The Adventures

THE ADVENTURES OF VIVIAN HARLET (The Legend of Awi’s Forgotten Treasure)            RATED ??   CHAPTER 1     |Jan 13th,1933|Liverpool,United Kingdom|    The market square was buzzing with activities as people were going about their business of buying and selling. Vivian Harlet,18yrs old,Orphaned at a very tender age. With a height of 5ft 8inches,she was tall for a woman and very slender. She could pass up for a model with her radiant olive skin and gorgeous appearance. She was red haired with piercing deep green eyes. Freckles matted the area around her high cheek bones. Bushy eyebrows with a narrow nose that went down to two very attractive lips. Her prominent long legs were a wonder and her snatched waistline was something to envy. She had full impressive boobs with a long,slender neck that was quite alluring. Vivian was a wild beauty but at the same time,she was a social menace. While the crowded market square got busy for the day,Vivian hid in a corner behind a stall and she was watching everything that went on. She was wearing a burgundy colored hoodie cloak and a large sling bag that was hung from her right shoulder to her left hip. A brown roomy shirt that bloused over her black pants with dirty boots on her feet. Her pet squirrels were sitting on her shoulders as her eyes skimmed through the stalls for a brink of hope. She was looking forward to pilfer foodstuffs and maybe pickpocket an unfortunate person. Some soldiers marched past her and she quickly covered her face with the hems of her cloak as she turns around to hide it from them. When they were gone,she peeks around and fortunately for her,a stall owner was standing in front of baskets that were filled with all kinds of freshly baked bread,apples and mangoes. Some oranges laid on the ground in baskets and all kinds of pastries were being placed in front of her by a man she was exchanging pleasantries with. Vivian smiles as she thought of a plan. “Eiko? Gaston??” She was referring to her squirrels. They began squeaking as they scrambled down to her hands. “You know what to do,right?” She said to them. They squeaked again. Vivian had her eyes on the man and as she sees the woman was about bringing out a money purse from the large apron she was wearing,she made a low squeak and immediately,the squirrels jumped down from her hands and they ran towards the woman’s direction. One leaps over a canopy that was close to the stall and with a powerful leap towards the woman as she extends her hand to give the man the purse,Eiko snatches it from her hand and she scrambled away to avoid getting caught. Gaston jumps on the baskets of pastries and he hastily picks up a freshly baked bread. As the woman began to scream,Vivian ran out from where she was hiding,she knocks down a wooden barrow full of cabbages to create a distraction.  “Hey!” The cabbage man yells at her as she was getting away.  She swiftly picks a few apples,coconuts and peaches from a stall she ran past and as she was about picking up some berries,the stall owner ran out with a wooden plank,yelling as he ran after her.  She quickly stuffs the items she stole into the sling bag she was carrying,she could see that some angry men were gaining at her. She quickly took out a pocketknife from her pants and she uses it to cut the ropes that held a large canopy that was above her head as she moves out of it. It falls on the men. She turns her head backwards to see them on hearing them grunting. She was about facing front when suddenly,she bumps into a soldier that was passing by. She staggered backwards to gain balance. She then,snaps her head up and she could see some soldiers were behind him. “Get her! She’s a thief!!” A man screams from behind as they were approaching them. Vivian quickly dodges the soldier as he was about to grab her. She sprinted to the opposite direction as the soldier attempted to grab her by the hoodie of her cloak. She ran towards some wooden crates that were arranged in a corner. She climbs them,getting to the top and with great agility,she rebounded from them,lunging her body upwards and towards the edge of the rooftop. She pulls her body up as she climbs it and when she looks down,she could see the men were about climbing the crates.  She sprinted down the rooftop,jumping to another and then another as she tries to get away from them. She jumps down a rooftop as a canopy was underneath and as she falls on it,she quickly tumbled down to get to the ground. Without wasting any much time on landing,she swiftly sprinted down the road as she could hear the men from a distance. She approaches a corner and she could see her squirrels squeaking and hopping to notify her of their presence.  When she came closer,she collects the money purse and the bread from them. She puts them into her sling bag. “Well done,guys.” She said with a smile on her face. They quickly climbed up the ladder that laid on the wall. She follows them immediately and as she reaches the top,the men moves into the corner in search of her. They were disappointed when they couldn’t find her. “Blast! How did we let her escape?” One of the men said. “Lets report to the authorities. We cannot allow this to continue.” Another said. Vivian watches from the rooftop as they argued amongst themselves and when they left,she rose to her feet whilst giggling. “That’s if the authorities can catch me.” She said and then,she turns around to leave.   |Somewhere in Liverpool|      Anna Harlet,Vivian’s elder sister,23yrs old and a scholar. She sat on a pile of dirty clothes and she was reading a book.  Unlike Vivian,Anna was a bit taller. She had a pale skin,ginger colored hair and subtle pale green eyes. She was a bit fleshy and curvaceous.  Anna was very different from her sister. She rather stays in her own space to read than to go outside.  Ever since their parents died,she has been the one looking after her sister. She couldn’t afford going to school,so she taught herself how to read and write. Anna was very intelligent,but she’d never act as one as she always liked gathering knowledge. She was very hungry and she would sigh while staring at her pocket watch. Vivian had told her that she was going to the market to get food. She knew her sister’s regular routine too well and she was sure Vivian had gone to do what she normally does. She had tried to stop her from such lifestyle. Because of her,they couldn’t live freely amongst people. They had to live in an abandoned building that was far from the township.  Beneath them,people came to dump their used stuffs and wastes. The ones that were still in averagely good conditions,Anna would sell them as scraps so as to gather money to buy books. It wasn’t enough as she could only gain a penny or two after selling quite a handful of them. The room was untidy and very unkempt. She was waiting on her sister to join her in the cleaning. Some dirty plates were piled up in one corner while the tattered curtains that covered the windows,were so dirty and cobwebs were in every corner of the large room. The mattresses were spread out on the dirty,dusty floor with Vivian’s stinking boots scattered all over the place. Finally,Vivian stealthily came in through the window,peering around for Anna. Anna who had sensed her presence,cleared her throat. “And where are you coming from,young lady?” Anna asks,her eyes were on the book she was reading. Vivian rolls her eyes. She walks to a table that stood in a corner with all kinds of books on it and she drops her sling bag on the top of it. “The market...” her squirrels moves to the top of the table and they were eagerly waiting for her to take out the contents from it “...and I brought food along.” She replies. Anna rose from the pile of clothes. She leaves the corner she sat in and she approaches Vivian. “Did you go out to steal again? ...I warned you not to do that. Are you that stubborn,Vivian?” Anna asks,she was standing beside Vivian. “Well...” she takes out an apple from the bag and she cuts it in half with the aid of the pocketknife,she then offers each to the squirrels “...I did not steal anything if that’s what concerns you. Besides,we were starving and I ran out of money. Why don’t you worry about your stomach and get it filled up?”  Vivian takes out bread from the bag with some apples and peaches and she gives it to Anna. “You are going to get us into trouble someday,Vivian...” she collects them from her “...what you are doing is risky.” “Then why don’t you get married and get us out of starvation and poverty,hm? ...unlike me,you are prettier. Men would choose you over me. Your pretty pale skin and straight long hair is no match to mine which is a shade darker and my hair is too rough,tangled and dirty looking.” Anna frowns and then,she bites into the apple. “Marriage won’t take us out of poverty. It’s just you who thinks it does. To me,it is b*****e. I rather be unmarried,free and outspoken,than to be married and silent. You can agree to it that unless you have a high social status here,you will be able to get a good bachelor to marry. The poor will always marry the poor while the aristocrats will keep marrying amongst themselves to maintain the power and wealth that they possesses.” Vivian lowered her eyes as thought about what Anna said. “What if tomorrow,a king from nowhere decides to marry any one of us? ...What if that happens? Are we going to keep wallowing in poverty or are we going to put it aside and go for it??” Anna chuckles out a silly laughter,she then half sits on the table. “A monarch cannot come for women like us,Vivian. He will always go after the rich aristocrats’ daughters. Even if it happens,that would be like waiting on a miracle. Stop fantasizing on that,Vivi. We cannot stand a chance in front of a monarch. Even if we did ever get a chance to,we won’t be noticed neither will he find us attractive. Let us eat what ever you brought and then save up for later,shall we?” Anna said as she breaks the bread into two equal halves. She offers a half to Vivian while she began eating the other. Vivian lets out a sigh as she collects it from her. She glances at her squirrels that were happily gnawing on the apple she had given to them. She bites into the bread thinking. ‘Miracles do happen.’   TBC