Land of the Wave
In a dilapidated house, a group of ragged children slept in one of the furthest rooms.
They had piled several mattresses on the floor and were sleeping on top of them, keeping warm with blankets.
It didn't matter if they slept alone or some hugged each other, they all stayed inside the mattress to stay together and safe inside the room.
In addition to closing and covering the windows, they had placed metal pots on top of the front door so that they would fall and the sound would wake them up.
That way, they'll know if there's an intruder.
They all had different circumstances.
Some were abandoned by their families, or their families died leaving them alone.
But no matter their circumstances, they all came together to stay safe in this impoverished country.
At dawn, slowly one by one they opened their eyes and got out of bed before waking the rest of their companions who were still asleep.
Although they were sleepy and wanted to keep sleeping, they all knew they had to get up early to try and get something to eat.
And as always, the sound and pain of their empty stomachs made them lose sleep and they all got up.
Wiping the sleep from their eyes with their hands, they all left the room and went to the dining room of the house.
Sometimes they were lucky and got a little more food that they could save for the next morning and at least have something for breakfast.
But this day was not one of those days, and they had to walk past the dining room and leave the house to get food.
Begging in the street or stealing if they had the chance without being noticed.
Of course, although they split up to increase their chances of getting something, the group also split into smaller groups of 4 or more to keep themselves somewhat safe.
They had already agreed not to stray too far from their usual area and to shout if anything happened. In that case, everyone would run to help.
Meanwhile, they looked all around to avoid any suspicious adults.
Yumi was a girl who had gone out to ask for food or money with a small group of 5.
Although she was 10 years old and could have joined other small groups looking for an opportunity to steal some goods from the market merchants, she could not do so because she had to take care of her 4-year-old little sister.
Holding her hand, Yumi and her companions began to approach the adults to ask for money.
Sometimes they succeeded, and sometimes they didn't.
But the few coins they managed to get were enough to buy something to eat at a small food stall in the market.
Suddenly, he found a person passing by handing out small pieces of paper.
Yumi looked at him because the clean and pretty clothes caught her attention.
And the next thing she knew, this person approached her and also handed her a small piece of paper.
And not only her, but also her colleagues.
Even his little sister had received a small piece of paper from the man, which she began to play with.
Yumi quickly looked at the small piece of paper and used the few reading skills she had learned from her parents before they disappeared.
'...free food... for children and women?'
Yumi only knew a few words, but she recognized a few and wondered if she was right.
He looked at his friends and realized they were looking at the back of the paper, so he looked at his own and found a small map pointing to a location.
But since he didn't know many words on the map, he couldn't recognize the direction on the map.
After looking up again, she searched for the man and found him still handing out these papers to more children like them and adult women who were passing by.
"Sister, I'm hungry"
It was her sister's call that pulled her from her thoughts and made her smile.
"Okay, let's eat," he said before taking her hand and approaching his companions.
Having already saved enough, they went to a small stall in the market and used their few coins to buy breakfast.
'Will we ever be better?' the girl wondered as she helped her little sister eat.
Seeing the people around, especially the parents carrying their children, Yumi couldn't help but think of her own, and for a moment her eyes reddened.
But she quickly shook her head and calmed down because she didn't want to think about it anymore.
Her parents left home and never returned, and she didn't want to know the reasons.
Knowing that they had died or were abandoned caused him great pain when he slept and thought about them, so he forced himself to forget them in order to no longer feel that pain.
Shortly after, she and her friends continued their rounds through the streets asking for money, hoping to get enough for lunch and hopefully dinner too.
After all, they didn't want to stay out on the street too late because it was dangerous.
Many of their classmates had disappeared, and they were afraid something would happen to them if they stayed on the street until nightfall.
But suddenly, something caught his attention.
It was a shop.
But compared to other dirty or run-down shops that are usually seen, this shop was extremely striking because of how clean it looked, the large glass doors, and the white lights inside.
And it seemed that she wasn't the only one who noticed this store, as many people began to gather outside it, blocking her view.
Some ventured inside, while others stayed back and watched everything from outside.
Yumi and her friends approached and took advantage of their small size to pass through the crowd of people.
And when they did, they marveled at the beauty of the store.
Besides how clean everything looked, his eyes couldn't move from inside the place because of how crowded it looked.
Unlike other stores in the country that had few things for sale, this store was full of products.
Seeing a store so full of products was surreal for her and the others in the place.
After all, the country was closed and the local ruler only allowed a few goods to pass through.
Therefore, they had never expected to see a store like this.
Little by little, some people left the store carrying bags in their hands.
And when they saw the others outside, some were still happy while others hugged their bags and quickly left the place for fear of being robbed.
Yumi watched all this with envy.
She also wanted to be able to buy so many things, but with the few coins she had she couldn't get anything.
And he didn't dare to think about trying to break in and steal.
Besides not wanting to endanger her little sister, she thought this store was connected to the country's ruler.
After all, what ordinary store could be so crowded?
Yumi was only 10 years old and didn't know many things, but she knew that that Gato guy ruled the country and only he could allow a shop like this to appear here.
Suddenly, she looked up and realized she recognized the letters on the store sign.
The girl quickly took out the small piece of paper she had saved and found the same drawing that was identical to the store sign.
"¡Yumi!"
"Guys!"
"Look what I got!"
Suddenly, someone's shouts caught his attention and he looked up to find some of his fellow orphans coming out of the store with several bags in their hands and smiling as they headed towards them.
Yumi and her classmates were surprised by the bags the boy was carrying in his hands.
It's important to know that they have very little money, and the things in this store seemed very expensive.
"You didn't steal this, did you?!" Yumi asked worriedly.
Although his group stole from time to time, they knew where and when to do it.
Otherwise, they would be caught and the punishments would be very harsh.
Especially if they were robbing a store like this, which surely had connections to the tyrant of the country of the wave.
"No, no, no," said the boy, shaking his head, and Yumi and her classmates looked at him doubtfully.
They were all orphans and knew there was no way the child could get so many things.
"Don't steal it!" said the boy.
"I got this for free"
"I even got a little money," the boy said with a proud look as he put the bags down on the ground and took a few coins and bills out of one of his pockets.
'Free?' Yumi and the others thought, not believing him.
How would they get so many things for free?
Since misfortune struck this country, they were alone and could only beg for a few coins to eat.