"When was it…? Ah, yes. It was twenty years ago, the day I first met Lily," Andrew began, his voice soft, touched with nostalgia.
"At that time, I was just a child—an orphan. I survived by stealing and begging, living each day with nothing but hunger and desperation. One afternoon, after snatching a piece of fruit from a market stall, I thought I had escaped. As usual, I hid in an alley to eat in peace. No one noticed me… or so I believed.
But then she appeared. A girl, about my age. Her name was Lily."
Andrew paused, smiling faintly as if the memory played vividly before his eyes.
"She walked up to me and said, 'Hey, you shouldn't steal from others. It's not right.' I ignored her, hoping she would leave. But she didn't. Instead, she stepped closer, her eyes full of determination.
'Why are you bothering me?' I snapped. 'Who are you to tell me what's right or wrong?'
She held her ground. 'I'm no one important,' she said. 'But my father told me that stealing is bad, and I believe him. I just wanted to tell you the same.'
I grew angry. I even grabbed her hand, trying to push her away. But Lily didn't flinch. She argued with me instead, her voice steady and unyielding. "You can't keep living like this. Stealing isn't the only way."
Annoyed, I finally blurted out, "Fine, I promise I won't steal anymore." But it was a lie—a promise I never intended to keep. And she said " Really, I am glad you understand it. "
The very next day, when I thought I was safe, Lily found me again with stolen bread in my hands.
"Hey, you! Didn't you promise me you wouldn't steal anymore?" Lily's voice rang out as she caught me again. "You lied to me."
I froze, clutching the stolen bread, shame and defiance warring inside me. I sighed and muttered, "Listen to me, Little lady. You and I… we live in different worlds. You, who has everything, and me, who has nothing—we're a world apart. For you, life means living it to the fullest. For me, it means simply surviving."
I looked down at the bread in my hand. "Do you even know why I've kept on stealing? Because if I hadn't, I would've died long ago. Food is the only reason I'm still alive. And I'm not the only one. There are countless kids like me—stealing not because they want to, but because they'll die if they don't. And now you're telling us to stop? That's the same as telling us to give up and die."
Lily's eyes widened. Her lips trembled as she whispered, "I… I didn't know. I was just trying to do something good."
For a moment, I almost softened. But instead, I turned away, clutching the bread tighter. "You'll never understand." I said quietly. And then, I left her standing there alone.
The next day, Lily confronted me again. But this time, she didn't argue. Instead, she came with lot of breads and quiet resolve. Seeing Lilly i said " you again, what is it this time. "
"You told me you steal because it's the only way you can live," she said softly. "If that's the case, then I'll make sure you don't have to live that way anymore. I may not be able to give you a better life, but I can give you food—enough so you don't have to steal again. What do you think?"
Her words struck something deep inside me. I thought, Who is this girl? Why is she being so kind to me? I couldn't understand it. And before I could even ask, tears began to fall from my eyes.
Startled by my own emotions, I muttered, "Huh? What is this… am I crying?"
Before I could gather myself, Lily wrapped her arms around me. "It's okay," she whispered.
Something inside me shattered then—not from pain, but from a warmth I hadn't felt in years. And I cried, truly cried, in her arms.
To others, it might have seemed ridiculous—tears over nothing more than a piece of bread. But what they didn't know was that for people like me, that single piece of bread was everything we struggled for.
That piece of bread… it was the reason we were alive. For once, food had come to me without a fight, without the shame of stealing. To me, it wasn't just bread—it was everything.
After I finished crying, Lily asked gently, "Can you take me back to where people live?" I nodded, leading her through the alleys and narrow streets. I watched in silence as she handed out bread to everyone she met—children, elders, strangers alike. She gave to each person without hesitation, smiling as though the burden she carried was lighter with every loaf she shared.
I couldn't stop staring. Finally, When we were close to main alleys, I asked, "What's your name?"
She looked at me, surprised, and then teased, "Oh? Did you fall for me already?"
Flustered, I frowned. "That's not it! I just… I just wanted to know the name of my savior."
She gave me a strange look and shook her head. "Don't look at me like that. For us, a savior wasn't a holy figure or some legendary hero. A savior was simply anyone who gave us food—even if that hand belonged to a demon.
But Lily looked straight at me and said, her voice steady, "I see. But you know what?. I'm not a savior. I'm just a human… helping another human. And the name of this human… is Lily."
The dying sun cast its golden fire across the horizon, and as its light touched her hair, Lily stood before me like something beyond this world—an angel, an angle painted in dusk.
Then she turned, smiling faintly. "I told you my name. Now tell me yours."
Her words pierced deeper than I was ready for. My throat closed. My real name—the one my mother whispered-was gone, buried beneath the ashes of survival. I lowered my head, unable to answer.
Lily waited, but when silence was all I gave, she sighed softly and began to walk away.
Panic clawed at me. My chest burned. And before I even knew it, the word tore from me like a cry of desperation:
"Lily!"
She stopped. My legs carried me forward, and I shouted, voice trembling, "I don't know my real name anymore… but the people at Black Alley—they call me Andrew!"
Slowly, she turned back. Her eyes met mine, and for the first time, I felt like someone truly saw me. She smiled, a quiet, radiant smile that cut through the shadows clinging to my soul.
"I see, Andrew," she said gently. "Then in that case… I look forward to meeting you again."
I was rooted in place, mesmerized. People passed by, staring, whispering—but I no longer cared. In that moment, the world could have burned, and I still wouldn't have looked away.
Because that was the moment our names—hers and mine—were carved into each other's lives forever.
