Hamstung
The clustered voices of villagers filled the market; people were busy trooping in and out casually, moving carts carrying loaded foodstuffs around.
There was a man whose stall was filled with people struggling to get a loaf of bread before it ran out. On a wooden tray, the bread was piled up for all to see; suddenly, a swift hand snatched a loaf of bread without the notice of anyone.
The figure glided away smoothly before gazing ahead.
A woman who owned a stall and was selling some fruits was also crowded with customers. The owner of the shop was busy collecting coins from the customers, and then she would give out the fruit of their choice in return.
Again, without the notice of anyone, the same swift hand snatched a red apple from the basket and then slid out of the crowd.
The hand belonged to a figure clothed in a black cloak. The face was concealed under the hood of the cloak. Suddenly the figure gazed ahead; at another stall, the owner was selling baked biscuits. Most of the customers gathered around that stall were children of different ages.
The figure slowly walked up to the store. The owner was a young woman. The children had their coins in their hands, trying to buy the baked biscuits before they ran out.
"Three biscuits!
The voice of the person whose face was concealed with the hood of the cloak shrilled. The owner gave out three biscuits and then took three brass coins in return.
Although the owner of the shop was busy and pressured by customers, she took a moment to glance at the coins…they were fake!
"Thief! These coins are fake! Catch that lady!
Joya was already some distance away from the biscuit stall when she heard the loud voice of the woman. She began to run, and some men went after her in hot pursuit.
The market was busy and paths narrow, but Joya had been here for three days. She had learned all the pathways; she had them scripted in her brain, and she used it to her advantage.
"Move!
Joya snapped at a man hawking a tray of dried meat; she pushed past the man, and the tray in his hand faltered, his wares falling on the floor, being trampled by passersby.
"Hey, you there, stop!
One of the men going after Joya screamed, but she knew better than to stop running. These villagers had a strict stealing policy; if she allowed herself to get caught, she would be stripped naked and made to walk around the village being shamed, or she would be stoned to death.
Joya increased her pace; she was barefooted, and the sole of her feet was dusty and brown as it made contact with the ground.
Within the three days she had lived in the market, she had learned a lot of things. The first being that survival on the streets hits hard.
Still running, Joya took a turn; she bumped into a woman selling oranges, and the tray of oranges placed on her head faltered and scattered all over the ground. Joya paused, grabbed two oranges, and resumed her running; these men were chasing her like wild dogs.
Her breath was becoming unstable; she looked back. They were gone, nowhere to be found. She slowed down her pace, catching her breath, sweat trickling down her face.
She crouched down, placing both hands on her knees, then inhaled sharply. Just then she began to hear the ground shake under the weight of footsteps approaching.
Joya raised her gaze and was shocked to see the two men coming from the opposite direction; they must have turned around and taken another route.
Joya straightened up, turned around, and began another wild race, the hood on her face falling off. Her pretty face came into view, but she looked like a handsome boy… Her hair was very short.
This leads to the second thing Joya learned in the three days she has been homeless. No one knows the street better than those who have stayed in it for years.
This was what was playing out right now, she had thought; she could escape these men by running in chaos and passing strategic routes...but she was wrong!
They knew the streets better than her. Joya was tired; a rivulet of sweat trickled down her face, almost blurring her vision. Her feet were stumbling on stones and were badly injured from running on broken glass.
She takes another alley, then immediately flings the black cloak off her body, and then begins to mingle among the crowd.
The men after her didn't see her face; by the time they also took a turn towards the direction she went, they only found a black cloak on the dusty ground, but no sign of who was wearing it.
The men raised their gaze and looked around; the traders in the streets were busy, and customers were going about their business. Among those customers was Joya, standing opposite a fish stall pretending to be a customer.
Using her side view, she peered at the corner to see if the men were still there; they were gone. She sighed in relief and then stepped out of the crowd; she had a worn-out waist pack strapped around her waist, and that was where she stored the things she stole.
She walked around the market until she found a secluded place; it was a dark alley, and above were clothes hanging on numerous ropes from the neighborhood. The ropes were tied to a nail on the walls, hanging loosely.
Joya sat on the ground and then brought out the loaf of bread from the dirty bag. She brought the tip of the bread to her nostrils; it smelled fresh.
She took a bite and munched on the deliciousness; she was so absorbed with her food she didn't know when another figure sneaked up beside her.
A hand tapped on Joya's shoulders, and she froze; the bread she was about to take a second bite from stopped halfway to her mouth.
She slowly raised her gaze, her heart racing fast.
Her eyes fell on two small girls, and she sighed in relief, closing her eyes while placing her hand on her chest at the same time. She had thought it was those men after her.
"Ma'am, please give us some food; we are hungry." The eldest of the two girls said.
Her face was dirty, and her hair was moldy.
