Shrouded Misery

A busy city, with salespeople shouting for customers, motorcycles rumbling, and people's shoes thudding on the paved streets. A child sits in a corner, clutching a broken plastic cup. He's raising the cup to unsuspecting commuters on their way to work.

Behind him is a narrow corridor that leads to the other side, where there is another street. There is a carton house and three little faces protruding from it. They appear malnourished and starving. Their clothes are soiled and tattered. They must have eaten a decade ago. There was torrential rain last night, and the carton house is partially soaked. One shirtless child emerges from the carton house. He appears as happy and lively as a kitten, but you can count the ribs on his chest. He rushes up to the boy with the cup and teases him. He became enraged but later seemed unconcerned about the little boy.

One lady approaches the boy and places a coin inside the broken cup. When the boy looks up, the lady greets him with a broad smile. The woman noticed the other boy running back to the house as she looked behind the boy. Her heart sank to the bottom of her stomach.

"How can these four boys live in such a state?" she wondered.

She looked at the boy with the cup, who was ecstatic about the broken cup. His head was parted by the woman. He raised his head and said,

"Thank You!"

The woman's emotions prevented her from responding with words, so she simply nodded and stared at him.

She felt a pat on her shoulder right away. She was flanked by a man. As he looked at the woman, he had a smack on his face. He looks at the boy and shouts angrily.

"Don't waste your money on these thieves; instead, buy candy for your child, if you have one."

Immediately, a crowd began to form. People were calling the boy filthy names. His eyes welled up, but he kept a brave expression on his face. He knelt down, and I assumed he was contemplating what had happened to them, which is why they were on the streets. The other three boys were now staring at the enraged crowd.

There was a lot of commotion. I'm sitting on a bus, waiting for it to fill up. Our driver is mingling with the crowd. Some passengers are disembarking to join them. I'm on my own. I have to look out the window to see what was going on. The woman knelt and hugged the filthy boy tightly. Immediately, the audience fell silent. Her white slacks were soiled. She took the boy's hand and led him to the ramshackle house. She smiled as she knocked on the carton door. The boy looked her in the eyes and welcomed her inside...