Lily had always come to me with the morning light, her smile a quiet defiance against the darkness of our world. But that day, she was late. A hollow dread gnawed at my chest as I searched the streets, until I learned she had gone alone to deliver bread. My blood turned cold. I knew those alleys—their shadows hid more than rats and refuse.
I ran.
When I found her, my fear became rage. She was cornered, men circling like wolves. They reached for her, and something inside me shattered. I snatched a broken shard of glass from the ground and attacked. I don't remember what happened afterwards. The only thing i remember is screams, the red blur of desperation and a man lying down with blood all over the ground. Another person who were with him, they got scared that i killed someone and ran away.
Silence followed. And in that silence, the weight of what I had done crushed me. My hands shook. I had killed.
But Lily didn't flinch. She grabbed me, eyes blazing not with fear, but with resolve.
"We have to run," she urged. "The guard's will be coming here anyte soon for us."
I shook my head, voice breaking. " No, there is no point in running, they will eventually find me. So atleast you should go away. If they find you with me, you'll be caught too. Please… just go."
Tears welled in her eyes, yet her grip tightened. "Then I'll stay. I won't leave you."
And then—they came. Soldiers. The person who ran away earlier notified the soldiers. Their boots struck the cobblestones like drums of doom. They seized me before I could resist. Lily screamed, but I was dragged away, certain I would never see her again. But i was glad that at least they didn't caught Lily.
I waited for death. Instead, after endless hours, I was released. Confused, broken, and half-expecting a trap, I stumbled into the light of the street.
There she was. Lily. Waiting. Standing beside a man with stern eyes. She ran to me, her embrace fierce, unyielding.
The man studied me in silence, then spoke with a calm weight that silenced every thought in my head.
"So, you are the one who saved my daughter. You're frailer then i thought."
My breath caught. Lily's father.
He placed a hand on my shoulder, firm and steady. "Come. From today, you will live with us."
I stared, disbelief burning in my chest. "Live… with you?"
His reply was simple, but it tore through the years of loneliness I had carried like chains:
"Yes. You are no longer alone."
And in that moment—after blood, fear, and despair—I felt something I thought I had lost forever.
Hope.
"Live with you? But… why?" The words tumbled from my lips, thick with disbelief. I could not understand the reason.
The old man's gaze was steady, his voice calm. "It wasn't my idea. It was Lily's. She asked for this, not me."
I turned to her, still stunned. She smiled softly, her eyes alight with quiet determination. "It's nothing big," Flustrated "I.....,I just wanted to help you since you helped me back then. And This is the least I can do."
Her words struck me deeper than any blade. I wanted to argue, to tell her I had done nothing great, that I wasn't worthy of such kindness. "I don't think I deserve this," I whispered, trembling. "It was you who saved me, not the other way around."
But the old man stepped closer, his eyes piercing through the walls I had built over years of hardship. "Do you truly believe you are unworthy. And saving my daughter's life is not that big of reason."
I faltered. "I… I only did what anyone would do."
He shook his head firmly. "No. Most would have turned away. No one will risk there life for someone who is just giving them a bread but You did. You risked yourself when no one else would. That is worth more than you realize."
Hearing that i wanted to tell him, tell him that anyone in the back alleys who received her kindness will do the same thing as me, I am nothing special but i was not able to say that. For the first time, I couldn't meet his eyes. Something heavy and unfamiliar swelled in my chest—acceptance. And in the end i accepted it but before going to live with them i wanted to meet my friends i made over the years in back alleys to tell them.
Later, I visited the friends I had grown up with in the back alleys. I feared jealousy in their eyes, resentment that I had been chosen for a better life. But when I told them, none looked at me with envy. Instead, they smiled—genuine, unguarded smiles. They were glad that at least one of us had escaped the shadows, that one dream among many had finally taken form.
Seeing that i got emotional and In that moment, I made a silent vow: If I can live their dream, then one day, I will find a way to make theirs come true as well.
And with that promise burning inside me, I left the alleys behind to live with Lily.
As we walked through the streets, people greeted Lily and her father with warmth and respect. Their world was so different from mine. Yet while they exchanged smiles, my thoughts wandered elsewhere—haunted by the past.
I couldn't hold it in any longer. At last, I asked, "What happened to the man who… who died that day?"
The words caught in my throat like shards of glass. Lily and her father exchanged a glance, their expressions somber. Finally, the old man spoke.
"So that's the reason," he said gently. "That's why your eyes have carried so much sorrow."
The old man placed a steady hand on my shoulder. His voice was calm, yet it carried the weight of truth.
"You don't need to carry that guilt. The men you fought weren't innocent. They were thugs—predators who had taken countless lives, who had brought suffering to women and children alike. The world is better without them. In truth, you saved far more than just my daughter."
His words cut through the fog of guilt I had been drowning in. My chest, tight for so long, finally eased. For the first time in years, I drew a breath that felt like relief.
"Don't let this burden consume you," he continued. "Our kingdom is rotting, corrupted from its core. We are lucky that our lord is a honest man but even our lord can't do anything if the core itself is rotten and because of that, Men like them thrive in such decay. You stood against it. That is nothing to be ashamed of."
I lowered my eyes, unable to speak, but a part of me—the part that had always believed I was nothing but a shadow—began to flicker with something fragile. Something like worth.
We walked on in silence after that, the streets slowly shifting from the grime of the alleys to a place touched by warmth and life. Children's laughter rang faintly, merchants called out their trades, and the air smelled of iron and smoke. At last, we stopped in front of a smithy with a strange name carved into the wooden sign above its door.
And i think you've already guessed it, haven't you. That's right, The father of Lilly was none other then,
Richard.
And so, in that moment, my wandering ended. I stepped across the threshold of the smithy, and with it, into a life I had never dared to dream was possible.
That was the day I began living with Lily.