"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Todd." Lucy said politely.

"A pleasure to meet you too." The man replied. "So… what were you doing running about the city in this horrid weather?"

It took a moment for Lucy to answer; she sighed in shame. "I'm running away from home."

She took another sip from her cup of tea; Mr. Todd raised an eyebrow.

"Where are you from?" He asked.

"Liverpool."

"Why leave?"

"I don't belong."

"And why come to London of all places?"

Lucy opened her mouth to speak, but she paused and thought about her motives.

"…I don't know." She said. "I just feel… drawn to this city, like something or someone is telling me to come here. I just don't know."

"I understand."

"You do?"

"Yes. Ever since I came to London, I felt shadows in these streets."

"Shadows?"

"Ghosts."

"…Did someone else live here before you?"

"Perhaps."

"Did you know them?"

"A bit." He said, taking a sip of his tea.

"Were they a friend? Or family?"

Mr. Todd set his tea down on the saucer before him. "I simply knew him, nothing more. He was a good man. A good man that had an injustice done to him…"

"Punished for a crime he didn't commit?" She asked.

Mr. Todd staggered at the sudden inquiry. He calmed himself, and replied, "You could say that, Miss Lucy."

"Anything you can tell me? I heard quite a few rumors about what happened here, but to be honest… I want the truth, something that can prove these stories false."

"Sometimes…" he said, lifting the tea again, taking a sip, and setting it back down before continuing. "A story convoluted with rumors gets lost in the speculation, and drowns, even through sources. You've heard of the saying 'If you repeat something often enough, it becomes the truth', haven't you?"

The little girl frowned, feeling like she suddenly hit a dead end.

"Luckily…" Todd said. "That isn't the case… I haven't heard any of the stories here in town, as I've been away for a very long time…"

"So, you can tell me what really happened?"

The man put down his cup and saucer, and fell silent for a moment. Lucy looked up at him; to her, the poor fellow almost looked like he was holding back a tear, and all she could do was wonder why.

"I could tell you… but it's not a cheery tale."

"…I'm listening."

He cleared his throat.

"There was a barber and his wife, and she was beautiful

A foolish barber and his wife

She was his reason, and his life

And she was beautiful

And she was virtuous

And he was… naïve"

Lucy listened, entranced and intrigued in his story and his voice. It was as if he were singing to her, singing a very sad song.

"There was another one who saw that she was beautiful

A pious vulture of the law

Whom with a gesture of his claw

Removed the barber from his plate

Then, there was nothing, but to wait

And she would fall

So soft, so young, so lost,

And oh so beautiful!"

"And the lady…" Lucy said, sitting at the edge of her seat. "What became of her?" He sat in silence for a moment.

"Oh, that was many years ago

I doubt if anyone would know"

Lucy sat back, in awe of such a sad story and a little disappointed in the equally sad ending. She couldn't fathom the idea that one man would do something so cruel to another; it was almost painful to think about. She looked at Mr. Todd and believed that he was having a similar issue to what happened, judging by his over-all physical expression as he stared into space with a sense of deep seated gloom.

As she processed the story in her head, new questions began to develop, questions that would fill in the blanks and shed some more light on this foggy little tale.

"Mr. Todd?" She said sweetly. "Were you there that day when it happened?"

Mr. Todd, with a very blank face, said, "Yes, I was."

"Wasn't there anything you could have done to stop it?"

He sat silently, thinking briefly, "The law was against the poor soul… My interference would have only gotten me into trouble…"

Lucy looked at Mr. Todd, questioning his integrity due to his decision to flee the situation back then, but after watching his wearily sunken in eyes, she realized that even though he escaped the confrontation back then, the memory of that day seems to have haunted him for years, punishing him more than enough. She looked away, trying not to think about his emotional suffering.

"Do you know what happened to him?" She asked him, still looking away.

Mr. Todd took another sip of his tea. "As far as I recall, he was shipped off to another country to be incarcerated. I don't know when he got out, though, if at all."

"I… have one more question to ask." She said to the man, in which he nodded in response. "Why are you here? As in, why are you trying to start up his shop?"

Sweeney set his teacup down once again, and stood from his spot on the floor. Lucy flinched a little, still rather surprised about the sheer size of the man, and watched as he approached one of the windows.

"It's… a debt I feel I should pay him, to honor him in my own way, to always remember the soul that was wronged. Maybe, one day…"

He said, looking out though the window up at the cloudy skies above. The rain continued to pour, threatening to not light up anytime soon.

"One day…" he repeated, before he continued. "He may return, with an open and thriving business to return to."

"And maybe find his family again?" Lucy added.

Mr. Todd paused for a moment. "Yes, maybe… You'll be needing a place to stay while you're here, won't you Miss Lucy?"

She nodded, remaining silent.

"You're more than welcome to stay here."

Lucy's eyes widened in surprise; she was shocked at this sudden act of generosity.

"Really?"

"Mmhmm. That way, you won't have to be taken to the workhouse or live as a beggar."

"Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much, Mr. Todd! You won't regret this, I promise."

Lucy couldn't see, but a tiny smile had crept onto Mr. Todd's pale lips.