The Parables

Eely - Precinct Five

Eely - Precinct Five

I stare at the coin in my hand. Not enough. Far from enough. I sigh and put the coin back in my trouser pocket. Shaking my head at the stall master in front of me, I move on. Another day spent hungry, I guess. My eyes wander over to the stew stall. A couple of adults are sitting at the counter, eating steaming bowls of stew. My mouth waters, but I shake off the hunger. Family comes first.

I delve into my trouser pocket and draw out its contents. A coin worth next to nothing, a small pouch of edible berries, a couple of odd buttons and a long piece of string. I let out a quiet groan and make my way towards the exit. The Bazaar can't do anything for me today.

"Eely?"

I turn around, startled. Darian stands behind me, frowning.

"Oh, hello, Darian," I mumble, smiling weakly.

"Aren't you going to buy anything?"

"Erm..." I stammer. "They didn't have what I was looking for."

"That's a shame."

"I guess it is." I turn to leave.

"Do you want to get some stew?"

I turn back around. "Oh, I don't have enough," I edge backwards slowly. "Maybe another time."

"Oh, no, my treat."

"Really?"

Darian nods, and beckons me over. I stay stood there, wondering what Ma would say. She'd be cross, because I didn't bring home anything, and that I accepted charity. But it's not really charity, and she wouldn't know if I didn't tell her.

I tell myself to leave, but instead, I find myself walking over to the stew stall. I hop up on a seat beside the counter next to Darian and listen to him as he orders two bowls of stew. It comes quickly, and I gulp it down within seconds. The stew fills my empty stomach, warming my body up in the icy atmosphere. Precinct Five always has the worst of the weathers. If it's cold, it's below freezing. If it's hot, it's above boiling.

"You ate that quick," Darian remarks.

I smile at him and lap up the last spoonful. "I haven't eaten like this for ages."

"Would you like some more?"

Suddenly, I remember my family. Shivering in the cold, huddling together, trying to stay warm. The bitter air seeping in through the shattered windows. A single threadbare blanket, keeping them alive from the weather that tortures them. The blanket, that I should've replaced today. But I didn't.

"No, no thank you." I hurriedly get down from the seat. "Thanks for the stew, but, I've...got to go now."

Before Darian can say anything else, I dash out of the Bazaar and sprint towards my house. It's not really a house of such, just a small hut with one room. It's quite a large room - big enough to be split into two rooms - but it's still one room, and that's not the best environment for a family of five to live in.

We never used to live in this hut. We once used to live in a cabin, like the rest of the Precinct did. It was spacious and kept the heat in and the windows were strong enough not to be broken. But then, a fire occurred in the middle of the night. It destroyed several cabins, including ours. We all managed to get out, but we lost everything that day. The Mayor had only one choice, and that was to put each family in one of the old huts.

Many people smile at me as I pass them. I used to think it was because they were being nice, but now I know it's out of guilt. Guilt because they have everything when we have nothing. Yes, our Precinct isn't the poorest, but nobody here is wealthy enough to supply three square meals a day for the whole of their family.