It all began in one particular night.

That night, I was out of breath. I ran so fast I stumbled a few times. I was exhausted, I hadn’t eaten anything all day. But those guys—they were so keen on chasing me, just because I took some of the foods they threw away. Wasn’t throwing away food a waste? Why couldn’t they just let me take it, since at the end of the day, the food would all rot in the trash. Or, was I so undeserving of food?

Maybe they thought I was undeserving.

“Stop there, little shit!” I heard a man yelling at me, but I didn’t lower my pace. I sprinted even faster than before because they were getting closer and closer to me. That was the downside of having short legs, though. Every step they took, I had to leap twice. I found it frustrating, because no matter how far I was, they would eventually catch me up.

Fortunately, the alley was dark. The moon was bright, yeah, but it couldn’t reach the alleyway, thanks to all the building stacking up with each other. But also because of that, it was hard to find a hiding spot.

This particular alleyway was more disgusting than others. The walls of the buildings around were moldy, the path itself was pooled in water of unknown source. I was just glad that I didn’t slip. There were rats, cockroaches, and those dark alley living beings. I almost stepped on some unknown stuffs on my way here, yuck!

But the most important thing was to find a hiding spot. That was difficult, because those people chasing me could still made out my silhouette from afar and there was no intersection or any other path I could take. Hiding right now equals digging my own grave. They would find me immediately and I’d have no way out. Maybe I chose the worst alley to take my turn.

And, yes, right. This particular alley was the worst alley I could ever choose to run away because—it had dead end. There was no way I could run away from this situation.

I thought to myself. Ah, time to accept my fate, and sighed in defeat because I knew for sure the two men were already catching up with me.

So, I just turned myself around to face the wrath of these two middle aged men who were furious because some poor teenage girl took away the food they were about to waste. But, well, when I turned around and saw their face, I couldn’t help shrinking. They were really, really mad. By really mad, I mean extremely furious. Now that I think of it, that’s crazy how some people just don’t want to help the poor at all cost.

Then, the two men finally caught up with me. They were also out of breath. I thought to myself, great, at least if they beat me up, it won’t be that hard because their weak flappy body were out of strength from chasing around this tiny little teen around. Clearly, they never exercise past the age of 17.

But then one of them punched my cheek and I was... baffled. They were exhausted, I knew, but these men really did have strength, you know? They really punched me in the face with all their remaining strength and it was painful.

Right after that punch, I shrank. Well, one should not judge a book by its cover, right? I learned that the harsh way. I trembled in fear, knowing they would not hesitate to beat me to pulp and leave me barely alive. That would suck, because I definitely couldn’t afford a medical bill then and ever.

I couldn’t recall if these men beat me up more or not, but I did remember her sudden appearance.

My knight in shining armor, dare I say. She came flying, knocking the man who was assaulting me away. I was shocked by her sudden appearance. She was like a hero to me. The moonlight shone as though a stage light on her. You know, in those plays where the prince came flying to rescue the damsel in distress, and the stage lights illuminated solely on them as if to highlight how important his role was. Well, not that I’ve ever gone to a play myself. But that was my thought. I was petrified by her bravery. She came saving a poor damsel in distress of a stranger—me.

She was both beautiful and cool, a perfection in the eyes of the troubled me.

And I couldn’t take my eyes of her.