STOLE FROM THE ALPHA

NEW YORK CITY...

Police siren blew all over the vicinity, gunshots was heard from a distance. The whole city was in chaos as people ran Helter-skelter seeking coverage.

It was them again. The deadly Mafia group that operates in the city causing chaos and taking the lives of people.

A young lady of about 23 years was seen running alongside the freeing crowd. Heels on her tails.

She glanced side to side and on making sure no eyes was focused on her, she started dipping hands into pockets taking out purses, phones, and money.

She opened her bag, pouring in the contents hastily whilst running along side the crowd.

When she was sure she had picked enough, she diverted to a secluded dilapidated building where she stopped, breathing in air.

Taking off her shoulder bag, she poured out the contents on the floor, wearing a gluesome smile.

Happy that she picked enough things she could sell to feed her mother and younger sister, she pocketed the money and rearranged the bag leaving the dilapidated building.

The once disoriented vicinity was now calm as the gunshot had subsided. People had started moving about as though nothing happened minutes ago.

The girl stopped at a local market going straight to where she normally sells her stolen stuff.

"You are here again today" a fat dirty blonde man smiled showing off his dirty incomplete teeth.

"Yeah today was wonderful" the girl returned the smile pouring out the many phones she picked.

"Woah I can see that here" the blonde man laughed pointing at the phones.

The man took time to examine the phones and when he was done, he brought out a stack of money, counted it, and gave the girl who collected them with smiles.

Leaving the mobile shop, she trotted towards the bus station where she boarded a bus back to the slums.

****IN THE SLUMS***

"Aurora when did you leave the house?" A shabbily dressed woman called out to the girl as she walked into the shabby-looking house where she lived with her mom and younger sister.

"Early enough, Good morning mama" she greeted the woman and walked into the house.

"Such a smooth day" she whistled, climbing the almost worn-out stairs that led to the rooftop where she used as a room.

In the tiny spaced room which was small, her foam mattress with a worn-out spread lay at the corner of the room.

Her clothes were packed in a sack bag and a few hanging on a rope just above the bed.

There was nothing else in the room apart from her clothes which are very few and a bed. She took off her leather jacket then collapsed on the bed breathing heavily.

"Sis Rora" she heard and looked up to see her kid sister peeping by the door. "Maya come in and stop peeping" she scolded the little girl of about 8 years who sauntered into the room.

"How are you doing? Had something to eat?" She asked and the girl shook her head yawning.

"Why haven't you eaten," Aurora traveled her eyes down her sister's body and her little sister came closer to her then bent and whispered into her ear.

"Tsk, tsk!!, Here, go give this money to Mama and tell her not to question where it's coming from" she said and the little girl nodded running out of the room.

Aurora sighed and stare at the closed door. She would do anything in her capacity to make sure her kid sister was fed well and start school just like her mates.

She brought out the money she made from selling those items and counted it. "Quite good" she muttered and stood up, climbing a little stool, she stretched her hands and shifted the side of the ceiling, brought down a piggybank then folded the money, throwing it into the box from the small hole made at the top of the piggy.

She returned the piggy and made sure to cover the ceiling well before climbing down and falling back on her bed.

It's been 9 years since her father died. No one knew her father was involved with a mafia group till the rival of that group came to their house one faithful night and shot him dead.

They were once rich and living comfortably in the city before the death of her father. Then her mother was five months pregnant with her kid sister Maya.

That night, she had gone to her mother's boutique as her mother had gone to the hospital late in the evening and was yet to return.

When her mother finally returned, they went back home together only to see her father laying on the floor in his pool of blood, a bullet hole on his forehead.

"No one messes with the boss" was boldly written on a paper with his blood. That night was the worst night of their lives as everything came shattering.

After the burial of her father, all his properties were confiscated and taken away by the group that murdered him. Her mother had nothing and feeding became difficult.

Luckily she has graduated before his death and used her certificate to search around for jobs but couldn't find one even to the lowest of a cleaning job, she didn't get.

Her mother had wanted them to return home to their pack but Aurora vehemently refused, she hated the fact that she wasn't a human but some kind of creature her mother calls a werewolf and the fact that she has some wolf in her which often pops up to talk to her irritates her even more.

She hated to share her privacy with the so-called wolf but couldn't do anything other than yell at the wolf who said her name was Aliya anytime she talks to her.

