The Sword of Darkness

18 Dog

(Rights to owner)

A black dog with matted fur ran through the alleyways passing the village’s huts. In its mouth it carried a white stuffed animal cow. It was clean despite being in the dog’s mouth.  In the distance were sounds of incoherent chatter mixed with grunts and blades smacking wood. The dog exited the alleyway and entered the market street. People sauntered by, stopping to take a glance at the merchant booths. Each booth specialized in some product; in the middle section was the food district.  The dog sat on its haunches and watched a group of giggling teenage girls walk by. They wore colorful dresses of pinks and blues and greens indicating there status of society. They stuck out from the droll brown that everybody else had. Those girls carried baskets of ripe fruits and vegetables. The tomatoes were plump with drops of water glittering them. The bananas were yellow and swollen. The dog’s stomach growled at the sight of food. It had been two days since he had eaten real food. Picking through scraps in a garbage can could only do so much.

 Then the dog saw a familiar face amidst the crowd. It was a young boy who had a prideful stride despite wearing rags for clothes.  His face was serene but filled with an air of arrogance. He walked past the dog who still sat in the alleyway. He whistled at it and gestured with his head for it to follow him. The dog immediately ran over to the boy’s side.

 The boy walked in the center of the market. He occasionally took note of the selling booths. He studied each merchant. Most were young adults who had keen eyes, capable of spotting thieves with no problem. The boy couldn’t go after those people. He didn’t want to risk his life for food.

 “Mar.” The boy said, looking down at the dog. He saw it still had the stuffed animal. It irritated him when his little brother brought his stuffed animal on jobs. “You know the plan. You distract, and I go for the goods, ok? And why did you bring Cowy?” The dog bowed his head and whimpered. He was attached to his stuffed animal named Cowy and he couldn’t help it. The dog ran off. Several minutes later the dog came back without the stuffed animal.

The boy smiled. “Good Mar. Now follow me.” He then approached one of the booths. An old man with a kind smile and long blue robes worked behind the counter. On the stand was an array of vegetables and fruits. The boy skipped over the vegetables and eyed the fruit. He noticed the apples that were at the edge of the counter. The easy ‘snatch-and-go’ as he would always say.

 “Well hello little boy. How may I help you?” The old man’s voice was worn.

 “I’m not little.” The boy said.

 “Oh of course not. So how old are you?”

“Thirteen.” The boy said with a grin.

 “Ooo. You really are big. And what’s your name?”

 “I’m-“ The boy was cut off by the old man being distracted. The feeble merchant turned back swatting at Mar with his cane. Only a few seconds passed and the dog fled. But those few seconds was enough time. The old man turned back and the boy was gone. The merchant wasn’t as oblivious as the boy had assumed, he noticed two apples were missing. He knew because he had counted how much he had before. He walked around the booth with his cane and into the street.

He saw the boy walking and yelled. “Come back here ,you thief!”