Chapter 153: Lesson Learned Pt.2
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What the baker had done in his eyes were vent his anger on another 'deserving' poor child. However, what he was truly doing was finding an innocent target he could abuse. He knew and she knew that no one would come after him later to question his actions. With that logic, his rationale became - 'since no one cared about these children, doing these sort of things was fine no?'
He did not know that at this time, what he had done was push a child into darkness and sealed his fate till the end. For Ying Yue, she was already physically tired and was just resting before she began her search again. Her method of finding resources was idealistic and although long, never brought harm to others. She never begged nor did she ever rob another child's food, she did her own thing and ate what she could.
The idea of stealing would not have even crossed her mine if it was not for this situation. Yes, she had seen it before there were many kids who did the same thing on the streets. She wasn't completely naive about the act but just never felt like doing it herself. Or more so to say, she did not have the resolve to do so.
However, within these past couple of days she had a first-hand experience with death, seeing someone she cared about brutally murdered and her on bring of joining him. After that she had run away and found a place to sleep at night, purely surviving off the bag of items the old man gave. Time went by in a weird pace, she knew that it was days but in her mind only one night has passed since the incident. Every time she tried to close her eyes she would see the same scene again and hear the old man's grunts of pain in her ears.
Yet, the sound she heard the most was the younger man's taunting the other and she started to view him as the harbringer of doom. The voice became distorted in her memory as she replayed it more and more. Nothing could make it go away no matter how much she tried to shut out the voice. It wasn't till she felt her hunger reach a certain level that she was able to break free of the thoughts and focus on the current situation.
She had to give herself a mini pep talk and steel her heart before she was able to leave her spot. No one knew how much strength it took for her to do that, to not give up and put energy into surviving. Her coming out here looking for food was her first step back onto the streets and its life.
Staying by herself she walked for hours looking for scraps of food or water just so she can fill her stomach. Yet, the man in front of her automatically assumed she was an evil child because of where she came from. The accusation came at a moment when she was not able to brush it aside and take it as easily as before. The baker continued to act this way because he felt like he was right and held a superiority complex. Then the child continued to steal just so they would not starve but held no ulterior motives past that.
The moral lines started blurring in her head, who was in the right? The child or the baker?
Her little head looked down but her eyes became cloudy as she started to think seriously about the issue. There was a change in her look from a couple days prior, at that point she still had retained a childlike innocence. Now, if you were to look at her there was this dull expression on her face and eyes that looked m.a.t.u.r.e beyond her years.
She considered both sides and her conclusion each time was that the child was in the right. They did not ask to be here nor did they ask for much from others. All they asked was for food, water, and a place to stay. Those wishes slowly reducing into just food and water while they sourced their own 'place' on the streets. The wishes were not extravagant nor different from other humans needed to survive. Just because they had no family did not mean they were not privy to the same rights as others.
Why should those people eat good food and go home to a warm bed at night with no worries?? Why should they continue to suffer for no reason?? If they have a surplus why can't they help them??
Each question she thought of had no reasonable answer. It was because those wealthier people were selfish and looked down on them. It was not as if she did not see the way they looked at her, excluding the baker there were many people who acted like him. The behaviour was engrained in them, the least they could do is leave them alone or offer a helping hand if they were able to. But no, they chose to mock and push down them whenever they had a chance and often did so unprovoked, purely running on their own biases against them.
With that logic, what was wrong with stealing from them? If they did not care about their life or death, should they just give up and agree? Should they succ.u.mb to the elements and just give up on their one chance with life? The only difference between them was wealth and position, she did not believe that they would always be in such favourable conditions. Just like she had seen both heaven and hell in twenty four hours, the other 'upper class' would not escape such days either.
These thoughts of hers were more advanced for her age but her logic was not wrong. She had stared at the ground while debating and did so till she felt like she reached an agreement internally. The thinking process only lasted approximately ten minutes, however, after those ten minutes she was a different person with a new resolve.
Her little heart was filled with hatred and annoyance at other people, the hunger in her stomach only adding to the fuel of it. She rubbed her eyes and dusted off any snow that had fallen onto her while she was thinking. The cold temperature of the snow matching the chill she felt in her heart.
