Freya hated everything about Lotty’s happy-sounding voice and how she was always excited about everything.
“Freya. I am heavy, right?” She asked shyly.
She probably felt sorry for asking Freya to give her a piggyback ride, and she squirmed her body to try to get down from Freya’s back. When she did that, Freya reached out and patted her on the shoulder, “Hey, it’s too much trouble, so just stay.”
Gasping for air, Freya carried Lotty until they reached an alley where the busy street began. After wiping the sweat from her forehead, she took out a small bowl from her bag and set it down. It was the best spot she’d found in two years.
“Wow, it’s warm,” Freya exclaimed. When the sun started to rise, one could feel its warmth until around 3 p.m. But it was worth the discomfort as crowds of people walked up and down the bustling road, so the profits there weren’t too bad. Freya poked at Lotty’s tummy when a pretty woman, holding a well-dressed baby boy, walked past them. “Cry, now!”
“Freya. Why are you hitting me? It hurts,” Lotty, with her bulging belly, started crying at Freya’s sudden gesture.
“Please help me. My sister is very sick.” Freya blinked her green eyes and wondered how many people would stop walking, but they all passed by.
Lotty, who soon stopped crying, stood up and stared pitifully at a pedestrian and boldly asked, “Why don’t you give me money?”
Freya watched in amazement as this was Lotty’s first time working the streets. She jumped up and shook her head as she watched Lotty twirling on one foot, looking like she didn’t know the ins and outs of how the world worked.
“Hey, Freya. Why don’t we have jackets?” She asked with a sad look on her face. It wasn’t even winter yet, and there was already a cold wind blowing. With her shoulders shivering, Lotty compared their clothes to those of the people who walked by.
Aunt Sophia had said that they had to look as shabby as possible to earn a lot of money. However, from Freya’s perspective, this was far from deliberately staged poverty. “That’s because we are poor,” she replied, and she thought about how it sometimes felt cozier outside than it did inside her home.
“Then the other kids work like us too?”
“Um, well,” Freya blurted her words as she looked at a girl in a navy coat wearing a white hat and lace socks, holding her mother’s hand tightly. Perhaps that was not so.
It had been a few years since Freya had started begging in the area, and she had seen countless children her age passing by, laughing and eating candy. No matter how many of them she saw, they never seemed to be working as her. They always had smiles on their shiny faces, and their neat hair didn’t look like it had any fleas.
Lotty, lying on her back, began to whine, “Hey, Freya. I am hungry.”
“Hey! Why are you so clumsy? Look at your belly.” At Freya’s verbal attack, Lotty looked down in tears as she rubbed her belly.
Freya had shouted coldly at her, and anyone looking would be able to tell what Lotty was feeling right now. “Help me! Please!” Freya screeched in a high-pitched voice in an attempt to get someone’s attention, and some people looked back, frowning at the poor kids.
“That’s how they punish orphans,” a passer-by said.
“They do look to be violent, but don’t you feel sorry for them?” Her friend asked.
Two middle-aged women were talking as they walked by, gripping their pretty parasols. Freya felt a little embarrassed when she heard the words “orphan” and “punish.” And she also wondered what the lady meant when she said that they looked to be violent. Freya frowned deeply, as she hated the people who talked bad about her while passing by and then didn’t give her any money.
Lotty, who was drawing butterflies on the sidewalk, looked up curiously, “Freya. What is an orphan?”
“Me and you, kids with no mom and dad.”
“Is that bad?”
As soon as Lotty made a disappointed face, Freya scolded her, “Who cares? If we go back with no money, Aunt Sophia will hit us.”
Listening to Freya’s blunt remarks, Lotty scratched a blister on her head and muttered helplessly, “Hitting is okay. I want dinner.”
You are an idiot! It was clear that she had never had a proper scolding because she was so young. Recalling Aunt Sophia’s strong hand, Freya had a fearful look on her face now, “Cry loud if you want to eat dinner. Very loudly!” But Lotty closed her mouth tightly, ignoring her, and continued drawing on the concrete. Perhaps their luck had run out because today, they hadn’t even earned half of what she usually did.
The walk back home felt much longer than usual. Sophia sat at the entrance, checking the money bowls that the returning children all had their money in, and only the ones who had the required amount of money were allowed to eat dinner.
“You’re okay to go to the dining room,” Sophia said to the girl in front of them.
After standing in line, Freya and Lotty’s turn finally came, and Freya’s mouth was so dry that she could barely swallow. She knew it was impossible to deceive Sophia’s fierce eyes.
“Don’t tell me you two are trying to steal my money,” Sophia raised her voice, shaking the money bowl mercilessly.
Freya, blanched with fear, could barely speak, “No, madam. We had bad luck today.”
“Luck?” Sophia threw the bowl at the child’s face and stood up. The cold, hard metal clanked against her cheek and forehead. With her eyes closed, she shuddered as she recalled the hell that was about to unfold. “Kid. Now is not the time to talk about luck.” Sophia squinted, swinging the long rod in her hand threateningly.