About a month passed and I still felt like the world was flying by me. I made my home at the docks and begged for any scraps that someone might be willing to give me. Most people just passed me by or told me to leave them alone.

I saw Niala with a group of her friends. I decided to go over to her and say hi. I hadn't seen her since my birthday.

"Hi, Niala." I greeted shyly.

"Oh… hi, Katsumi."

"Can I play with you guys?"

"No way!" One of her friends shouted.

"You're bad luck!" Voiced another.

Tears welled up in my eyes. "Is that what you think, Niala?"

"My aunt says black is bad luck. Your hair is black, so you must be bad luck."

"But, Niala…"

"I don't need bad luck around me… Katsumi, we can't be friends anymore."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I thought she was my best friend! I ran away and never looked back. Fine! If she didn't want me as a friend, then I didn't need her! But… I didn't want to be alone…

I ran all the way back to the docks. Once I was back in my normal spot, I sat down, pulled my knees to my chest, and started to cry. No one cared about me. No one.

"Mommy? What's wrong with that girl? Why is she all dirty?"

I looked up and saw a boy with black hair, blue eyes, and freckles across his face. His mother also had black hair and was carrying a paper bag with one hand and held her son's hand with the other.

"She's an orphan, Deston. Do you remember that fire that happened awhile ago?"

"Yes. Everyone says the people in the fire died."

"It was her parents that died in the fire."

"Can't we take her home with us? She can be my sister!"

"I'm sorry, but no."

"What about some bread? Can we give her some bread?"

The mom was silent for a moment. I dared to hope. Was there actually someone willing to share with me? And it was something more than scraps? No… that was too good to be true. No one cared about me.

"I think we can do that."

Wait… What?! Really?!

The woman dug into the paper bag and pulled out a small loaf of bread. She handed it to the boy and he quickly made his way to me.

"Here." He held the bread out for me to take.

I just looked at him. No one had been this kind to me since the fire.

"It's okay. Go on, take it. Mom and I have more."

"Th-Thank you." Tears leaked down my face as I accepted the loaf. Maybe there was someone who cared after all.

The next day, the boy came back. This time he was by himself.

"Hi! I'm Desti! What's your name?"

"I'm Katsumi…"

"Can I call you Kat for short?"

I nodded. I didn't know why he came back, but I was glad he did.

"What should we do today, Kat?"

I shrugged.

"How do you feel about playing pirates?"

"How do you play?"

"Just act piratey. Like this," Desti picked a stick up off the ground and used it like a sword. "So… Ya think you can steal me treasure, ya land lubber?!"

I looked around and found another stick and copied his behaviour. It was the first time playing in what felt like forever. It felt strange and almost wrong. I don't know why, but it did. After a while, my stomach ached 'cause I was hungry again.

I whimpered at the pain as Desti and I were sitting in the alley so we wouldn't get in anyone's way.

"Are you hungry, Kat?"

"Yeah… I ate the whole loaf yesterday… I should have saved some."

"Don't tell my mom I asked you about this, but have you tried pickpocketing?"

I shook my head. "No… stealing is wrong."

"Yeah…"

"But… I am so hungry… is it still wrong if I'm doing it to live?" I wished more than anything that my mom was here to help me… she'd know what to do.

"I don't think so, as long as you only do it when you have to."

I looked around at all the stands. There was one that sold fruit and the bright red apples caught my attention. I put my finger to my lips to tell him to be quiet. He nodded his response.

I made my way through the crowd and waited till the shop owner had their back turned. I grabbed two apples and hurriedly made my way back to Desti. The shop owner never noticed.

I sat back down and handed Desti one of the apples. "Here, as thanks for yesterday."

"You didn't have to do that."

"I felt like I owed you."

"I'm your friend, Kat. You'll never owe me anything."

"Then you'll never owe me anything either."

We both munched on our apples and I was happy to have some food in my belly. I couldn't remember the last time I had an apple.

That evening, it started to rain. I didn't know where I was going to go. Desti was probably going to go home.

"Do you have a shelter, Kat?"

"No…"

"Follow me."

I did as he asked. I wasn't sure where we were going but he told me he was my friend. We stopped at a run down one story home.

"Wait here." Desti instructed and quickly disappeared in the house. Moments later, he returned. "Come in."

