Decemberland

~Short Story: Breaking Bread~

       Nico’s stomach growled for the hundredth time that day. The sun shone down on the busy streets of Mombasa from the middle of the sky, and she still hadn’t had managed to find anything to eat yet. She pulled her pockets inside out. Once again, they were empty. She couldn’t stand it anymore. These crowded streets should have made it easy for her to snatch something from the public food stands, but her gut instincts relentlessly nagged at her every time she attempted it. And if she never followed any other rule of being a thief again, she would always follow the first: never ignore your gut instinct.

                She already had her run of bad luck earlier this morning after all. She lost her raggedy old skull cap somewhere along the muddy road between the marketplace and the housing district. Now her long, pointy elf ears were in full view of every human crossing her path. And it didn’t help how easily her crimson red hair drew everyone’s attention.

                Her eyes caught sight of the patronizing, judgmental stares from every human within sight of her. They were all the same as well, no matter the social status. Anger brimming, she made a snap decision. Ambiguous or not, she was going to have something to eat—and it was going to be free.

                She swallowed hard. Her hands shook. The shadows were not going to help her here, and she stood out like a zebra among a heard of white horses. Everyone would see her, and this one meal would cost her any chances of walking back into the market again. But desperation set in, and her stomach would eat itself from the inside out if she didn’t fill it with something soon. She had no other choice. Her only option was to grab something and run.

                The bread stand owner stared at her suspiciously, and she stared back, just inches away from a loaf within reach. The dirt on her face must have already given her away as a peasant with no money. Hopefully not as a practiced thief yet.

                Slowly she raised her arm within full view of the owner. His eyes widened, and his mouth opened like he was about to say something. Suddenly, the doors behind the stand burst open, and another baker in a white suit stomped through it, dragging a small, shirtless boy through by the wrist. The boy held a large loaf in his hands and he struggled to keep it away from the baker whom he stole it from, but the baker had no trouble reaching for it and taking it back. Once he had his loaf of bread again, he proceeded to throw the boy in the air where he landed face first into the muddy road. The baker shouted multiple obscenities at the young boy before threatening to cut off his hands. With that, he stomped right back into his store.

                While the owner of the stand and everyone else was distracted by the event, Nico managed to snag the first loaf of bread she saw and make a speedy escape without anyone noticing. She smiled victoriously as she made her way to the first dark corner she could find, and dug into the loaf. That first bite was heavenly. She almost forgot to chew before swallowing, and as it went down her throat and hit her stomach, she felt as if she could have cried. Never had a simple loaf tasted so delicious. She had to go back for seconds if she could ever find her cap.

                She was ready to take a second, very large bite of the loaf, when the sight of the young human boy from earlier stopped her. He stood in front of her, his mouth slightly unhinged. He stared, not at her, but at the loaf of bread in her hands, with a longing expression on his mud covered face. His eyes were bloodshot and baggy, patches of hair were missing from his scalp, and his ribs stood out further than his stomach.

                Nico sighed. The loaf of bread in her hands didn’t look quite so appetizing anymore. She walked up to the small boy, and he stared up at her, smacking his dry, cracked lips. “Here,” she said, handing him the loaf of bread. His eyes darted between the loaf and her disgruntled face, as if to ask, “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, hurry up, take it,” Nico insisted. The boy slowly reached out to take it with both hands. Then snatched it from her and ran off quicker than she even thought possible for a little boy like that. Nico heaved another long, drawn out sigh. Now what was she going to have for breakfast? It was already lunch and she had nothing but a single bite of bread. It seemed as if she was going to remain hungry for a while longer.

Two hours past mid-day and Nico began to feel sick. She had been wandering around the marketplace for hours, and the stares were relentless. Hiding her ears with her hands literally reduced the stares by half, but she needed those to steal food.

About ready to give up and start begging, she found a brick wall and slunk against it. She didn’t have the strength to stand any longer and slid down onto the ground and closed her eyes. The crowd blocked the sun’s rays, and it felt delightful because it had been beating her down with them all day. It wouldn’t have been so bad if she had her cap…

Suddenly, the cool feeling of a wet rag flopped on top of her head. It surprised her, but felt good, so she didn’t complain. However, when she opened her eyes to see who threw the rag on her, she saw the same little boy from earlier standing in front of her with three loaves in his arms a big, toothy grin on his face, and her old, raggedy cap on his head.

She pulled the rag off. “Did… you snag all these loaves?” she asked. He nodded eagerly. Nico stared at him in amazement. Her mouth slowly curved into a devious grin. “You’re good.”

He giggled and then handed her a loaf. Her devious grin softened into an appreciative smile. She hesitated to take it, but he softly nudged her with it until she decided to give in. “Thank you,” she said, taking the loaf. They both sad down and started to dig in, and when she took that first bite, it tasted just as delicious as before. No, even better.

“That was delicious,” she said when she finished her loaf. The small boy was about halfway through his, and he looked like he enjoyed every mouthful. But he momentarily stopped to look at her head, like he was noticing her many inhuman features for the first time. Nico held her breath, anxiously waiting for what the boy would do or say. He put his loaves down, got up, and walked over to her. Then he took off Nico’s trusty old cap, put it on her head, and tucked her ears underneath it. The boy surprised her yet again. He wasn’t looking at her ears—instead, he noticed the lack of cap on her head.

“I was going to let you keep that,” she said with a smile. He smiled back, a sense of accomplishment beaming from it. He split the next loaf in half with her, and Nico happily shared it with him.

Ten minutes later, they both got ready to part ways. The boy looked up at her longingly. A ting of regret filled her chest, but she knew she couldn’t let a small boy follow her around and share all of her problems. She reached out and put her hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I can’t stay here, and you can’t follow me. But we’ll see each other again, okay? I promise.” He frowned, but wrapped his arms around her without hesitation. A bittersweet smile spread across her face as she hugged him back. “Take care of yourself.”

The boy pulled away and eagerly drew something out of his pocket. It was an empty bag that the baker put his loaves of bread in. He unraveled it from the crinkled ball that it was in his pocket until he could see the label. Then he peeled off the sticker on the baker’s bag that said, “Made With Love.” A cheesy sticker, but a marketing strategy that somehow made the best-selling loaf in the town.

The boy reached up to her cap and stuck it right on the flap. Nico nodded. “That’ll make me stand out, you goof.” She turned it to the front so that now no matter who stared, that would be the first thing they saw. “See you later, kid.”

As she left for the exit to the city, her fingers began to itch. The sign that it’s been too long since she last emptied a pocket. Now that she had her cap back, not nearly as many people looked at her. She stuck her hands in her pant pockets and whistled a cheery little tune before casually entering the last crowd before the gate. Might as well grab a few souvenirs before heading out. Maybe even a loaf of bread for lunch.