The beggar's head snapped up and then spun in the direction of the woman.
There she was, dissolved into a figure of tears, her fingers trembling as they caressed the cheek of the small baby from beneath her cloak. The falling snowflakes had already painted her black cloak a morbid white.
It was the white of despair.
The boy sprang to his feet, darting to the woman's side with a swiftness that outpaced any theft he'd ever committed!
He couldn't explain why he acted but somehow he did.
He leaned in close to peer into her arms, only to find the infant pale, eyes closed, silent from crying.
A jolt of shock went through him at that moment, followed by an inexplicable surge of guilt that never turned up before igniting in his chest.
However, without a second thought, he extended the remaining bread he had to the woman resolutely, which shocked the lady also himself, nearly causing him to doubt that he was controlled by a witch's power.
"Feed your child with this." The cold voice echoed slightly within the snow realm.
The woman, her eyes blurred by tears, looked up. When she realized she was gazing at a boy no more than ten years old, any hint of wariness in her gaze evaporated.
She looked at the bread in the boy's hand but slowly shook her head. Instead, she lifted her baby slightly and pleaded with urgency,
"Child, could you help me soften the bread and feed it to my daughter? She… she is dying of hunger"
The little beggar was confused by the lady's question. If she had no milk, why didn't she soften the bread in her mouth to feed her child?
But there was no time to think; he quickly broke a small piece of bread and chewed it to make it soft. It was sweet in his mouth, and he wanted to eat it but he couldn't.
He tried hard not to eat the bread. After cleaning his hands in the snow, he took the chewed bread out of his mouth. He gave it to the baby, whose mom opened the baby's mouth. The beggar kept doing these steps: bit chewed, and then gave it.
His stomach was hungry too, and the sweet taste of the chewed bread made his empty stomach crazy, but when he saw the baby was looking better bit by bit, he resisted the urge to eat what was in his hand.
After a while, the baby was full and slept. The beggar sighed, looked at the half-eaten bread, and felt regretted and sad. But finally, something drove him to give the rest to the lady.
"Don't let her go hungry anymore," the beggar said trembly and coldly.
The woman quietly watched the young beggar before her. She could hear the rumble of his stomach and see the reluctance in his eyes as he held out the small piece of bread. Yet, the child offered up his precious food for her daughter's sake…
After a moment's hesitation, the woman pulled back the hood of her cloak, revealing her entire face. As the accumulated snow fell away, the boy finally saw the woman's true visage!
She was young about twenty! Even to a child of his young years, it was clear that the woman before him was strikingly beautiful, breathtakingly so.
To any grown man, she would have been a sight to behold, a face to drive one to madness. Unfortunately, the boy was not yet of an age to be interested in the opposite sex. To him, she was just a pretty lady with nothing more to stir within him.
"Do you know who I am, kid?" she asked.
The boy's expression, frosty from the outset, grew even colder. He took a step back and stood to one side: "I don't know you. But I'm in a better spot than you. Don't think your name will earn my respect."
Relief washed over the woman as she realized the boy didn't recognize her. She reached into her cloak as if to retrieve something but then stopped herself.
(This child is willing to give up his own chance at survival to save my daughter; his nature isn't bad. But his actions before were driven by selfishness and hostility more than tolerance and mercy. And the scent of blood on his knife… No, I can't just entrust everything to him. Not so easily, no matter how desperate the situation…)
As the woman grappled with indecision, she suddenly noticed something wrong with the baby in her arms! Looking down, she saw the infant's face was redder than before, showing signs of distress and weakness. Touching the baby's forehead, it was burning up. It seemed the falling snow had brought on a chill.
Seeing the woman's renewed anxiety, the boy was startled and stepped forward. As he noticed her touching the baby girl's forehead, her face filled with worry, he understood everything at once.
"Hey, go get some medicine, quick!"
The boy's tone was laced with urgency, but the young mother shook her head, her eyes awash with desperation, showing her present financial condition.