Looking up at the bakery, she saw the building in a different light. At first she saw it as a warm building with tasty items inside. Now, she saw it as one of her first targets to steal and her eyes were filled with revenge as she glared at the figure of the baker. For her size, she could go to another place and scope out an easier location to rob. The bakery was well lit and a bit more on the medium danger level to take items. There was also a steady flow of customers going in and out of the establishment, showcasing that the man made more than enough money.
The boy who had stolen from him had probably used the tide of customers to sneak in and rob it during a busy time period. She had began to consciously strategize and theorize her way to get in. This skill of hers had started developing on that day without her even knowing the name of it or how much she would have to use it in the future. For now, her intelligence was all focused on robbing a bakery for revenge.
She kept moving her limbs to gather warmth but her eyes never strayed far from the bakery. She watched the amount of people that went in and out from the store and gauged the amount they bought. The food in the window only started to significantly decrease an hour into it and the baker had never left his spot at the front. Just when she thought he had moved, he had reappeared less than a minute earlier his shadow on the wall being her best guide.
She knew her strength and how fast she could run, so all of these things had to be taken into consideration before she attacked. If the baker caught her she knew he would not let her go so she had to be perfect with her timing. She had to either steal it without him knowing or steal with him knowing and escape like the little boy.
Other than those items, there wasn't really anything else that looked dangerous to her. A key point she noticed was that the door had no bell, there was no noise when someone opened and entered the bakery. A sly smile went on her face as she felt more confident.
'Just you wait....'
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What the baker had done in his eyes were vent his anger on another 'deserving' poor child. However, what he was truly doing was finding an innocent target he could abuse. He knew and she knew that no one would come after him later to question his actions. With that logic, his rationale became - 'since no one cared about these children, doing these sort of things was fine no?'
He did not know that at this time, what he had done was push a child into darkness and sealed his fate till the end. For Ying Yue, she was already physically tired and was just resting before she began her search again. Her method of finding resources was idealistic and although long, never brought harm to others. She never begged nor did she ever rob another child's food, she did her own thing and ate what she could.
The idea of stealing would not have even crossed her mine if it was not for this situation. Yes, she had seen it before there were many kids who did the same thing on the streets. She wasn't completely naive about the act but just never felt like doing it herself. Or more so to say, she did not have the resolve to do so.
However, within these past couple of days she had a first-hand experience with death, seeing someone she cared about brutally murdered and her on bring of joining him. After that she had run away and found a place to sleep at night, purely surviving off the bag of items the old man gave. Time went by in a weird pace, she knew that it was days but in her mind only one night has passed since the incident. Every time she tried to close her eyes she would see the same scene again and hear the old man's grunts of pain in her ears.
Yet, the sound she heard the most was the younger man's taunting the other and she started to view him as the harbringer of doom. The voice became distorted in her memory as she replayed it more and more. Nothing could make it go away no matter how much she tried to shut out the voice. It wasn't till she felt her hunger reach a certain level that she was able to break free of the thoughts and focus on the current situation.
She had to give herself a mini pep talk and steel her heart before she was able to leave her spot. No one knew how much strength it took for her to do that, to not give up and put energy into surviving. Her coming out here looking for food was her first step back onto the streets and its life.
Staying by herself she walked for hours looking for scraps of food or water just so she can fill her stomach. Yet, the man in front of her automatically assumed she was an evil child because of where she came from. The accusation came at a moment when she was not able to brush it aside and take it as easily as before. The baker continued to act this way because he felt like he was right and held a superiority complex. Then the child continued to steal just so they would not starve but held no ulterior motives past that.
The moral lines started blurring in her head, who was in the right? The child or the baker?
Her little head looked down but her eyes became cloudy as she started to think seriously about the issue. There was a change in her look from a couple days prior, at that point she still had retained a childlike innocence. Now, if you were to look at her there was this dull expression on her face and eyes that looked m.a.t.u.r.e beyond her years.
She considered both sides and her conclusion each time was that the child was in the right. They did not ask to be here nor did they ask for much from others. All they asked was for food, water, and a place to stay. Those wishes slowly reducing into just food and water while they sourced their own 'place' on the streets. The wishes were not extravagant nor different from other humans needed to survive. Just because they had no family did not mean they were not privy to the same rights as others.
