Lover's Day

Uma's POV

Eleven years ago…

The little bell above the door jingled as I walked into the bakery. The second that it did, I saw every adult's eyes in the store zero in on me. Bastards, I thought, my fists tightening at my sides. I knew they thought I was going to try and pinch something. After all, a dirty-faced girl in thread-worn clothes and hardened eyes couldn't be up to any good. Usually they'd be right, but the fact that they were thinking it still pissed me off.

Not losing a single step in my stride, I walked up to the bread rack and I picked out a loaf of olive bread. I inspected it for a moment, taking my time as I made sure it was the one I wanted. Looking up I could see the pudgy storeowner intently staring at me from behind the counter; his face was screwed up in a look of displeasure, like he had smelled something bad. It was obvious he was waiting to see if I'd make a break for the door. I almost had to roll my eyes. As if that pig could catch me, I thought. He's probably never run a day in his life.

Once I was satisfied with my choice, I went up to the counter and slapped my money down on the wood surface, daring the asshole to question it. The owner looked to me and then to the coins and then back to me before sweeping them off the counter into his hand. He nodded, barely, not bothering to say thank you or any other kind of pleasantry. Hell, I knew he thought I was trash. I didn't care, though, I just took my bread and left.

Holding the wax paper bag of precious food under my arm, I headed down the street to the covered market where I knew Jodi would be. Sure enough, she was by the tea stand, her worn little cap placed on the ground in front of her as she danced to the lute music being played a few stalls down. She looked adorable, spinning in place and kicking her feet out in front of her. Her cute little girl act was exactly what we were banking on in order to get shoppers to throw her some coins. It wasn't our main source of income, of course, but every bit helped. Besides, it was the only thing I felt comfortable letting Jodi do. She wanted to help out so badly, so I came up with this job for her.

"Hey!" I called over, motioning for her to get her things.

Catching her attention, the little brunette smiled and took up her hat from the ground. Once she reached me she proudly opened her ruddy cap to show me her haul.

"Look!" She said, shaking the money around. There were about eight coins in there.

"Good job!" I told her.

"Also, I got you a present!"

"Really? Why?"

"Don't you know? Lover's Day!" She informed me with a large smile.

"Lover's Day?" I muttered in confusion. To my twelve-year-old ears, it sounded inappropriate and gross. We didn't have anything called Lover's Day back in Minsk Mina. However, Jodi was looking at me as though her eyes would pop out of her head at my response.

"You mean you've never heard of it?!" She asked, throwing her little arms out from her sides to emphasize her shock. I simply shook my head at the cute six year old. With that brown hair and those large brown eyes, she reminded me of a little deer. The fact that her arms and legs were as thin as sticks didn't help either.

"It's supposed to be the day where you give people you love presents." She explained.

"What, like boyfriends and girlfriends?" I asked, even more confused than before.

"Yeah, and mothers, daughters, friends… whoever really. Just as long as you love them." She explained, a grin spreading across her face.

Jodi loved me? That was pretty much all I got out of what she was saying. It wasn't as if I hadn't already known this in the back of my mind, it was just strange actually hearing her say it. I guess we were, in a sense, family.

"Oh... well, thank you." I told her, unsure of how to accept her kind gesture. "This is really nice, though," I told her.

"Not at all," she said, reaching into her pocket. She grabbed whatever was in it then held her fist out to me. "Hold out your hand." She told me, excitement lacing her tiny voice. I did as she asked and then she dropped the present into it. I found myself staring at a pretty bracelet made from woven leather with a coin-sized green stone in the middle.

"It's beautiful," I told her, rubbing my thumb over the polished stone. She must have somehow nicked it from one of the vendors. There was no way we could afford to spend money on things like this. "It's really nice, are you sure you don't want to keep it?" I asked, knowing how hard she must have worked to get it, not to mention the danger she put herself in.

"No no! I got it for you," she insisted, that cute close-eyed smile of hers warming my heart.

Even at that age, I knew that without Jodi by my side I'd barely seem human to other people. Especially back then when she was the only person at that time that could bring out kindness in me.

"You shouldn't steal, you know." I told her, more serious now as I put my hand on her boney shoulder and encouraged her to walk with me.

"But you do it all the time," she pointed out. Somehow, I knew she would say that.

"That's different." I muttered, heading off of the street and into the alley. Jodi picked up her speed to catch up, that doubting look still on her face.

"How?" She demanded.

"Because it's me doing it, not you. You might get caught." For some reason, I didn't want to go into detail about what might happen to her if she did. Maybe it was because I didn't want to think about it myself.

"But I wouldn't!" Jodi insisted, beginning pout.

"Look, it's just better that I do it for now, alright? You can help me when you're older." That was a lie. I was planning on us never having to steal again.

"Fine," she muttered. "You like your present though, right?"

"Of course, don't be silly," I said, offering her a smile.

Being kids on the street left us very few options, however the less involved she was in what I did, the better off she'd be. Putting out her little hat and dancing for coins was fine, but stealing and gambling were two different things. I had to protect her from the world that I knew. Although, the longer we lived like this, the harder it was to do and I was too young to know how to fix that. Still, I was determined to save her from all of this. Looking out for her was the one thing that gave me purpose.

Watching the sun disappear behind the fence in the alleyway, I stopped in front of the metal door of a condemned building that was one of our shelters. Though it seemed to be closed up tight, the hinge on the lock was broken, allowing us to pull it away from the wall and enter. Buildings like this were always torn down to make way for a new one since the space inside the Walls was so limited. We had maybe another month left in this place and then we'd have to move on and find another.

Once I got Jodi settled in, I was going to go out again to the tavern and cheat some drunks out of their money. But before then, I decided that we'd enjoy the sunset from the upstairs window, and break into the loaf of olive bread I bought with my winnings from last night. It was a holiday after all, even if I didn't understand it.

AN: REVIEW FAVOR FOLLOW! I know you're probably all stunned to see a new chapter out so soon but it's Valentine's Day and I wanted to release a lightly themed chapter. This is only part one, however I wanted to release it in the morning and the next part later in the evening.