Stolen Trinkets, Stolen Heart

Lighting struck the ground, thunder soon rumbling the ground beneath me. Like the heartbeat of the earth, the raindrops pelted the muddy grass, sliding down the hill and dripping onto the sea of endless pavement, where it was carried along with a current of water and spilled into drains that lined the dimly lit streets, still filled with bustling people, dashing around madly on the sidewalks, yelling into phones over the roaring storm. 

The lightning flashed in front of me again, followed by sparks flying above the rooftops of the hundreds of thousands of towering buildings. The sparks diffused under the heavy rain, smoke pluming out into the stale air.  

I shook my head and pulled my soaked hood over my sopping hair. Like it would do much good. I shoved my hands in my pockets, sifting through trinkets. Long, gold chains, strings of earbuds, basically anything that I could find in a pocket, bag, or purse. And sometimes right off the person.  

My stomach twisted and folded in my gut, pleading me to go and buy food. My tattered, faded jacket sent a shiver down my spine, sticking to my arms and letting the cold bite at my chest. Why did I have to live like this?  

My thoughts drifted, memories protruding from the darkest corners of my mind, dark as the night around me. Memories of dreams. My dreams of love, of someone that cared. And my silly dream of owning a necklace. Like my mother had. She had worn it every day, that silver heart necklace, and then... 

“Brynn!” I shot up, my bare feet squishing into the oozing mud. A teenage boy stood just on the other side of the hill. His shoulders were strong, his jawbone fierce, yet his eyes held kindness, a tender love, and a lostness. Lost in the rich, bustling streets of New York City.  

“Liam,” I sighed, brushing the dripping strand of hair away from my dulled eyes, my passion for life draining like the water on the pavement. I sauntered over, my muscles quivering and fighting the numbness in my toes. He met me halfway, sweeping his eyes over me.  

He nodded his head to the center of the park. He glanced down at my feet, sadness crossing his eyes, like the lighting that struck behind us as I began to follow him. But it lingered, it lingered longer than the flash of light. It lingered throughout the mile walk, the silent walk, this sadness.  

A mile, step by step, my feet sinking into the mud and slapping the rocks underneath my callused heels. The numbness won, climbing up my legs and leaving them feelingless. For the better, anyway. I didn’t want to feel the rocks piercing my heel. I glanced back to find my footprints turning into rivers of blood. Couldn’t feel it, though, thank goodness.  

And yet we kept walking. Those wounds opened, the rocks beginning to pierce fresh skin. I sucked my breath and favored the numb side, praying they would fall back into numbness. Into the darkness of the cold Saturday night, into the center of the park.  

Deep within the trails, he veered off to the left. I followed and we both came to face a tent. He beckoned me in, zipping it halfway. It was tiny, a muddy bottom and rips on the sides and one leak at the top. But it was relief from the storm. I sat cross-legged, glancing at Liam before emptying my pockets. I tossed him a gold chain choker, fake jewels studding a gold plate. Not even real gold from the looks of it. I tossed him the earbuds too, slick with water. They were probably broken. “That’s all I got.” He set the two items down.  

“I could probably get a dollar for the necklace. I might be able to get five to ten for the earbuds. Nobody has to know they probably don’t work.” I shrugged and uncrossed my legs, reaching for the flap. “Brynn! Wait, please.” I exhaled, falling back down, glancing at him and looking at the drip from the ceiling. “Brynn, you’ve been acting off, and it’s been getting worse.” He flipped his pocketknife open and dragged the flat part against his finger, something he always did when he was stressed or worried.  

 I lifted my chin and gazed at him with lifeless eyes. “I’m fine, I'm just tired. I’ll bring something else tomorrow, hopefully that can buy some food.” I didn’t reassure him with a smile. I just pushed my way out of the tent and my legs went numb again as I was doused in ice-cold rain.  

I set off to the city, taking a shortcut through the trees. I came across a deserted fountain, the raindrops filling the huge marble bowls and trickling down the sides. I glanced inside to find mostly pennies. No quarters. I skimmed the frigid water with my fingertips, watching it ripple away.  

The storm only grew worse. The winds picked up twigs and hurled them around in a raging tantrum, whipping the stinging water into my eyes. I ducked under a tree branch and finally set foot on pavement. My feet relaxed, then tensed again as I scuffed the raw flesh against the pavement. I shoved my hands in my pockets, head ducked under the little protection of the hood. I used the crosswalk to find my way to the other side, walking aimlessly around the streets. I saw a man, black raincoat slick with the rain, rushing frantically at me, head buried in his screen. I glanced at his pocket, and circles took shape on the outside of the pocket, stuck to what I guessed was change inside.  