Why should those people eat good food and go home to a warm bed at night with no worries?? Why should they continue to suffer for no reason?? If they have a surplus why can't they help them??
Each question she thought of had no reasonable answer. It was because those wealthier people were selfish and looked down on them. It was not as if she did not see the way they looked at her, excluding the baker there were many people who acted like him. The behaviour was engrained in them, the least they could do is leave them alone or offer a helping hand if they were able to. But no, they chose to mock and push down them whenever they had a chance and often did so unprovoked, purely running on their own biases against them.
With that logic, what was wrong with stealing from them? If they did not care about their life or death, should they just give up and agree? Should they succ.u.mb to the elements and just give up on their one chance with life? The only difference between them was wealth and position, she did not believe that they would always be in such favourable conditions. Just like she had seen both heaven and hell in twenty four hours, the other 'upper class' would not escape such days either.
These thoughts of hers were more advanced for her age but her logic was not wrong. She had stared at the ground while debating and did so till she felt like she reached an agreement internally. The thinking process only lasted approximately ten minutes, however, after those ten minutes she was a different person with a new resolve.
Her little heart was filled with hatred and annoyance at other people, the hunger in her stomach only adding to the fuel of it. She rubbed her eyes and dusted off any snow that had fallen onto her while she was thinking. The cold temperature of the snow matching the chill she felt in her heart.
Looking up at the bakery, she saw the building in a different light. At first she saw it as a warm building with tasty items inside. Now, she saw it as one of her first targets to steal and her eyes were filled with revenge as she glared at the figure of the baker. For her size, she could go to another place and scope out an easier location to rob. The bakery was well lit and a bit more on the medium danger level to take items. There was also a steady flow of customers going in and out of the establishment, showcasing that the man made more than enough money.
The boy who had stolen from him had probably used the tide of customers to sneak in and rob it during a busy time period. She had began to consciously strategize and theorize her way to get in. This skill of hers had started developing on that day without her even knowing the name of it or how much she would have to use it in the future. For now, her intelligence was all focused on robbing a bakery for revenge.
She kept moving her limbs to gather warmth but her eyes never strayed far from the bakery. She watched the amount of people that went in and out from the store and gauged the amount they bought. The food in the window only started to significantly decrease an hour into it and the baker had never left his spot at the front. Just when she thought he had moved, he had reappeared less than a minute earlier his shadow on the wall being her best guide.
She knew her strength and how fast she could run, so all of these things had to be taken into consideration before she attacked. If the baker caught her she knew he would not let her go so she had to be perfect with her timing. She had to either steal it without him knowing or steal with him knowing and escape like the little boy.
Other than those items, there wasn't really anything else that looked dangerous to her. A key point she noticed was that the door had no bell, there was no noise when someone opened and entered the bakery. A sly smile went on her face as she felt more confident.
'Just you wait....'
What the baker had done in his eyes were vent his anger on another 'deserving' poor child. However, what he was truly doing was finding an innocent target he could abuse. He knew and she knew that no one would come after him later to question his actions. With that logic, his rationale became - 'since no one cared about these children, doing these sort of things was fine no?' He did not know that at this time, what he had done was push a child into darkness and sealed his fate till the end. For Ying Yue, she was already physically tired and was just resting before she began her search again. Her method of finding resources was idealistic and although long, never brought harm to others. She never begged nor did she ever rob another child's food, she did her own thing and ate what she could. The idea of stealing would not have even crossed her mine if it was not for this situation. Yes, she had seen it before there were many kids who did the same thing on the streets. She wasn't completely naive about the act but just never felt like doing it herself. Or more so to say, she did not have the resolve to do so. However, within these past couple of days she had a first-hand experience with death, seeing someone she cared about brutally murdered and her on bring of joining him. After that she had run away and found a place to sleep at night, purely surviving off the bag of items the old man gave. Time went by in a weird pace, she knew that it was days but in her mind only one night has passed since the incident. Every time she tried to close her eyes she would see the same scene again and hear the old man's grunts of pain in her ears. Yet, the sound she heard the most was the younger man's taunting the other and she started to view him as the harbringer of doom. The voice became distorted in her memory as she replayed it more and more. Nothing could make it go away no matter how much she tried to