Chapter 19 – Conditional Sin?
632 Words
Catena walks out of the large hall, and the group converges towards the long table with dinner plates.
Fitz :
"Cool! Who would've thought getting caught trying to steal food would lead me to, well, better food?"
Fitz hops jovially towards the long table and sits down with excitement. Before he could even pick up his spoon, Saevus, one of the biggest and meanest-looking group members, steps in and grabs the plate away.
Saevus :
"You're so tiny. You can live a day without dinner. I need to eat more to maintain my muscles."
Fitz :
"Give it back!"
Julianna :
"Yes, give this kid back his plate."
Saevus :
"Or what?"
Julianna grabs Saevus's wrist to prevent him from taking the dinner plate away. Saevus, with all his might, tries to pull away and overpower the restriction, but to no avail. The scene of a tall, buff man unable to even flinch before a thin-framed woman gets the rest of the group astonished and amazed.
Skylah :
"(Hey, genius, you're not supposed to stand out on a covert mission!)"
Julianna releases her grip on Saevus's wrist as she concedes to Skylah's advice through her earpiece.
Julianna :
"I'm sorry. Saevus, is it? You can have some of my chicken and rice, alright?"
Saevus :
"That's more like it."
Saevus takes a portion from Julianna's dinner plate and stomps off to another table.
Fitz :
"Hey... Thanks, Martina….. Here, you can have my vegetables."
Julianna :
"Nice try, kid. Eat your vegetables."
Fitz :
"You sound just like my mom."
Julianna :
"I bet she's smart and pretty like me."
Fitz :
"She was...…."
Julianna :
"Oh... I'm sorry.
Is this why you're out on the streets alone? Poor thing."
Fitz :
"I don't need your sympathy.
My mom was my hero. She stole things to keep us alive.
Before she died of illness, she told me to be strong, and never ever get caught...….
I'm here because I couldn't do that one thing my mom told me to do."
Julianna :
"You didn't have to steal. I'm sure there are other things you could've done for a living."
Fitz :
"You don't get it. My mom was a maid to this rich family. My biological father r***d my mom. I am a product of hatred, not of love.
My mom was, of course, cast out and abandoned.
That scumbag's wife made sure my mom wouldn't be hired anywhere else. No one in town dared to go against that family.
The only thing we could do was steal. My mom would often comfort me with her favourite quote from the Bible. Proverbs 6:30 to 31.
'Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.'
My mom said that the world was against us but God gave us a way out. As long as we are not caught stealing, no one can despise us…."
Julianna hunches forward and hugs Fitz.
Julianna :
"It's OK Fitz. When we're out of this, I'll seek justice for you. I'd punch that father of yours too if I had to.
I'll do everything to make the world better for you. I promise."
Fitz :
"Could you first let go of me? I'm suffocating."
Julianna lets go of Fitz and pats him on his head. As they chow down their food in a chatty manner, they become oblivious to everything and everyone around them.
An hour passes by and Catena returns to the hall to guide everyone to their respective rooms. For the first time in the church, Fitz shows the smile of an innocent child as he bids farewell to Julianna.
- Writer