I headed straight for him, pretending to rush past, lowering my head and calculating how to hit. Finally concluding, I made contact. He stumbled back, and I very subtly slipped my hand in his pocket and pulled out quarters, shoving my hands in my pockets quickly. I looked up at the man’s face, not much older than thirty. His face, shaken from the collision, turned up in a quick smile.  

“I’m so sorry, ma’am. I was rushing about, and I just didn’t see you!” I smiled briefly as he did, playing my innocent character as I had done hundreds of times before.  

“Oh, you’re fine, sir, I wasn’t looking either. Have a good rest of the night.” Like most people in the big city, he didn’t bother to look at me. He didn’t see my tattered clothes, my ripped jacket, my bare feet. He saw a flash of my face while apologizing and nothing more. Couldn’t say I wanted it to be different.  

I pulled the change out of my pocket and counted it up. Two dollars and twenty-five cents. I sighed. Wouldn’t get me much in the big city. In NYC, there was no way I was getting a new outfit with this. I slipped it back in my pocket and sighed, glancing around to find some shelter. Liam had been able to buy a broken tent from someone he was working for. I had nothing. I had to sleep on the streets, or anywhere else I could find.  

I crawled in a broken window of a building in renovation, pressing myself against the corner of the room, resting my head on the wall. I had to be out early or else they would see me. They would find me.  

And I slipped into dreams. Dreams of my mother, wearing her silver heart necklace, reflecting her loving eyes. And then, her eyes had begun to close. And the necklace had gone dark.  

Why did you have to go, mother?  

My dreams became nightmares. 

The next day... 

“I’m sorry, excuse me!” Bumping into her, I spun on my heel, grabbed the contents in her unzipped pouch, and hid the pen in my pocket, as well as some loose change. “Have a good morning!” The lady’s lips curved in a tight smile, then she rushed off, her purse dangling open as she had left it. I wiped off the forced smile and sighed, my legs growing stiff from the endless walking.  

I sauntered down the streets, pushing my way through crowds and expertly picking up stuff like earbuds, some hair bands, and a couple hand sanitizers. Nothing of much value, though. When I was satisfied with my weighted pockets, I glanced around, pulling my hood over my head and stepped into an alleyway.  

A cold hand grabbed my neck, pulling me behind a dumpster and shoving me hard to the ground. I lost breath and stared, terrified, up at the man above me. A black man, skulls splattered on his shirt, sleeves of tattoos, large, bulky muscles towered above me. I gulped, scrambling back to the cold brick wall. No escape. I finally noticed a crowd of black men, arms crossed, scars worn proudly on their skin. A gang.  

“Look what we got here! This crusty filth of a girl!” He bellowed a deep laugh, a dirty, murderous one. One that rumbled through my body like a shockwave, leaving me immobile and speechless. “Empty those pockets of yours, girl. I saw what you were doin’ out there.” I slowly started to take the things I had accumulated out from my hoodie pockets. The pens, the earbuds, the hair bands, and the hand sanitizers. Everything. To show that, I pulled my pockets out of the sleeve, so they were inside out.  

His face twisted in a devious grin. “You could be so much more than a dirty rat. Say you join us. We can give you food, water, shelter, money, all to pickpocket somethin’ a little more valuable. I need wallets.” I gulped, pressing myself against the wall until I felt like I would fall right through. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t steal wallets. I had forced myself to live off of the dollars I make a day because I couldn’t bring myself to steal wallets. I just couldn’t.  

“I-I’m s-sorry, but I c-can't,” I stuttered, my teeth rattling like the branches of the central park trees. And I wanted to run right back to Liam. Why Liam in particular, I didn’t know. Maybe... 

My face was smashed against the brick wall. I cried as my jaw cracked against the wall, throbbing like it had been set on fire. He punched my face again, this time he swung it down at my cheek. I screamed, blood filling my mouth and dripping down my chin. My nose began to bleed as he pulled out a roll of duct tape. “I don’t like bein’ told ‘no’” He wrapped my hands and ripped a large piece of tape off, slapping it across my mouth. I wanted to scream, to cry for help. But nobody would help me. Nobody would care.  

The gang laughed brutally, the man standing in front of me drawing his knife. I squeezed my eyes shut, my chest stilling. Gangs were murderers. I should have stayed in the forest. I shouldn’t even be here. I should be starved by now. I should be dead. I should never have started to steal.  

