Lonely bird

Chapter 1

She had been told the world was split up in two. Those who were something, and those who were not. There were those who you stared at as you passed them on the streets, who were keeping their heads high as they danced forwards on the overly crowded streets And then there were those who you never even noticed as they passed you, heads held lower, who were walking quieter.

Her sister had once told her that it didn't matter who you were, a seller, shoemaker, even a businessman. Everyone served the top, just like the bees served their queen.

Maja quickly moved her body to the side of the street as a carriage, pulled by two horses, rolled down the street in high speed. It had been 4 years ago her sister older sister had told her about it, though the words still rung freshly in her head. I am going to be remembered, she'd said.

Maja took a turn to the right, away from the warm, muddy, and crowded main street of the city, smoothly avoiding the lost-looking tourists and the hurrying businessmen, climbing up a narrow and dark alley. The sky glowed in orange and pink as the last rays of the sun left the city for the day, going to sleep before another busy day tomorrow.

The alley was left pitch black as the night arrived, but Maja didn't need the help of the sun or a lamp to navigate, she knew the slight inclined alley by heart. The houses around her reached up in the night sky, and through a few of the windows on the higher floors, bright yellow light streamed out.

Maja kept walking further and further, until she reached the far end of the alley, where a high brick wall stopped her from going to far. Several brown dustbins and trash were spread out, attracting all sorts of insects. She took a small leap and jumped up onto one of the bins, steadying her body upon the instable, rusty lid. And with the help of a broken gutter above her head she heaved herself through a broken window into one of the buildings.

She entered a room so small you could barely fit more than two persons in it. Just as the alley outside, the room was depending on the light of the sun, and now when the sun wasn't present, the darkness even consumed your own hands in front of you.

With a sigh, Maja sunk down on a thin mattress that she'd pushed to the left wall. Everything else she owned was laying in a pile next to it, containing all sorts of stuff that she'd taken from the market on the other side of the city.

She dug in the depth of the pocket to her black and dirty jacket and pulled out a piece of bread. It had been baked at a cafe only a few blocks away from her. A young boy had had tears running down his cheeks as he was eating a late breakfast with his family. "I WANTED THE ONE WITH CHEESE", Maja had heard, before the boy's parents had ordered him a new one. No one had noticed her, no one had bothered to look at her as she sneaked up to the table and took the forgotten sandwich. To them, she didn't even exist.

Maja put the bread under her nose. The sweet but salty ham made her mouth water. For just a moment, she was somewhere else, somewhere warm and safe, like she was reliving a far and distant memory. She could see her sister. Her long, dark hair and smile, brighter than the sun as she said; I'm going to be remembered.