Scar Red

21: Stray Cat

All sense eluded me as I madly chased after the fellow who had grabbed my purse. On God! The bloke moved with the speed of light! Dirty coat flapping uselessly in the air, busted shoe soles thudding against the concrete, and uneven panting.

"Give me back my purse, you thief!" I screamed, my duffel bag was slung over my shoulder, I couldn't afford to leave it behind, under the mercy of any crooked city folk, just like my money would be under that fellow's mercy if I didn't take back my purse.

"Oof!" My foot connected unevenly with an askew slab of the curb and the next thing, I was down. This left my purse hijacker with enough time to attain a reasonable distance and I knew that there was no way I was catching him now.

"My purse! Give it back you psychopath! It's mine! It's m-i-n-ne," that was where my voice cracked. I knew the loon was far out of earshot and screaming was now my last resort.

My eyes burned with unshed tears as I felt the bile rising in my throat. I was so not in control of my destiny anymore. My body churned not only from the gravity of my fall but also because of a certain lack of use-I don't remember the last time I ran like that; the adrenaline pumping, my muscles flexing, and the speed I attained were unfamiliar.

I blinked once, a tear slipped down. I blinked twice and there it was, that...refracting beam. At first, I thought it was my blurry eyes playing tricks on me but by squinting them, I was able to focus on the sparkle a few feet away from my position on the ground. And just then, I realized what it was.

I tried moving my lower limbs and the agonizing sensation that sprouted from my knee held me in place. My combined momentum when I fell should've been enough to dislocate it, however, by some miraculous occurrence, it didn't. But it did lacerate my knee, that I knew.

Finally, I was able to get over the shock of my fall and as I regained a standing position once more, I rushed to my pendant that lay on the ground. It must've slipped out of my purse when the thief ran.

Thank Heavens it did! But that couldn't solve my problem of bankruptcy right then. I exhaled deeply and my breath appeared in a small misty puff.

That was just how cold that evening had gotten and I looked toward the direction my purse thief had gone, knowing without a shadow of a doubt that there was no hope of getting my money back-my means of survival and there was no plan B. I wanted to cry again.

I wanted to go home where there would be an ointment for my scraped knee including all the bruises I'd sustained-where there would be warmth from this cold. All around me were strangers, faces I'd never seen before, and places I'd never visited before. This wasn't my home.

"...the city's a fine looking place but there's still danger at every turn..." Those were Evelynn's words on my first day.

I didn't understand it before but I did at that moment. It was an agonizingly vivid comprehension, one that couldn't be altered.

I exhaled again, rubbing both of my arms. On readjusting my bag after I'd slipped my pendant into it, my eyes sought a place to sit and were able to find a bench a few feet away next to a garbage bin.

As I walked, my limbs felt stiff and flaccid. The cold had seeped into my bones and I'd been standing for way too long. My gaze skimmed across the environment and I spotted a bridge.

Water...there was water below, which explained why it was so chilly. I rubbed my arms again as the frosty wind picked up on its course. It made me stagger a bit, given that my movements weren't sturdy either.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" The woman I accidentally bumped into, warned.

I opened my mouth to apologize, however, my voice seemed nonexistent. I watched her murmur as she brushed past me angrily.