The knife dove beneath my skin into my cheek, ripping through the flesh in a deep cut. A muffled scream protruded from my mouth. They laughed and I heard footsteps away. When I opened my eyes, the gang was gone. My stuff was still lying on the floor. I cried. I hadn't cried in months. I figured I just had to accept who I was, what I did, what I had. But I didn’t want to be who I was. I wanted to live a normal life without having to steal, without having to pickpocket.  

And I wanted to run right back to Liam.  

My tears stung my cheek, burning infectiously, falling to the ground and leaving pools of blood. I grunted, taking my tightly taped hands, and managed to pull my hood over my head to hide my face. I tried to hide the binding on my hands with my sleeves. It wasn’t like anyone would stop to ask.  

I lowered my head and timidly fell into the crowd of people, letting them guide me to the crosswalk. I then broke off and rushed through the madness to get to the park, squishing through the fresh mud.  

I practically ran the mile, my feet blistering, popping, then blistering again. I didn’t care. My cheek agonized me. Not just my cheek, but my whole face. I felt bruised beyond repair, the taste of blood filling my mouth.  

I gulped my anguish back. Refuge of the trees was only seconds away. What if he wasn’t there? What if he was gone? I slowed to a walk, my arms aching from the awkward position. Lowering my head, I ducked under a tree branch and found myself standing in front of an empty patch, a muddy square on the ground, where the tent used to be. I leaned against a tree, beginning to cry. Why did everyone leave me? My mother, my father...and now Liam? Did he find a better life?  

I didn’t cry because I hurt on the outside. The largest wound was on the inside, in my heart. Death had torn it. I had ignored it. And now Liam ripped it in half. Someone, that’s all I need. Someone that loves me. I want it back, I want my mother back. I want the gleaming necklace back. And to be honest, I want Liam back.  

“Brynn?” I knew that voice. “Brynn, what’s wrong?” I lifted my head, my eyes pleading for comfort, for help. Liam stood almost a dozen paces away, a packaged tent behind him. His eyes fell on my taped mouth, then my arms. And he ran to me.  

Liam ran and enclosed his arms around me. “Brynn!” I closed my eyes and breathed him in, sucking breaths and shivering. It was like I broke. My heart just broke. I didn’t know if it could be fixed.  

He took his pocketknife and ripped through the tape on my hands, pulling it free. I ripped the duct tape off my mouth. His eyes were flooded with terror as he pulled me into an embrace again. He’s never hugged me before. That was the least of my concerns. He didn’t say anything for a while. It was as if he felt like he would lose me if he let go.  

Liam finally let me go, a million questions in his eyes. “Brynn, what happened?”  

“A gang,” I choked, “but I'm fine. I’m fine.” He traced the open cut on my cheek and I flinched.  

“No, this isn’t fine. Nobody should have ever done this to you.” He seemed to want to say something else, but he stopped, looking down at my feet. With sadness, like a flash of lightning. Yet it lingered longer.  

I pulled what I had gathered from my pockets and pushed it into his hands, pulling away. To my surprise, he dropped everything onto the ground. “Brynn, we don’t need this anymore. I was going to tell you tonight, then take you for coffee or something.” My eyes shot to his. “Brynn, I got a job. A job that can easily pay for us, from a man that had seen us before and wanted to help.” I took a shaky breath, and I felt hope. Hope was something I hadn’t felt in years.  

He looked me in the eyes. “I got you something.” I waited for him to bring something out of his pocket. But he didn’t move. He broke a small grin. “You’re the best pickpocket NYC has ever seen. Go ahead.” I moved closer and reached into his pocket. He slipped his arm around my waist. My fingers curled around a chain and pendant. My jaw dropped as I pulled a necklace out of his pocket, a heart pendant dangling from the chain. I looked up at him with tears in my eyes, my lips curving into a smile.  

“Thank you,” I whispered, a tear falling down my cheek. He reached the chain around my neck and then let it fall onto my chest. I fingered it, then rested my head on his arm.  

“I’ll protect you, Brynn, I'll be here for you.” I smiled and I slipped my hand in his.  

“Now, how about that coffee?” He grinned, squeezing my hand, and together we walked away from the place I had spent years, dumping useless trinkets, trying to make a living out of nothing. And right here I had pickpocketed the greatest gift of my life. Correction, the greatest trinket in my life. My gift, well, I think he’s standing right next to me.