I entered the home and saw that the whole house was one room except for one bedroom. Desti's mom was sitting in a rocking chair doing some sewing.

"Come here, Katsumi." Her voice was firm.

I quickly did as she asked.

"If you're going to stay here occasionally, there are some rules you need to follow. These are the same rules I expect Desti to follow."

I nodded and waited for her to continue.

"Clean up after yourself. If I catch you stealing, I will tan your hide."

I tensed at the thought of what that would be like. I'd never had that punishment before.

"And finally, listen to me when I ask you to do something. If you're going to dirty the house, you'll help clean it. Do you understand?"

I nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good. There are some dry clothes on the chair there." She gestured to one of the dining table chairs.

I quickly grabbed the clothes and changed in the bedroom. When I came back out, I showed Desti's mom.

"Just like I thought, you and Desti are the same size."

I gave a deep bow. "Thank you so much." The tears started to fall without any warning.

"Katsumi, come here."

I stood up and, with watery eyes and sobs, made my way to her. She picked me up and put me on her lap.

"Katsumi, I know it's hard to lose the ones we love, but I promise you it will get better with time. Whenever the weather is bad, you are welcome to stay here. I may not always be able to feed you, but you are always welcome."

I leaned into her and cried. "I miss them…"

"I know, dear."

I stayed with Desti's mom till I passed out.

About six months had passed since the fire and I was best friends with Desti. Currently, we were sneaking through the crowd at one of Prince Raj's speeches. We'd gotten good at stealing and were now able to pickpocket almost anyone and they wouldn't even notice.

I reached into one man's pocket and pulled out a ring. I put it back. I was only after money. People were more likely to try and track you down if you stole something other than coin. The other pocket had a few coins which I retrieved easily.

Once Desti and I had swiped from everyone we thought had money on them, we met in an alleyway.

"So how much did you get?" I asked.

"Twenty-five dil. What about you?"

"Fifteen dil."

"That's pretty good."

"So what should we buy this time?"

"We should get some jerky. That stuff lasts forever."

"But it's so chewy."

"Hey, for me, it's food and it's the best option."

Desti pouted.

"Fine, we'll also get some apples. We can even get one for Auntie." I called Desti's mom 'Auntie' because she treated me like a mom, but I didn't want to call her that. So, I settled on 'Auntie'.

"Yay!"

We made our purchases and made our way back to Desti's home. I kept the bags of jerky in my pockets but I made sure to walk with my hands in my pockets. When we entered the house, Desti presented the apple to his mom.

"Oh my, how did you get this?"

"I bought it."

We didn't give too much detail to Auntie so that we didn't get into trouble. If she knew, she never gave it away.

"Thank you, Desti."

"Mom, can Kat stay tonight?"

"I suppose. It looks like it's going to rain anyway."

"Thanks, Auntie!" I enthused.

That night, Desti and I stayed up late and munched on our apples.

"So, what are we going to do tomorrow?" Desti asked in hushed tones.

"I think we should step up our game."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that we should try and swipe a bag of coins from a noble. They always have more than enough money."

"But no one like that comes around here."

I flicked Desti's forehead. "Think, we need to go to them."

"I don't know, Kat."

"Come on, I can't do it without you." I pleaded and made my puppy dog face. I knew he could never say no when I gave him my puppy dog pout.

"Fine… I really hate it when you give me that look."

I grinned proudly. "Why do you think I do it?"

We continued to chat about all sorts of plans until late in the night.

Morning came way too early. I just wanted to stay in bed and sleep. I couldn't remember the time I had a chance to sleep in.

"Breakfast is ready! Time to get up!" I heard Auntie call.

Desti got up right away. "Come on, Kat."

"Sleep." I mumbled and rolled over putting my back to the door.

"Kat, you should get up."

"Tired."

"Okay, don't say I didn't warn you."

"Katsumi! It's time to get up." Auntie sounded like she was right behind me.

"But I'm tired."

"Well then maybe you shouldn't stay up till all hours of the night talking."

"Please, can I sleep in, just for today?"

"No."

"But… I'm comfy." I heard Auntie walk away.

"Kat, get out of bed before it's too late." Desti warned.

"I'm warm."

Auntie's steps returned and the blanket was suddenly removed.

"You're not warm now. Are you going to get up?" Auntie asked me.