She had never gone to the pack and wasn't planning to do so anytime soon so she would rather stay and die of hunger rather than return to where she believed wasn't a good place.

Since her mother loved her so much that she wouldn't want to force her to go where she doesn't like, they had to relocate to the slums at the end of the city where they started feeding by farming on people's land.

When it's not farming season, her mother would borrow money and get fruits that she sell in front of their house.

She had given up on searching around for a job when she couldn't find any then she got introduced to picking pockets on the day hers was stolen.

Her kid sister who was now 8 hadn't gone to any school and could barely speak English.

She has been saving for her school and now she could register her in the school near their house with the money she had gathered from picking pockets.

She knew it was a bad thing to steal people's money but she doesn't care. No one deserves mercy.

Those people killed her father and made them feed from hand to mouth, Those people refused to give her a job to help feed her family so she would never think twice before stealing their things.

"Mum, I'm taking Maya for registration today" Aurora said to her mother as they ate breakfast. Her mother's spoon dropped and she stare at her eldest daughter open-mouthed.

She doesn't understand what Aurora was talking about and as far as she knows, they could barely afford two square meals and Aurora doesn't do anything for a living except go out every morning and evening and return with food.

"What are you talking about Rora," she asked her daughter who was busy chewing on her food.

"I said I'll be taking Maya for registration today, she's 8 and has never been to school, I know we don't have money and you're about to ask me where I got money from but Mama I do little errands that fetch me little money and I've been able to save for Maya's school," she said and her mother started crying.

Maya has already ran out of their small sitting room into the room she shared with their mother to get ready for school when she heard her big sister talk about registering her in school.

She has always wanted to go to school with her fellow kids but her mother and sister have no money to register her in one so she kept quiet not wanting to disturb them about it.

Every morning, she'll sit at the shade where her mother sold her fruit to watch her fellow kids who are going to school.

Aurora had caught her several times wiping off her tears and when she asked why she was crying, Maya would tell her something flew into her eyes but Aurora wasn't a fool to believe that so she made sure she picked more pockets and saved more money to enable her to go to school.

"You are such a blessing to me Aurora, I wonder what I would have done without you in my life. I would probably be dead from hunger" Her mother said sniffing her tears back.

"It's okay Mama don't cry, I will do my best to make sure we feed and cloth in this house, we will never die of hunger as long as we are still alive and has hands" Aurora consoled then stood up to go prepare and take her sister to school.

*******************

"Rora!!" A young boy of the same age as Aurora was seen calling out to her and running towards her from the other side of the road.

She raised her head and looked forward to seeing her best friend Craig calling her name and running towards her from a distance.

She was returning from registering her sister in school and was about to cross the road when she heard Craig's voice so she decided to wait for him to get to her.

"Hey buddy" Craig smiled finally reaching her, breathing heavily. "Do you have to run all the way to here and how did you even see me from afar?" Rora asked giving him a one-sided hug.

"Even though there are 10,000 people gathered here, I will still pick you out in a split of an eye" he muttered breathing hard and she rolled her eyes at his words.

"By the way, where are you going to this early morning or are you coming back?" Craig asked staring at her.

"I went to register Maya in school," she said and his eyes shoot out in happiness. "Really? My Maya has started school? I'm so happy" he muttered excitedly and Rora smiled.

"Aren't you going to work today?" she asked and they both started walking in her direction. "I will go but in the afternoon," he said and Aurora nodded.

Craig work part-time in a coffee shop down the street and he had tried severally to help secure a job for her but nothing seemed to work out.

"There's this new bar that was opened down the street, just come to the coffee shop later in the evening and we would go check if they are taking in people," he said and she hissed not wanting to hear about work again.

"Tsk, tsk" she clicked her tongue and threw away her face. She doesn't want to talk about anything related to work or looking for work because she knew finding work in this part of the world can be very difficult for the poor.

The rich keep getting all the co-operate work and even ordinary sales work can't be gotten without having a connection.

She has been going from one company to another despite her having a first-class degree certificate, she couldn't secure an office job and not even a sales job in any shop could she get.

She has become tired of going from one shop to the other in search of a job and she had given up eventually.

"Forget it, Craig, it would still be the old story they always say, I'm not interested in it" she muttered and Craig frowned hitting her on the arm slightly.

"Okay fine just come to my workplace in the evening pretty please" he begged and she sighed. She planned on resting today though so she'll just go to his workplace and who knows if she'll pick some wallets there.

