Short Stories

Reminiscence [LitNS bonus]

Little Note; OMG This was written ages ago. Reminiscence is an insert chapter that are memories of Hazel's pieced together. 

It was never published in the actual book, but VIOLA! YOU GET TO READ IT NOW! 

Oh, and you should NOT read this if you haven't read Light in the Night Sky yet, there are spoilers. 

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“Right, I’ll pay you 50.” A big bloke who sat behind the table puffed his cigarette as he presented the old, worn-out photos to the dark-haired girl. The girl sat in her seat casually, playing with her locks when she took notice of the photos the guy presented her.

“Is this her?” She paused slightly as she took a glance at the pile of snaps. The photos were of a little blond girl, smiling happily with a bunch of flowers in her hands.

“Mhm. You’re the only one I can count on at a time like this.”

“I see.” The dark-hair girl responded as she continued to search through her hair for split ends.

“Get little Luisa within the safe walls of Sina. We’ll work out the details later.”

The dark-haired girl slowly raised her tired eyes with dark circles around them from consecutive sleepless nights, glaring at the bloke with the cigarette.

“Within the safe walls of Sina? Don't tell me that you're stupid enough not to know that within those walls lies an underground city full of thugs.” Her voice remained calm, but her eyes were full of revulsion and despite. "Are you just trying to round up a fight with others out there or are you simply handing me over?"

“Look Hazel, these walls haven’t been knocked down for nearly 100 years, but they can’t stay up forever. Sina is the safest place, and besides… Luisa would be safe with you. No ill intentions.”

The dark-haired girl lifted her glare off the bloke and returned her attention back on her locks.

“Say my name once more and I’ll slit your throat.” She curled her locks around her index finger as she muttered, the tone in her voice still unchanged. 

She had sworn to never work with anyone else after crawling back out of there. The other three never made it out, and it somehow seemed like her heart was left behind too. 

She was out of tears.

“Don’t you get cocky with me; remember that you’re still a beggar within these streets.”

The girl gritted her teeth in rage. There was nothing good about those pathetic high-classed wealthy people, riding around in their own private carriages down their fancy shit avenues, and she hated the fact that she used to be one of them.

But getting called a ‘beggar’ was the last thing she wanted to hear from a wretched bloke in front of her that couldn’t even get his ass together.

She quickly adjusted her hoodie around her head and looked down as she noticed that the guy kept his eyes on her the whole time, still puffing on that little pathetic cigarette.

“Pitiful.” He heaved a sigh.

“What now?”

“You’re not that bad looking when you come out of the shadows more often.”

The dark-haired girl swept her hair aside and looked away; slightly taken back from his words. Nobody had ever said that to her before. In fact, nobody had really taken a second glance at her because they were too high and mighty on their damn rich horses.

A blush of red swept over her face. Getting over her pointless thoughts, she looked down at the ground, switching back to the main topic. “So where is this Luisa?”

The bloke puffed on his cigarette. “Luisa? She’s in the Klorva district as we speak.”

The dark-haired girl spun around and scowled at the bloke with the cigarette in his hand. “Is this another kidnap?”

The guy merely chuckled at her retort, exhaling the smoke through his nose. “Why are you so tense today, princess? Isn’t this your job? Technically, this is smuggling.”

The girl scoffed and looked down in annoyance. “Don’t call me that.”

“What? Princess?”

“Just don’t.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and thought for a moment. She knew that this job, along with all the others in the past, were as wrong as hell. She swore that she’ll quit and do something to better herself and everyone. But she needed money as well, and there’s no way she’ll turn herself in as a prostitute.

She stabbed her knife into the table as she came to a final decision.

“Alright. I’ll accept this job as my final one. After this, we’re done and we head separate ways. But you pay me two hundred, just to get her there. If there are any casualties, I take extra.”

She turned around and started to leave when a strong arm gripped onto hers and pulled her back.

“Final job?”

“You heard me.”

Without hesitating, the little dark-haired girl pushed the man away from her, releasing herself from his grip. The man regained his balance and let out a little laugh, before lifting his cigarette to his lips.

“Get Luisa to the underground city in the capital. There’ll be people waiting…”

“Right.” She nodded. Her loose dark curls fell into their natural place, just a tad longer than shoulder length. The girl retrieved her knife, which was skewered upright in the timber of the table, and slid it into a side pocket of her pants.

It was as if she had caught a quick sight of the man snickering. There was indeed something off, but her pockets would grow life-threateningly empty if she had delayed any more jobs.

Strolling towards the door, the girl finally stopped in her tracks as she turned around once more, leaving her final warning.

“I can kill anyone if I have to. Don’t think you’re an exception.”