The Broken Cycle

소피아와 나

깨진 사이클
2장

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

소피아와 나
Sophia and Me

"Where are you going?" I asked Sophia, who was walking away from the imperial palace grounds with a mischievous smile on her face. "Town" she answered with a giggle, not elaborating further on her sudden departure or her intent. I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, my curiosity piqued by her secretive response. What did she plan on doing in town? Was she really going there all on her own? Is she leaving me here all alone? The possibilities filled me with a strange sense of unease, and yet, a little bit of excitement.

Arriving in town with Sophia was a whole new experience for me, as I was accustomed to the quiet surroundings of the imperial palace. The town was bustling with life, filled with people shopping, eating, and having fun. Upon noticing the stars in my eyes, Sophia simply smiled. "You hungry?" She asked, and I nodded, as I had yet to have a proper meal since I essentially decided to not eat lunch. With her question, my stomach began to grow more famished and I wondered if Sophia had a plan to get a meal for the two of us.

Hand in hand, the two of us walked through the bustling fruit market, stopping at a certain stall. Sophia picked up two apples and thoroughly inspected them with a smile on her face. As the lady selling the fruits inquired about the payment, Sophia merely replied with a simple and quick, "No." and then we swiftly began running again. As the townspeople gawked at the bizarre pair in front of them, I couldn't help but wonder where we would go next in this strange and nerve wrecking adventure where we are now criminals.

"Wasn't that just stealing?" I yelped, shouting over the noise of the crowd and the chasing lady's son. Sophia merely shook her head and told me to keep quiet with a devilish smile on her face. "Shhh! The inflation rate is too high, I'm doing the economy a favor" while her logic was questionable I was more focused ruining as we darted between the crowd, the shouting of the enraged boy close behind us. I couldn't help but think about whether or not we had made the right decision to steal some food, as the chase continued with no plan or path of escape.

"I don't think you know how it works!" I retorted angrily, trying to keep up with Sophia's running pace. "Stealing badly affects the economy!" I stated, attempting to educate Sophia on the effects of stealing. "You're just basically reducing the profit of that seller and all the other people that you've stolen goods from! Which leads to shrinkage" I explained, my words going in one ear and out the other. Sophia just laughed, seemingly unaware of the serious consequences of our actions. "I don't understand even half of what you're saying!" she responded carelessly. "Profit is a central driver of economic activity in a market economy! If there's not profit there's no economic growth!"the

We quickly changed directions multiple times, eventually losing the angry boy. Sophia turned to me with a smile on her face and gave me an apple, encouraging me to eat it. As I looked back at her, a sorrowful look remained on my face. "You stole these apples, I can't eat it." I said, hoping to make her understand the severity of her actions. Instead, she simply stared at me with disappointment, as if I was being wasteful. "Stealing is bad, Sophia" I added, hoping that she will see the gravity of her mistake.

With a deep sigh, Sophia looked back at me and brushed aside my concerns. "Listen Amara, the best things are the free ones, and besides" she smirked, "it's only two apples, they could always grow some more." I stared back at Sophia, who was already taking a bite out of her stolen apple. "But you stole these apples, they weren't free." I protested, feeling frustrated that she wasn't taking accountability for her actions. However, Sophia remained unfazed, seeming to be fine with what she had done.