• Horrified orbs of emerald green darted to and fro like ping pong balls scanning the vast expanse of the crowd city streets. Normally, the scrawny half-pint fiery haired adolescent would have avoided the inner walls of the village no matter how pressing the need, but today was different. Today the berry patches that she normally scoured for nourishment were depleted and the vineyard that she usually robbed at night was all but bare. Indeed, there was no where else to go to find sustenance for her famished growling gut!

    'What are you doing here?!' the pale skinned child chided herself silently as she stood silently tucked away in the pitch blackness of the abandoned alley way as the dancing light of oil lamps bounced from one wall to the next. 'If they catch you, you'll be force to work for them again or worse!'

    Still, as freighted as she was there was no turning back for she was already well within the confines of the city walls, and more importantly she was half-starved! There was no other option!

    Slowly, a frail hand reached out grasping a bright red treasure from the nearest stand, and then like lightning her twig like legs began working overtime as they propelled her across a street, up a wooden fire escape ladder, and on to a roof too where she plopped down with a thud before greedily devouring the moist ruby red apple. She smiled as her stomach ceased gnawing at her backbone no caring about the apple juice that was dripping like rain onto her dirty white dress as a chill northern wind blew her red locks to and fro.