The baby's condition was deteriorating rapidly. She was breathing in and out with increasing frequency and discomfort, her tightly closed eyes seemingly unable to open.
The beggar bit his teeth and started to walk fast to the alley entrance. Seeing him about to leave, The young lady asked urgently,
"Child, where are you going?"
"Medicine shop"
"Do you have money?"
"I have a knife"
When the little beggar ran off, the woman's face looked tough. But as he ran into the snowstorm towards the drugstore and didn't look back, her face slowly got softer.
"I can't be mad at the boy… His choice to risk himself for you was the best promise he could give…"
She kissed the baby's head softly, and then with her elegant and delicate hand, she made a line in the snow. Some snowflakes started to float around her, staying in the air.
"Go and keep the boy safe, make sure he stays out of trouble and doesn't cause any matters."
The snowflakes spun and zoomed out of the alley like fast light, following the little beggar. After the snowflakes left, the mother held out her hand and whispered some quiet magic words. A ball of white light slowly appeared in her hand.
The light got close to the baby, and her breathing got better. The baby's high temperature started to go down. When the baby breathed normally again, the woman breathed out, feeling better, and the light went away from her hand.
"My child … I'm sorry … It seems your father and I might not be able to look after you anymore … I don't know if you will resent us in the future, but today, for your safety, I might have to entrust you to that boy … Please … don't resent us …"
The street was very cold and dark. The boy held his worn knife tightly, which made him a little braver as he stepped on the snowy ground.
His feet had holes in his old shoes. Also, his toes stuck out, purple and stiff from the cold under the snow.
Actually, he was still confused about how could he promise to leave the alley, his safe spot, to go onto the dangerous and cold main street for medcine to a stranger, risking his life.
He was not an idiot after all.
The snow kept falling, covering the ground. Each step he took made a deep mark, showing he was alone on this path.
The boy rubbed his arms to stay warm. He put a tiny piece of bread, as small as a knuckle, into his mouth and made it wet with his spit. He didn't chew or swallow.
This small, hard bread, as cold as his future, was all he had. He held it in his mouth, not because it tasted good, but to stay conscious of feeling something.
He moved slowly down the street, staying close to the walls like a secretly moving rat.
On a night like this, using too much energy was dangerous. He moved carefully to not be found frozen by soldiers in the morning. He knew he must be slow and careful to live.
Tick, tick, tick… What time was it now?
He glanced at the clock at the crossroads… It was eight o'clock.
Normally at this time, he was under a bridge, in a nest made of old cloths, as warm as an oven.
However, it was not tonight. Tonight, he had promised to walk to the drugstore.
...
…
But ...Why?
He asked himself. Why get medicine for a baby he didn't know? The baby's life was not his problem. It was one's own duty to look after themselves, no matter whether they are strong or weak.
Why did he care it? If the baby would die, it just meant she wasn't strong enough to survive. It had nothing to do with him.
It was undoubtedly silly to risk his life for her, a complete stranger, ready to steal from a drugstore without knowing what medicine to take.
The white snow kept falling, covering him. It made his heart feel colder.
He stopped, determined to turn back. He didn't want to go to the drugstore anymore. He just wanted to go back to his warm nest and sleep to forget the cold and hunger.
"Ugh…" His stomach cried a loud noise again. He wished he hadn't given his bread away.
He turned back, his toenails hurt by the cold, and his blood almost turned to icy solid. His feet and hands were numb. He needed to get back to his nest fast, or he must die in the cold.
"Stop! Where are you going? Justice is waiting for you!"
A girl's shout surprised him from behind! Scared, he ran into a dirty alley full of trash to hide.
He knew he was a thief, maybe even a killer soon.
The soldiers' cold looks and their shiny armor scared him and made him feel small and hated.
"Hmph! Do you think you can hide? Come out! Or should I come get you?"
She yelled again. He touched his worn knife. His heart beat fast, not because he might have to hurt her, but because he was afraid of getting caught.
…And the snow, continued to fall.