The bakery went quiet in a way that didn’t feel natural—like even the ovens had paused.
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Chapter 1 / 3
CHAPTER I – THE WORDS HE COULDN’T AFFORD
CHAPTER I – THE WORDS HE COULDN’T AFFORD
The boy stood frozen in front of the pastry counter.
His throat tightened as he looked at the woman behind the glass. She was clean, calm, and distant—like she lived in a world where hunger was just a word, not a reality.
“I…” he tried again, but his voice cracked. “I don’t have money.”
The toddler in his arms pressed her face into his chest and whispered again, weaker this time.
“Hungry…”
The sound made several customers turn away, uncomfortable.
The woman behind the counter frowned. “Then you shouldn’t be here.”
The boy lowered his head, ashamed. “I didn’t want to come in. She can’t walk anymore.”
That sentence changed the air slightly.
A few people looked more closely at the child in his arms.
May you like
She wasn’t just tired.
She was fading.