"I wanna sleep…" I complained.

A sharp pain shot through my rear.

"OUCH! That hurts!" I turned and saw that Auntie was holding a wooden spoon.

"I told you, it's time to get out of bed."

I don't know what got into me, but I was determined to stay in bed. I hugged my pillow and refused to move.

Another sharp pain in my butt.

I figured she wouldn't do more than three. If I could stand one more then I would be able to stay in bed for a bit longer.

The third strike came and I bit my lip. That was it.

A fourth strike.

"OW!" I screeched.

"Are you going to get up?"

"No!"

A fifth strike, but this one was a little harder.

"Kat, trust me, you can't out stubborn mom!" Desti informed.

"Why are you being so mean?" I asked her.

"You agreed to follow my rules when you stayed here the first time. Do you remember that?"

I nodded.

"One of those rules was that you listen when I tell you to do something. I don't tolerate disobedience."

I looked at Desti who was signaling me like crazy to get up. I looked back at Auntie.

"Are you going to get up? Or would you like a sixth?" Auntie asked.

"I'm up!" I leapt out of bed.

Desti looked relieved.

"Good. Now, come eat breakfast."

Desti and I left the house after breakfast and I was rubbing my rear, trying to ease the pain.

"So… which plan are we going to use?"

"I don't know yet. We'll just have to see when we get there."

We weaved through the streets and made our way to the richer side of town. There were bound to be some sucker we could take advantage of. Desti and I hid in the alley as we watched all sorts of nobles walk by.

"What about him?" I pointed to a fat man who had looked like he had been eating too well.

"I thought you said you wanted to step up our game."

"You're right, it's no fun if there isn't a chance of them chasing you."

"What about him?" Desti pointed to a slender man who was browsing a jewelry stand.

"Yeah, he looks good."

"So, what's the plan?"

I thought for a minute.

"You distract him and I'll swipe the money bag."

"How do you want me to distract him?"

"Don't know, don't care, just do it."

"Fine, I'm going." Desti walked up and started touching every piece of jewelry he could reach.

The man and the shopkeeper immediately were on his case. I silently snuck up and swiped the whole bag of coins from the man's belt.

I started to walk away when I heard the man shout.

"Hey! Give that back!"

Desti and I took off running as fast as we could. I was faster than he was but in this case it was a good thing. Suddenly, I ran into something and landed hard on my rear.

"Ow…" My rear still hurt from this morning. I looked up and saw that I had run into none other than Prince Raj! He had another man with him, but I didn't know who it was.

Desti came running around the corner, but he was able to stop himself before crashing into the prince.

I leapt to my feet and gave a deep bow. "Sorry, Your Highness!"

Desti bowed as well.

Just then, we heard our victim catch up to us.

"Oh, Your Highness. Thank you for catching these two."

I cringed. This was not going to end well.

"Lift your heads, children." Prince Raj said.

We did and saw the prince giving us a serious look. His gaze shifted to the man behind us.

"What is this all about?"

"These two swiped my coin pouch."

"Is this true?!" His hard gaze locked on me since I held a coin pouch in my hands.

I shyly nodded, not having the strength to give him a verbal response. I was scared that he'd throw me in the dungeon or something. He was the prince after all.

"Return the man's money." Prince Raj ordered.

I turned around and slowly handed the man his money back.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"You're welcome, Lord Kai."

I turned back around and gave another bow to the prince as I heard the nobleman leave.

"Now, what was all that about? Why are kids as young as you stealing?"

Desti answered for me, "She lost her parents in a fire and she has to steal in order to buy food."

"Oh? And what about you?"

"I'm her best friend."

I was surprised at Desti's confidence, but he was speaking the truth, so it wasn't like he was making up some cover story.

"I see." Prince Raj turned to the man beside him. "Sakaki, please tell the children what happens to thieves."

"Twenty lashes and thirty days in jail."

I froze in terror. Was Prince Raj going to punish us?

"How old are you two?" Prince Raj asked.

"Five." Desti answered for us, since I was now shaking uncontrollably.

"Then you are much too young. Children make mistakes."

I felt a wave of relief wash over me and I looked up at the prince.

"But," His voice was stern, "I don't want to catch you doing this again." He reached into his own coin pouch and pulled out some coins. "Hold out your hands."

