Judgmental stares and pitying eyes pierced through me, and suddenly I yearned for our steady pace to turn into a quick one. Out of the corner of my eye, I see their hushed whispers as we pass by. "Poor girl." Pity. "Life has been too hard on her." Sympathy. "A pity that the riches ended up with someone like her." Disappointment. I bowed my head as I chose to ignore the world around me and tried to escape the prying eyes. Time seemed to have slowed down as our trek felt a tad bit too long. At last, a pair of black, shiny shoes and a hand appeared in my range of vision. I slowly looked up and met the smiling eyes of an aged man. He gave me an encouraging nod. I took the offered hand and he helped me climb up the vehicle. ------------------------------- A short story written for my club, thought I would publish it here too and hopefully get critiques. - Dani.