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A starving child is a tragedy that goes easily ignored. Who wants to pay attention to a bony little street rat that runs about, begging or stealing? Sadly, few take the time to understand that a child has never made the choice to live such a sorrowful life, rather it has always been pushed upon them. Occasionally however, there will be a person who listens to the truths of the world, and will aid everyone in need, be it an injured fighter, an elderly woman, or in this case, a starving child. In that alleyway behind the Smith in Kugnae, where many are unfortunate enough to call a home at a time of poverty, Raiha slept with the vermin. Wearing something that a normal person would not even use as a rag, she would in the daylight roam as far as her weak legs could transport her, asking strangers for their help. Day after day, she was ignored, pushed past, verbally attacked by those who would not be burdened by her sad story. On a dark day in the early winter, Raiha's malnourished little body barely held itself together. She had given up on asking anyone for kindness, realising that there was not enough in the world, and that it would never reach her. Sitting in the snow, leaned against the fence outside the Seamster's, Raiha felt the single thing that had kept her alive draining from her heart; hope. It had been days since she had last found a decent scrap of food; And weeks, maybe months, she couldn't remember, since someone had been kind enough to notice her. Slowly, her eyes began to shut, as she began falling from existence in the cold, hard world. But before she hit the bottom, and death, Raiha's fragile body was picked up and carried to somewhere warm. When she finally was able to think and hear again, words floated into her head; "Today is the day when I was a child like you, that I was saved. Every year I pay homage to the kindness of that stranger by being a good man myself." A older man, draped in very fine silks, tipped a spoon of hot stew into Raiha's mouth. He smiled and handed Raiha a bath robe. "Take this, and go up the hall to my maid's quarters, she will bathe and dress you in something comfortable." That evening, Raiha ate and smiled, both in quantities more than she had ever known. The man gave her a simple job working in his tavern, she would sweep the floors and welcome the patrons every evening for three hours, and was granted a small room in exchange. The act of kindness was like a gift from heaven for Raiha, who thanked both the Gods and the helpful man every day for her fortune. When her savior grew older still, and one day passed on, he left all his life to Raiha, including the ritual of helping one lost child every year. This line of kind individuals, who came from nothing, but lived truer than most who were priveledged, carried on for generations, and continues today in the taverns of Kugnae. Maybe someday, if you ask in the right manor, Walsuk will share a similar story with you as I have today. If you have ever wondered why she is so sweet, think back on the miracle that saved Raiha, and your pondering may be soothed by a lingering thought of how one simple act of kindness will trickle through time, helping more individuals than you could ever have imagined, making any gesture of this sort truly heavenly in the end. Written by Rhew Seun | |