Read Online All Things Eternal (Book 2) by Alex Villavasso - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Alex Villavasso
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sorry,” Omari said as he pushed the cup forward, moving it closer to the entrance of their temporary home. When the people came, usually they’d drop some spare change and the like if they were feeling generous. The first wave came in the morning, the second, around lunch. By nightfall, people were mainly preoccupied with themselves or their families, so charity was few and far between.
“Happy now?” Skye said as she flicked her wrist in her brother’s direction.
“Delighted,” Omari said with a chuckle, his eyes overseeing the miserable landscape that he was ashamed to call home. Lost in thought, Omari surveyed the damaged housing and the muddy roads that entrenched them, the same theme that crept into his mind like an old melody that refused to be forgotten. Is there even a way out? With no family and their unique disposition, the thought of their future always left him without answer. In his heart, Omari always felt like maybe for he and Skye it would be different, but for so many others to meet their fate in a similar fashion, he often wondered what made him or her any different.
“So, what’s the plan for today?” Skye asked with slanted brows, her soft expression clearing the murky waters that clouded Omari’s vision. “The usual, right? Best get to it.”
“Yeah.” With a sudden awareness, Omari responded before staring at the worn, empty cup that rested at his feet. Mornings were usually when charity was at its highest. Beg till lunch and then get something to eat was usually the plan. In the meantime, thinking about ways to get out would come to mind whenever surviving drifted to the backline. After lunch, they’d try to catch another wave, which usually consisted of people grabbing for their own change after a well-deserved meal. God willing, they’d give, but only on occasion.
With the extra taxes and penalties orchestrated by the king, poverty was the norm. The people, of course, longed for change but with the Vanguard practically at their throats, what should have been a scream was often times only released as a grumble, and even then there was a price to be paid. Saying the wrong thing to the wrong person often resulted into a beating or at least a regrettable encounter with the law. They were untouchable. A spiritual predecessor of the greater evil known as the king, overlord of the lower divisions. Work, struggle, live, survive, sleep. That was all there was to life, and with every day, the battle began yet again.
Before long, the slum streets filled with life with the start of a new day. Over the passing hours, Omari watched as his cup steadily filled with coins and other items. The regulars would drop something off every now and then but were careful not to get attached. He and Skye knew them by face, but never by name. It was better that way. How else could one rationalize leaving two children on the side of the street unattended? Help while you can, when you can, but ultimately their lives rested in their own hands. That was the way of the slums.
“Hey, we have enough now. Let’s get something to eat before it’s too late,” Omari said as he looked down into the half-filled cup that sat at his feet.
“Okay. How are you feeling? Do you want me to go and get the food? I can get it for us. I know where to go.”
“I’m fine. We can go together. It’ll be nice to go for a walk. It’s nice today considering the rain we had last night.” Omari knew better than to ever let Skye out of his sight. People were cruel, and even the most sincere of people were capable of the nastiest things given the right circumstances.
“Hmm…”
“What’s wrong, Skye?” Omari watched her as a look of concern spread across her face.
“We’re going to pay back the store keeper from yesterday, right?”
“Of course…plus extra. I think he has a family and they’re not doing to good.”
The burden that was on Skye’s heart lifted at the sound of the good news, even though Omari
“Happy now?” Skye said as she flicked her wrist in her brother’s direction.
“Delighted,” Omari said with a chuckle, his eyes overseeing the miserable landscape that he was ashamed to call home. Lost in thought, Omari surveyed the damaged housing and the muddy roads that entrenched them, the same theme that crept into his mind like an old melody that refused to be forgotten. Is there even a way out? With no family and their unique disposition, the thought of their future always left him without answer. In his heart, Omari always felt like maybe for he and Skye it would be different, but for so many others to meet their fate in a similar fashion, he often wondered what made him or her any different.
“So, what’s the plan for today?” Skye asked with slanted brows, her soft expression clearing the murky waters that clouded Omari’s vision. “The usual, right? Best get to it.”
“Yeah.” With a sudden awareness, Omari responded before staring at the worn, empty cup that rested at his feet. Mornings were usually when charity was at its highest. Beg till lunch and then get something to eat was usually the plan. In the meantime, thinking about ways to get out would come to mind whenever surviving drifted to the backline. After lunch, they’d try to catch another wave, which usually consisted of people grabbing for their own change after a well-deserved meal. God willing, they’d give, but only on occasion.
With the extra taxes and penalties orchestrated by the king, poverty was the norm. The people, of course, longed for change but with the Vanguard practically at their throats, what should have been a scream was often times only released as a grumble, and even then there was a price to be paid. Saying the wrong thing to the wrong person often resulted into a beating or at least a regrettable encounter with the law. They were untouchable. A spiritual predecessor of the greater evil known as the king, overlord of the lower divisions. Work, struggle, live, survive, sleep. That was all there was to life, and with every day, the battle began yet again.
Before long, the slum streets filled with life with the start of a new day. Over the passing hours, Omari watched as his cup steadily filled with coins and other items. The regulars would drop something off every now and then but were careful not to get attached. He and Skye knew them by face, but never by name. It was better that way. How else could one rationalize leaving two children on the side of the street unattended? Help while you can, when you can, but ultimately their lives rested in their own hands. That was the way of the slums.
“Hey, we have enough now. Let’s get something to eat before it’s too late,” Omari said as he looked down into the half-filled cup that sat at his feet.
“Okay. How are you feeling? Do you want me to go and get the food? I can get it for us. I know where to go.”
“I’m fine. We can go together. It’ll be nice to go for a walk. It’s nice today considering the rain we had last night.” Omari knew better than to ever let Skye out of his sight. People were cruel, and even the most sincere of people were capable of the nastiest things given the right circumstances.
“Hmm…”
“What’s wrong, Skye?” Omari watched her as a look of concern spread across her face.
“We’re going to pay back the store keeper from yesterday, right?”
“Of course…plus extra. I think he has a family and they’re not doing to good.”
The burden that was on Skye’s heart lifted at the sound of the good news, even though Omari
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