Desti and I did as he asked. He placed three in my hands and three in Desti's.

"Th-Thank you, Your Highness." I finally managed to speak for myself.

"Ask an adult you trust to put that into a bank account for you. It will grow for you."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Desti echoed me.

"Now, off you go."

Desti and I took off running and we didn't stop till we reached his house. We asked Auntie to put the money into a bank account for us. She agreed and we went immediately. When it was done, she gave us each a small book and told us to keep it safe. It was a way to keep track of our money. We were walking back home when Auntie started asking us questions.

"Who told you to put money in the bank?"

"A grown up." I answered vaguely.

"Well, I figured that much. What was their name?"

I started to feel panicky. If I told her who it was, then we'd have to explain what happened. I didn't want anymore trouble.

"It-It was Prince Raj." Desti admitted.

"Desti, you know you shouldn't lie to me."

Now that Desti admitted it, I had to come clean otherwise he'd get in trouble. "It's true… we went to the rich side of town and stole some money off of a rich man. As we ran away, we got caught by Prince Raj."

Auntie was silent the rest of the way home. Once there, she got us to sit on the floor in front of her and tell her the whole thing.

"Do you realize how lucky you were that he was so kind to you?" Her voice was stern.

"Yes…" Desti and I said in unison.

"You may be too young for lashes, but he still could have thrown you two in the dungeon. Stealing is a crime that is not tolerated."

"A-Are we going to get punished?" I asked.

"I should, but it seems the prince has given you a good scare. I know that with how poor we are, stealing is sometimes necessary, but if you get caught again, the next person might not be as forgiving as the prince. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Desti and I answered at the same time.

"Good, now, go play."

Desti and I took off again. We crouched in the alley close to his house.

"Let's not steal from nobles anymore." Desti suggested.

"No argument here."

"So, what do you want to play?"

"Checkers."

"What?"

"I want to play checkers. I've had enough running around." It was true, but also didn't want any more trouble. If we played something loud, someone could get mad at us.

"But we don't have a checkers set."

"Okay… then let's go to the beach and play tic-tac-toe in the sand."

"Okay."

Desti and I sat in the sand and played our game till sunset.

"Well, I should go. You know mom doesn't like me out after dark."

"Yeah…" I always hated it when he had to go.

"I'll come back tomorrow. Promise."

I held out my pinky. "Pinky promise?"

He linked his pinky with mine. "Pinky promise." He confirmed.

We gave each other a hug and he took off towards home.

Once he was out of sight, I walked towards the water and splashed my bare feet in it. I never usually had shoes on. The ones I used to have fell apart and I was more concerned about food then my feet. I looked out at the ocean. The wind and the salty smell had a calming effect on me. I wish I'd come here more often with mom and dad.

My tears flowed freely as I thought about them. I missed them so much. I didn't even have anything to remember them by. I wanted nothing more than to hug them one more time. I sat down and pulled my knees in, resting my forehead on them. The tears didn't stop.

"Mommy… Daddy… Why did you have to die…?"

That night I cried myself to sleep.

I was running through a beautiful green field, spinning and twirling as I went. I was wearing a red dress that mom made me and I liked how it flowed.

"Katsumi!"

I turned around and saw mom and dad standing side by side. They were both smiling at me and held out their arms to me. I started running towards them. They were okay! I was so happy. I picked up my speed.

Suddenly! I was cut off by flames that were too high for me to jump over. I almost couldn't see them anymore.

"Mom! Dad!"

They didn't say a word and just turned around and started walking away.

"Mom! Dad! Come back!"

They kept walking.

"MOM! DAD!"

"Kat!"

I turned around and tried to find the voice that had called my name. I couldn't see anyone.

"Kat!"

"Kat!"

I shot up and smashed my head against something hard. My eyes watered. I laid back down to try and feel better. I looked up and saw Desti was holding a hand to his forehead.

"Don't scare me like that!" I complained.

"You were tossing and turning. Did you have another bad dream?"

I nodded. I had told Desti about my nightmares because he wouldn't leave it alone ever since I accidently smacked him in the face one night. He also seemed like he actually cared about it.

I took my time and told him exactly how the nightmare played out. He listened whole heartedly. When I was finished, he hugged me. He didn't say anything, but it wasn't needed. His hug let me know I wasn't alone.