Twenty-two: Baguette

By the time I had found a public toilet where I could wash the plastic knife, I felt my hands beginning to tremble. Likely from low blood sugar. Who knew how long it had been since I'd had a proper meal? Then again, maybe I was just desperate. Desperately hungry.

I stopped by a bench on the footpath to unwrap my loaf of bread from where I had wrapped it in newspaper only to have a passing thief steal it out of my hands. Chasing after him, I frowned at the slowness of my speed. I couldn't catch up. It seemed I was out of practice and still getting over my cold, judging by how quickly I became puffed and tired out. By the time I remembered to check my pockets, the rest of my change and the little jars of peanut butter and jam were gone too. All I had left was my little plastic butterknife.

I wanted to cry but no tears came. Only my hands trembled. Passersby ignored my squatting figure in a corner, staring dry eyed at a little white plastic butterknife. They probably thought I was crazy.

A big, strong hand helped me up and led my trembling legs to the nearest bench on the footpath. An arm kept me from stumbling over my lethargic feet. Suddenly, I was tired. So tired. So tired that I wanted to just close my eyes and go to sleep. I felt uncomfortable all over with prickles and cold sweat all over my scalp.

Something soft and chewy was stuffed into my mouth. I was going to spit it out automatically, not knowing what it was. Then I tasted a wonderful burst of sweetness. A salted soft toffee. The sweetness made my eyes open and cleared my mind. Like a miracle, it chased away all the symptoms I had been feeling. My brightened eyes looked for my saviour, but the streets were empty once more. Nobody was looking in my direction. In my hand was a baguette stuffed with good food. Immediately, I took a bite. Oh, it was so good.

I tasted ham, cheese and lettuce. Mayonnaise, butter and cucumber. Hmm, something tart, like capers. Was that cream cheese and avocado? And a strange, sweet sort of tasting powder. I wondered what that was. A rich person had bought me an expensive roll. It was hard to find such rich sandwiches like this anywhere in the city now. Everyone was trying to conserve their money because who knew whether there would still be work tomorrow with the war still going?

The roll was scarfed down so quickly that I felt somewhat breathless after I had finished eating. It was so good that I craved more, except I was full and there was nothing left. I had been worried about thieves and had been so hungry.

Now I enjoyed the after taste and caught a slightly large piece of that strange powder that had been in the baguette. That had been a rather odd addition. Now that I tasted the strange grain of whatever it was, it reminded me of chewable multivitamins. That realisation made me blink and made me guess that one of my silent watchers had taken pity on me. No, they had been prepared for this eventuality. They might have even prompted the thief to steal from me so that I would eat their baguette spiked with what may or may not have been a multivitamin. Who knew? It could have been some sort of a drug or poison too.

That made me shiver. Instead of calling out my thanks to the invisible watcher who had momentarily emerged from their usual noninterference, I hurried back to the Compound as fast as my feet, lungs and pounding heart would let me. Just in case it was a drug of some sort and not a multivitamin. Even during peacetime, who would be so kind to a random person with low blood sugar on the street unless it was a stalker? If it was a stalker, then who knew what the stalker was planning? From the looks of things, at least one of my watchers was a stalker and not just a government or Bosky spy.

Then again, the Bosky soldier had sort of done something like this to me before. He had given me a jar of multivitamins and a ham salad roll last time. Thinking about it, it was very likely that it was him. Again. Why was he still hanging around me? Had he sent the woman who had force-fed me as well?

There were no aftereffects from eating that delicious baguette. I kept licking my lips thinking of it. On my way back, I bought another cheap loaf of bread and this time hugged it tight all the way to my room. Plain bread was good when you were hungry too.