"Come on Rora you won't even spend up to an hour, just to say hello and keep me company" he kept pleading till she accepted.

They parted ways when they got to a junction, Aurora bid him goodbye and walked towards their house.

She got to their house and met her mother sampling her fruit on the little table in front of their house.

She collected the basket of fruit from her and started setting it. "Go in and rest for a while mama, I'll stay here for you till evening," she said and her mother thanked her before going into the house to rest.

Aurora finished setting the fruits and sat under the shade looking across the street to see a man sharing food to some kids. She sighed and shook her head on seeing the kids struggle to get hold of a plastic bag.

She could remember the time when she used to come to areas like this with her father when he was still alive.

They would share food and money to the less privileged and never had she thought she would one day live here and feed on picking people's pockets.

She stayed in her mother's shade selling the fruits to kids and women who would occasionally come to buy one thing or the other.

****

It's evening and she's on her way to Craig's workplace. She walked down the street and crossed the room then took the part that led to the coffee shop.

She saw the wine bar Craig was talking about. It was beautiful and newly built. She doesn't want to go spoil her mood by going there because she knew she could never get the job.

It's either they are no longer hiring staff or they would collect her number and promise to call her back.

She would end up waiting the entire week and month without receiving any call from them and when she returns, they tell her she came late or isn't qualified for the job.

She sighed and looked away from the new bar and walked down further till she got to Craig's workplace. She pushed open the door and walked into the coffee shop, her eyes roaming about the shop.

She checked out the people in the shop and tried to know if there was anyone who kept their thing carelessly but it seems every one of them was careful not to drop their bag on the table.

"Hey Rora, over here" Craig called waving at her and she smiled a little before moving to him.

"I didn't know you would come," he said smiling widely and pouring out coffee for a customer.

"Yeah I did come, I didn't want you to cry," Aurora said sarcastically, her eyes still surveying the shop which was filled with people.

"Do you need help?" She asked Craig. Perhaps she could start from serving and from there check out the customers well to see if she could get anything.

"Yeah, that couple over there" Craig pointed and Aurora nodded staring at the couple who were busy playing romance and not paying attention.

The lady's bag was on the table while she bent over the man whispering to his ear and laughing out.

"Okay, I'll do that" Aurora muttered and took the tray, swiftly headed to the table. "Your coffee ma'am," she said and the woman waved at her to drop it but continued talking into her partner's ear less concerned.

Aurora bent slightly and dropped the coffee then looked around to see everyone was focused on their business then she swiftly dipped her hand into the lady's bag, collected her wallet, hid it In her pant pocket then straightened up and walked back to the counter to meet the glaring eyes of Craig.

"I saw that Aurora, do you have to do that in my working place?" Craig whispered glaring at her. "You don't expect me not to, I need to eat and that lady doesn't need it, she looked rich" Aurora muttered and Craig frowned.

He understands she needed to eat and provide for her family but stealing isn't the only option. He had tried to talk her out from it but she would never listen to him and would always say she needed the money more than the owner.

"What if you get caught, Rora?" You never can tell, someone might be looking at you while you do that" He said deepening his frown.

"What do you take me for?" A kid? Come on I'm so smart at what I do so don't drag it, sign out and let's get out of here" Aurora muttered shooting him a stare.

Craig checked his wristwatch and seeing it was already his off time, he nodded and walked in to sign out.

He returned and they both walked out of the coffee shop and headed home. They got to the new wine bar and Craig dragged Aurora to a stop.

"Come on let's just try this one Aurora, you never can tell and they might just pick you. I really don't like the fact that you pickpockets, it annoys me" Craig said and Aurora scoffed but still followed him in anyways.

They got into the wine bar which was really beautiful and doesn't look like what was seen in the slums. The decor was beautiful and the tables and chairs were arranged neatly.

"Hey please can we talk to you?" Craig asked a girl who wore an apron, obviously a waiter.

"Yeah, what do you want?" She asked looking in a hurry to serve other customers.

"We want to know if there's any vacancy here," said Craig and the girl simply pointed at the counter and hastily walked out on them.

"Bruh, I don't like this, can't we just get out of here and forget about this work thing, I know it would still be the old talk"Aurora muttered in annoyance.

"No we ain't leaving Rora, we would try it out first before concluding, we are already in so let's go over to the counter the girl pointed at," Craig said tugging at her hands and pulling her towards the counter.