digging into her pockets for the money and she laid it all down beside it.
"Please." Eira choked out, but the old man immediately shook his head and pushed the dollar bills and coins back towards her.
"We don't serve your kind here." He said and Eira couldn't help but let a few tears fall.
"My kind?" She questioned.
"Homeless!" The old man raised his voice, making her jump and she could feel eyes on her, the other customers watching what was happening.
"I have the money-"
"And God knows how you got that amount of money. I want nothing to do with it. Get out and don't come back." He growled and Eira's tears fell faster down her face.
"I didn't feed myself for days to save up money for this. Please! My sister is sick! She's seventeen! She needs warmth! Medicine is too expensive, she needs warmth!" Eira pleaded, but the old man didn't budge. His facial expression remained unbothered, his eyes cold as they burned into hers.
"A likely story." He said, pushing the money so much towards her that some of the coins fell onto the floor and Eira's anger grew when she saw the corners of his lips twitch as if he was biting back a smile. He was enjoying torturing her, knowing he had the power over her.
"My sister could die." Eira could barely speak over a whisper.
"And that isn't my problem. Get out of my store before I call the police." Eira let out a quiet sob, bending down to pick up the coins that had fallen to the ground and she shoved them back in her pockets.
"Fine... fuck your dumb overpriced piece of shit anyway. When my baby sister dies, I'll be sure to send you her funeral bill."
"Please do, I love getting junk mail." The old man retaliated and it took all of Eira's willpower not to punch him. Instead, she turned around and walked out of the store completely and she slumped down onto the bench by the side of the road outside and she couldn't stop herself from bursting into sobs - she had no idea how she was going to go back to her sister with nothing. Medicine was too expensive, especially when she had no idea what she needed.
"Hey." A voice said quietly, but Eira still jumped with shock and she turned her head, recognizing the woman as one of the customers in the store who was on her own.
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"I-I'm so sorry about what happened back there, nobody deserves to be treated that way." She breathed and Eira wiped her eyes, but more tears kept falling. She couldn't stop shaking, terrified of how her sister would be when she returned to her.
"It's fine... I'm used to it." Eira mumbled honestly.
"Well, you shouldn't be... it's not much, but it's all the store next door had. It's some food, water, a blanket... I hope your sister gets better." The woman said softly.
"Thank you." Eira choked out.
"Don't mention it." The woman said with a soft smile, before walking away, leaving Eira with the bag of food, water, and a picnic blanket bundled up beside it.
Nobody had been that kind to Eira in a very long time - in years.
