Ethan, who had become an orphan by the age of seven, was a street urchin now turning ten years old.
Of course, he wasn’t always an orphan. His parents were peddlers who carried bundles and traveled across the continent selling goods. They were on their way to the south with their son mixed in with a caravan, hoping to make a fortune, when they unfortunately encountered a band of thieves and lost their lives. When Ethan lost his parents and became an orphan, he was only seven years old.
The grief of losing his parents was brief as he had to beg on the streets with other street children just to survive. Fortunately, this place wasn’t a city lacking food. Moreover, the caravaneers often shared food with the orphans out of kindness. Thanks to this, Ethan and the other street children, though sometimes beaten, didn’t starve to death.
Ethan, who had been wandering this life for three years, had become something like a leader among a group of kids. He could read haltingly and was quite clever. Usually, orphans around twelve or thirteen started working as porters or doing other jobs to earn money, but he managed to stay in this life longer than most, making him almost the eldest among the orphans.
Having wandered through this life for a while, he knew where he could get a piece of meat and where he could find a decent place to stay.
However, he never allowed pickpocketing, not even to his gang members. After seeing one of his close friends lose his wrist to a mercenary’s pocket, he was terrified. In the end, the boy died from excessive bleeding.
Of course, the street children couldn’t do much about their fallen comrade. They lacked the money to bury him.
But then, a kind lady came forward. She often shared food with them and kept them company.
“I don’t have parents either. Seeing you reminds me of myself; my heart aches.”
She offered to bury the deceased child. Later, Ethan confirmed that a tombstone was erected at the communal cemetery for his friend.
“Thank you so much, sister. I really appreciate it.”
Afterward, Ethan frequently met the lady. On days when he got nothing from the tough men, she would share some meat with him.
“If you ever need help, come to me anytime, Ethan.”
Ethan felt reassured having such a strong support. Even after becoming the leader of his gang, his connection with her continued.
She pitied the orphans deeply. She would even cry and pray for those who died from illness. And she personally paid for their burials.
One day, little Anna, the youngest member of Ethan’s gang, fell ill and lay bedridden. The six-year-old girl had a fever for two days straight. Despite Ethan’s efforts to feed her, she threw up everything he gave her.
In the end, the youngest passed away. Ethan felt utterly devastated.
“Oh, how sad. Let’s leave her to me.”
The lady took the body away. Another tombstone appeared at the communal cemetery.
After the youngest’s death, Ethan gathered with other gang leaders. They mentioned that many children had disappeared recently.
“They must have been spotted by the caravan masters. So many kids have left like that.”
“Some of them are smart kids, and there are plenty of others too.”
“Then, did they get caught pickpocketing?”
“Then they would have said something before leaving. They just vanished suddenly.”
“Well, someone must have seen them and they left together. Still, it’s better than begging, right?”
They ended the topic there. Actually, they had gathered to share information about new caravans or mercenary groups that needed special attention in the city.
Begging seemed safe, but they were outside the law and could easily become targets for adults’ entertainment. Ethan had witnessed many harsh things during his three years here. Cruel adults would beat kids just because they were annoyed, and some even cut off their fingers. Not many kids in Ethan’s gang had all their fingers intact. Many died from infected wounds.
“Let’s be careful. There might be bad people around.”
The gang leaders dispersed to their respective areas.
Amidst these cautious days, Ethan heard rumors that corpses from the communal cemetery had been stolen. While the mercenaries brushed it off as a mere oddity, Ethan felt uneasy.
He went to the place where his old comrades were buried with the gang members. Fortunately, the soil over their graves remained undisturbed.
“It’s a relief. They didn’t touch the kids’ graves.”
Other gangs reported that more children had gone missing, but Ethan only worried about his own gang.
One day, it rained heavily.
Due to the heavy rain for two days, begging yielded nothing. The innkeepers despised the orphans entering their buildings, so they couldn’t beg inside where adults gathered.
Ethan begged from laborers unloading wagons, managing to get two pieces of dried meat. But that was far from enough to feed ten kids. No one else seemed willing to search for food in such dire conditions.
‘I should ask the lady for help…’
Although he didn’t want to rely on her again, he had no choice this time.
Soaked to the bone, he trudged through the muddy alley to her house and knocked on the door. She looked at him with surprise.
“Ethan?”
“Sorry for showing up suddenly, but can you spare some food? The kids haven’t eaten for two days.”
“Oh.”
She gave him some meat.
“Take it and share it with them.”
“Thank you so much! Really, thank you!”
Ethan returned to their hideout with a piece of meat. The kids rejoiced upon seeing it.
“Where’s Lizzy? Hasn’t she come back yet?”
“No, Ethan.”
When told that seven-year-old Lizzy hadn’t come back, Ethan’s heart sank.
He rushed out into the rain, but she was nowhere to be found. He even went beyond their area, but still, she was missing.
“Lizzy! Lizzy!”
Lizzy never showed up.
The kids speculated that she had been spotted by the caravan masters and taken away, but Ethan didn’t believe it. Something about it felt wrong.
‘It doesn’t make sense. Would a caravan start in such weather? The wheels would get stuck in the mud.’
The next day, after the rain stopped, a gang leader from another area came looking for Ethan.
