Photo prompt: © CEAyr
“See the lamppost?”
Nick nodded.
“See that reflection?”
Another nod.
“You walk into that store and you’ll be in another world.”
The younger boy shook his head, hair so severely cut it almost looked shaven. Ruben fed him, but everything had a price. True in the orphanage. True on the streets.
“Your loss,” Ruben shrugged. “If you prefer life as it is now …” he drew the last word out.
Nick tried to see through the window. It was like a mirror. He didn’t like what he saw.
“I’ll go,” he said.
“Hat on. Bring out something good. Don’t get caught.”
For Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers
Na'ama Yehuda 
The other world is going to be remarkably like this one. We build other worlds using quite different means
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Yeah, that other world may be ‘another world’ in ways that have little to do with actually changing universes but stepping into what one had never seen before … and into more trouble besides …
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Sounds like the Artful Dodger egging on Oliver Twist to steal, only with a scifi accent. Nice writing, Na’ama!
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Thanks, Penny! I’m not entirely sure whether the “other world” on the other side of the glass would be a REAL other world, or a figurative ‘another world’ but in either case I think it will be bringing Nick another world of trouble …
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I got beaten to the Artful Dodger and Oliver comment, but it reminded me of that too. Very good.
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Ah, how interesting that these characters are such archetypes for the realities that too many street children – then and now – still face in too many places in the world! Glad you liked this piece!
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I got to the end so suddenly that all it made me realize is that I didn’t want it to end…
Nice!
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Best compliment, ever! 🙂 Thank you! 🙂 (Rochelle is a tough task-mistress, though, giving us only 100 words … ;))
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You were spot on. So kudos there!
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🙂 Thank you again!
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Life (desperation) has taught them to be tough, hasn’t it?. I did want this story to go on though 🙂
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Ah, blame Rochelle for limiting us to 100 words … 😉 But, yeah, I suppose the story goes on in many places around the world where street urchins still have to rely on others – no less tricksy – to try and get by …
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Na’ama Y’karah,
Penny snitched my comment. I was thinking Artful Dodger, too. Ruben is an operator…or maybe just a survivor. This story could go in several different directions. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Yes, I guess it can go in several directions. … though I think none of them would be free of trouble for poor Nick. Hopefully he’ll find a way to make the most of it, for I already see the survivor in him …
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I feel sorry for the kid and hope he’s able to connect with more positive influences.
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Yeah, me and you, both … And, who knows, perhaps he’ll find a kind benefactor who’ll see more in him than something to exploit …
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Oh dear… that “other world” is a tough one for so many of these little ragamuffins…
Excellent write, as per!
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Thank you, my friend! Yeah, the world is often difficult for these ragamuffins … I hope the world he lands in, now or later, improves for him …
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I hope so too!
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me three!!
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🙂
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An excellent story. I also would have liked to read more.
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Thank you! I’m glad! Those 100 word limits, though … SMH 😉
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Everyone’s beaten me to the Artful Dodger. But it also reminds me of Scott Lynch’s first book in his Gentleman Bastard series, The Lies of Locke Lamorra
Either way… excellent
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Thanks, Crispina! 🙂 I guess those themes of street urchins and the hierarchies they form – in whatever world it may be … are universal … Glad you liked!
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Did indeed 🙂
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🙂
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As everyone else has mentioned the Artful Dodger, I won’t! You set the scene brilliantly. I’d love to know what happened next.
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Thanks, Keith! I have a feeling little Nick is looking at some trouble …
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Very well told, Na’ama!
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Thank you! 🙂
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Nicely done, Na’ama. An enjoyable, yet thoughtful read.
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Thanks, Bill. Glad you enjoyed!
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An artful dodger, mayhap?
Ronda
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Seems at the very least a kind of …
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a store full of goodies must represent a different world indeed for those who have less in life.
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Very much so! And, yes, perhaps a different world of trouble, too …
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This was a great read! I want there to be a better world for him, but alas I fear his disappointment.
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Thank you, Sue! You ‘got it’ EXACTLY! 🙂 I’m so glad that the mood transferred … and, yes, I wanna pluck him out of there and tell him there are better ways and give him a better future … 🙂
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Very “Oliver Twist”, everything has a price. Nice one!
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Everything does, eh? Hopefully, the cost of things is not more than we can afford … 😉
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Dickens would have appreciated this, and I did also
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I’d be honored if he would … 🙂
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I got a Harry Potter vibe. If only you had more words. 😀
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I know! We should put a formal letter of complaint to Rochelle for being stingy with word-count … 😉 (just kidding, it’s a fun challenge exactly because it’s short!) 🙂
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More words would be great but how would be able to read them all? Short doesn’t feel like a chore. 😀
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That’s truth! 🙂
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There’s something a bit Dickensish about this snippet. One thief teaching another the tricks of the trade, while holding his student under strict control. Nicely done.
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Ah, yeah, And Dickens was very good at portraying the reality that had been life for so many, and still is for too many in other places in the world. So … yeah … all that! Thank you!
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Nicely done. Oliver Twist came to my mind too. ‘Everything has a price’, so true, especially for people who exploit children.
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True, alas … yes, these are realities for all too many …. Thanks for reading and commenting!
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I thought of Oliver Twist when I read this. Can’t wait to find out what happens next.
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Thanks! And … I am not sure the little adventurer would necessarily be pleased. Or will he? … 😉
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You’re welcome 🙂 Hopefully we will find out which it is in part two?
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🙂 who knows … time travels differently in ‘another worlds’ … 😉
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Somehow I remember that there should be a wardrobe somewhere close to the lamppost… at least in Narnia.
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Yep. Though, this may be Narnia 2.0, with virtual wardrobes … 😉
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It does have that Oliver Twist feeling to it. Interesting that he looked in the mirror-window and didn’t like what he saw. Tough choices for people who feel they don’t have many options left.
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Thank you, Fatima! Yes, indeed, tough choices that may feel like the only way but may not be … and as a society, we all need to do better for our children and others who are vulnerable, too.
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