They were very thin, wearing rags, their bodies filled with scars gotten from trying to survive on the streets.
Joya scanned the two little girls, then made up her mind to be generous. She broke the bread in her hands into two and then gave it to them each.
"Thank you, ma'am!
They both chorused excitedly but weakly.
They were starved; they devoured the bread hungrily, their brown teeth chewing it with delight.
Joya watched them, filled with empathy. She brought out the three biscuits she had stolen and gave them one each, then ate the last one.
"We are fortunate to meet you; the gods bless you." They said after eating the biscuits, they turned around and were on their way.
Joya wanted to stop them and ask about their parents. Why were they alone? They were too little to fend for themselves.
But she held back because she had learned the hard way that no one can be trusted, not even little children.
She brought out the apple in her bag and then began to eat it.
"That was a very tasty bread." She wondered to herself, still relishing the taste of the bread in her mouth; it was very delicious. No wonder the owners of the bread stall always had customers.
She hated the fact that she had to steal to survive; it was pathetic.
Joya sighed; her thoughts were in a whirlwind, and she slowly lost her appetite. She kept the half-eaten apple inside the bag.
She kept thinking of everything she had gone through just to get to this point; she was so deep in thoughts she didn't know when she fell asleep.
...
Someone tapped lightly on Joya's shoulders; it became aggressive, and she was forced to shoot her eyes open.
At first her vision was cloudy, her eyelids still heavy with tiredness.
"Get up, Joya."
A voice said, and Joya froze. The person had just called her by her name.
She raised her gaze and was shocked by what she saw; staring back at her was the exact replica of herself. It was as if she was looking at a mirror, only that the person in front of her was well dressed in an outfit befitting royalty.
"Who are you?" Joya asked, crawling back in fright; her eyes were now fully opened to see what was in front of her. She can't be dreaming; this was real.
The person standing in front of her smiled.
"You do not still know me." She said, then stretched out her hand. Joya hesitantly took it, then steadily rose to her feet.
"You look exactly like me." Joya couldn't help but point out, in astonishment.
"That's because we are one. I am your flesh and your blood. How can you not see this?"
"What is your name then?" Joya questioned, peering at the figure in front of her; she thought she was going crazy.
"I have told you my name before, times without number, yet you keep asking me this very question any time we meet." Katie said, feigning anger.
"You look like a queen."
Joya said, the words sounding like a burden, What is going on?!
"Look at me."
Katie said and then cupped Joya's face.
"You must remember my name this time; repeat after me...Katie," she says, and Joya looked at her in a weird manner before calling out the name.
"Katie?"
"Yes...yes...now don't forget this name. This will be the last time I will come to you. I have to go, but when you do rise in favor, remember me."
"Where are you going?"
Joya asked, getting agitated.
"To a place far away from here, where my soul will finally rest…in peace."
Katie says before planting a kiss on Joya's forehead.
"Mother was wrong to have kept us apart; destiny does play cruel games." Katie said, and after that there was silence.
She was gone, just like that; she disappeared.
Joya blinked her eyes; she had a lot of questions to ask but didn't know how to voice them. Suddenly, she began to hear the voice of children giggling. Their voice loud and piercing, she looked around but couldn't find anyone.
She pressed her hand against her ears to block the noise, but it was of no use; their voice continued to jar at her nerves, and then she screamed.
"Stop! Stop it!
The noise stopped. Joya slowly opened her eyes; she listened for the noise…it actually stopped. But when she looked around, she found herself seated in the same position she was when she fell asleep.
She was dreaming?… But it looked so real.
She rubbed her eyes, then looked around again; she wasn't on her feet, she was still seated on the ground.
Joya swallowed hard; she was sweating profusely, to the extent her dress was soaked.
She steadily rose to her feet; she needed to find a place to lay her head before nightfall. But just as she made to walk…she noticed something. The small bag strapped around her waist was missing.
Joya's heart skipped.
"Oh no...no, no, no!
She screams in frustration, looking around; the bag was nowhere to be found—it was gone.
Joya felt like killing herself to end this misery. That apple and one orange would have been her dinner, then the other orange for breakfast tomorrow, and then she would have tried to steal again, but now all her food was gone, including the bag.
It was like the law of nature was playing games with her; she stole from people, and now she became a victim of theft.
She placed her hand on her waist tiredly. Then a thought crossed her mind.
"Maybe that was why I was hearing the voices of children. Did those little girls come back and steal from me?"
She kicked the ground hard, but only dust rose in the air.
Now she regretted ever giving them that bread to eat; just as she was mourning her loss, a name crossed her mind.
"Katie!
The name slipped out of her lips suddenly; she remembered!
She finally remembered the name of the person coming to her dreams. She lowered her gaze, then started reminiscing on the dream she had.
"Who is Katie?"