“Hey, Ethan. Are you still looking for Lizzy?”
“Did anyone see her?”
“A kid saw someone taking her away from far away.”
“…Taking her away?”
That couldn’t be. Ethan was sure he visited her house that day, and Lizzy wasn’t there.
“Maybe they were mistaken. It rained heavily, and I went to her house that day. Lizzy wasn’t there.”
“Then they must have been mistaken. That’s what they said to send a message. Maybe she was there.”
No. That couldn’t be. It made no sense.
Hearing this, Ethan immediately went to her house.
“Yes, Ethan. What’s wrong?”
“Did you see Lizzy? She suddenly disappeared.”
“Lizzy? I haven’t seen her.”
Ethan didn’t mention the kid who saw her being taken away. It would mean doubting her word.
“I see.”
“What should we do? I hope we find Lizzy soon.”
“…Okay. Thank you.”
She stared at Ethan silently for a moment, then opened the door wider.
“Come in quickly. You must be hungry. Let’s eat first.”
Suddenly, Ethan felt a chill run down his spine.
For no reason, something felt off.
“I… No, I need to look for Lizzy more.”
“You’re hungry, aren’t you? Eat first.”
“No, I’m fine. Thank you.”
Her eyes turned cold.
“Alright. Then go.”
The door closed.
Ethan hurried back to the hideout, his feet muddy and bare. He didn’t care about the mess.
He felt strangely scared. Scared to the point of madness. …He had never felt so scared of her before.
He couldn’t believe it.
He truly couldn’t believe it.
There was no way she would take Lizzy.
Why would she take Lizzy?
There was no reason!
She was a good adult!
Eventually, Ethan decided to forget about it.
It was just a guess. He didn’t want to suspect her.
“Can you give me some food?”
Ethan returned to his usual routine.
Except for Lizzy’s disappearance, everything else was normal.
At that moment, someone gave dried fruit to Ethan, who was begging.
!
This was the first time he received so much precious food.
Surprised, Ethan looked at the person. He was a very handsome man.
“I have some questions. Is it okay?”
“Oh, yes…!”
“I heard many children have disappeared.”
Ethan thought of Lizzy again.
“Yes, some kids vanished suddenly.”
“Were there any witnesses?”
Ethan hesitated about mentioning the lady but decided against it. It had rained heavily, and he hadn’t seen it himself.
“There don’t seem to be any.”
“Was there anything suspicious? Whatever it is, tell me. You know bodies have been disappearing from the communal cemetery. I came to investigate.”
Ah.
“I don’t know much. But fortunately, my friend’s grave was intact.”
“Your friend? What’s their name?”
“Anna.”
“Can you show me where it is? There are so many graves.”
Ethan gladly led the way. Since he was given such valuable food, he wanted to help.
He brought the man to the grave of little Anna, who was buried in the communal cemetery. As he said, there were no signs of disturbed earth.
“Here it is.”
The young man crouched in front of the tombstone and touched the soil.
“What happened to this child? …I’m sorry for bringing up painful memories.”
“She got sick. We couldn’t do anything. But thanks to the lady, she wasn’t left on the streets.”
“The lady?”
“She helped us a lot. Normally, if kids died on the streets, they were left alone, but the lady buried them.”
“I see.”
The young man’s gaze changed slightly, but Ethan didn’t notice.
“Alright, thank you, kid. Here, I’ll give you more.”
The young man gave Ethan more dried meat and fruit.
Thanks to this, Ethan and the kids enjoyed fresh fruit for the first time in a long while at noon. The kids danced happily, savoring the sweet and sour taste.
As evening approached, someone came to Ethan’s hideout. It was the lady.
“Sister!”
“Ethan. Kids.”
The kids, excited to see their ‘sister,’ gathered around her, laughing joyfully. She was more than just a neighbor to them.
“We haven’t seen each other in a while. Sorry. Must be hungry. Want to come to my house for dinner?”
“Yeah!”
“Sure!”
The kids jumped with joy at the prospect of eating. Ethan was swept up in the excitement.
They went to the lady’s house. She apologized for not caring for them enough and stroked Ethan’s head.
“Don’t worry, sister. We’ve received so much from you. Thank you so much.”
The atmosphere was warm and affectionate. This was the happy moment Ethan had only dreamed of.
Everyone laughed and ate happily.
But there was no food in sight.
She walked deep into the house and opened a door leading to the basement.
“Let’s go to the dining room.”
The passage leading to the basement.
Only then did Ethan snap out of his daze.
Suddenly, his limbs trembled.
“You can enjoy a party down there. Everything is ready.”
“A party!”
“Only rich people can have one!”
The kids eagerly descended the stairs, full of anticipation.
Only Ethan stood at the entrance, unmoving.
“Sis…ter…”
“Why, Ethan?”
“I… I can’t… I shouldn’t…”
He couldn’t go down. A warning bell rang loudly in his mind.
“Come on, the kids are waiting.”
“No, I… I don’t want to… Sis…”
“Why?”
“It looks dangerous… I’m scared…”
The smile on the lady’s face slowly faded.
“…”
She whispered quietly.
“This is why I dislike smart kids.”
—