shut out the voice. It wasn't till she felt her hunger reach a certain level that she was able to break free of the thoughts and focus on the current situation. She had to give herself a mini pep talk and steel her heart before she was able to leave her spot. No one knew how much strength it took for her to do that, to not give up and put energy into surviving. Her coming out here looking for food was her first step back onto the streets and its life. Staying by herself she walked for hours looking for scraps of food or water just so she can fill her stomach. Yet, the man in front of her automatically assumed she was an evil child because of where she came from. The accusation came at a moment when she was not able to brush it aside and take it as easily as before. The baker continued to act this way because he felt like he was right and held a superiority complex. Then the child continued to steal just so they would not starve but held no ulterior motives past that. The moral lines started blurring in her head, who was in the right? The child or the baker? Her little head looked down but her eyes became cloudy as she started to think seriously about the issue. There was a change in her look from a couple days prior, at that point she still had retained a childlike innocence. Now, if you were to look at her there was this dull expression on her face and eyes that looked m.a.t.u.r.e beyond her years. She considered both sides and her conclusion each time was that the child was in the right. They did not ask to be here nor did they ask for much from others. All they asked was for food, water, and a place to stay. Those wishes slowly reducing into just food and water while they sourced their own 'place' on the streets. The wishes were not extravagant nor different from other humans needed to survive. Just because they had no family did not mean they were not privy to the same rights as others. Why should those people eat good food and go home to a warm bed at night with no worries?? Why should they continue to suffer for no reason?? If they have a surplus why can't they help them?? Each question she thought of had no reasonable answer. It was because those wealthier people were selfish and looked down on them. It was not as if she did not see the way they looked at her, excluding the baker there were many people who acted like him. The behaviour was engrained in them, the least they could do is leave them alone or offer a helping hand if they were able to. But no, they chose to mock and push down them whenever they had a chance and often did so unprovoked, purely running on their own biases against them. With that logic, what was wrong with stealing from them? If they did not care about their life or death, should they just give up and agree? Should they succ.u.mb to the elements and just give up on their one chance with life? The only difference between them was wealth and position, she did not believe that they would always be in such favourable conditions. Just like she had seen both heaven and hell in twenty four hours, the other 'upper class' would not escape such days either. These thoughts of hers were more advanced for her age but her logic was not wrong. She had stared at the ground while debating and did so till she felt like she reached an agreement internally. The thinking process only lasted approximately ten minutes, however, after those ten minutes she was a different person with a new resolve. Her little heart was filled with hatred and annoyance at other people, the hunger in her stomach only adding to the fuel of it. She rubbed her eyes and dusted off any snow that had fallen onto her while she was thinking. The cold temperature of the snow matching the chill she felt in her heart. Looking up at the bakery, she saw the building in a different light. At first she saw it as a warm building with tasty items inside. Now, she saw it as one of her first targets to steal and her eyes were filled with revenge as she glared at the figure of the baker. For her size, she could go to another place and scope out an easier location to rob. The bakery was well lit and a bit more on the medium danger level to take items. There was also a steady flow of customers going in and out of the establishment, showcasing that the man made more than enough money. The boy who had stolen from him had probably used the tide of customers to sneak in and rob it during a busy time period. She had began to consciously strategize and theorize her way to get in. This skill of hers had started developing on that day without her even knowing the name of it or how much she would have to use it in the future. For now, her intelligence was all focused on robbing a bakery for revenge. She kept moving her limbs to gather warmth but her eyes never strayed far from the bakery. She watched the amount of people that went in and out from the store and gauged the amount they bought. The food in the window only started to significantly decrease an hour into it and the baker had never left his spot at the front. Just when she thought he had moved, he had reappeared less than a minute earlier his shadow on the wall being her best guide. She knew her strength and how fast she could run, so all of these things had to be taken into consideration before she attacked. If the baker caught her she knew he would not let her go so she had to be perfect with her timing. She had to either steal it without him knowing or steal with him knowing and escape like the little boy. Other than those items, there wasn't really anything else that looked dangerous to her. A key point she noticed was that the door had no bell, there was no noise when someone opened and entered the bakery. A sly smile went on her face as she felt more confident. 'Just you wait....'
