158 On A Mission
When we finally make it to the next town, I ignore all the good smelling stalls and keep heading North. The man said I would see mountains... As I walk through the crowd, something hits my legs. I quickly come to a stop and look down to see a small child struggling to pick up a basket of apples that had fallen.
I frown in concern but when I hear the sneers and jeers at the small child, my anger spikes. I look up and glare at a woman saying "Such a nasty thing. Just like her mother!" The others giggle in agreement as I bend down and help the small child pick up the apples.
The apples were past ripe and were now trying to shrivel up. The women looking on gasp out in shock and say "Look at her! She must be new." I ignore the comments as the little girl struggles not to cry. She bites her lower lip and quickly tries to put the apples back in the small basket.
I pick up the last apple and say "May I buy three apples?" The little girl looks up to me with a dirty face but her teary eyes held fear and hope. Her chin trembles as she says "They're a little old, Young Miss... I don't know if you'd like them."
I give her a warm smile and lift up the apple while saying "Really? They all look so vibrant and juicy. I'll pay top dollar for these." When the little girl looks to the apple in my hand, her eyes grow large with shock.
The shriveled up apple was gone and in its place was a large, shiny apple! She looks at it with disbelief as I say "Can I buy three?" She blinks in shock and looks down to see that all her apples were bright and juicy looking.
She stares at them in shock as the people looking on all frown in confusion. They could have sworn those apples were nearly moldy... weren't they? When the little girl looks back to me, I give her another kind smile as I reach out and rub a piece of dirt off her little face.
As soon as my magic flows into her, her hollow cheeks fill out and come to life with the color of a freshly bloomed flower. Her clothes are now clean and so is she. Her little mouth falls open as she looks up to me in shock.
She whispers "A deity..." I give her a small smile and lean in as I say "It's just a little magic." I give her a wink and grab two more apples. I toss one to Li Jun and hand the other one to Mango. I hold my hand out and wait.
She blinks in shock and confusion as she holds her hand out. I lower my hand and place a large piece of gold in her hand as I whisper "Hold your head high my dear. They are no better than you. If anything, you are far better. You have a heart of gold."
The little girl's eyes fill with tears as she clutches my hand and says "Please... My mother is sick. Please. She's the only family I have left." I feel my heart ache at her desperate pleas. I reach down and grab another apple.
I lift the apple up between us and say "If you want to save your mother, you have to help. I can supply the magic but you'll have to supply the love." The girl blinks in confusion as she looks to the apple and then me.
I give her a wide smile as I say "Close your eyes and think about how much you love your mother and how much you want to save her." She tightly closes her eyes as a look of determination clouds her cute little features.
When her dark brown eyes open, I give her a smirk and say "Now blow!" As she blows on the apple, I send my magic into it. A small rune for healing appears on the bottom of the apple before quickly disappearing again.
I nod my head and smile at her as I say "You did it! Your love will save her. Take this apple to your mother and have her eat the whole thing, okay?" She tightly clutches the apple and nods her head in understanding.
I help her with her basket and pick up the gold she dropped on the ground. I slip the piece of gold into her dress pocket while adding a few more. I make sure the surrounding people can't see the gold as I stand and watch her leave.
Ever so often she will stop and look back to me before running out of sight. I lift up the apple and take a bite of it before walking straight towards the crowd. The people all look at me in shock and quickly step to the side with looks of disgust.
As I pass through the crowd, I glance over to the women and say "Mark my words, if you say another horrible thing about that child doing everything she can to save her mother... you and all you care about will be punished."
I then turn to the others as I say "This goes for everyone in this town. If only all of us were lucky enough to have a child like her..." I keep walking as the heavy set woman huffs out in anger and says "Who do you think you are!? That brat and her whore of a mother are dirty little rats! They dirty up our whole town!"
Suddenly, the woman starts itching. Her friends suck in and stumble back as some even scream. The woman looks down at her hands in shock as a nasty rash begins covering all of her skin! She screams in horror as she says "You're a nasty whore too! You brought a disease with you!!"
Suddenly, her hair starts falling out. I come to a slow stop and turn around to say "I warned you. For every time you say or do anything to her and her mother, you would be punished. The more you say or do, the more severe the punishment."
She screams and collapses with her hair in both of her hands. She suddenly starts crawling towards me as she cries out and says "Please! I'm sorry! Make it stop, please!!" I take another bite of my apple as I watch her crawl over to me but I don't move.
She grabs the ends of my dress and begins to beg while crying. The surrounding people look on with shock, disbelief, and fear but no one steps forward to help the woman. I chew the apple as I watch her wail but after finishing the apple, I finally say "You can make it stop if you help the child and her mother. If you help them from the good of your heart, your hair will grow back and your skin will be fine."
The woman stares up at me in shock but I step back and jerk my dress away from her as I say "But... if it's not from your heart... nothing will change." The woman remains on the ground, in complete shock as I walk away.
Mango silently nibbles on the apple as Li Jun swallows hard and silently follows. He glances at the woman, then back at me before looking down at the apple. He holds the apple close to his chest but he doesn't eat it. I can't stand ugly, hateful people. Maybe with this, the whole town will learn to be nicer.
