HMMMmmm~
The city sang—a chorus of engines, horns, and the tired lungs of its people.
"HEY! Oye! Muévete!"
An angry man leaned out between cars, his face twisted tight while he shouted at the driver who had cut him off.
BWAAAH!
A sharp siren wailed before cutting off just as quickly. Some people snapped their heads toward it while others ignored it altogether.
The two tried to scurry off, but there was nowhere to go. Vehicles crowded the streets until they were almost touching, people crowded the sidewalks the same way, shoulder to shoulder.
The noise rose higher and higher, climbing the sides of buildings, slipping past signs and balconies until it reached a half open window.
Tiiiing… tiiing… tiiiing… khrrhhhhh—
The air-conditioning unit shut off.
whfshh~
The blankets rustled, gathering into a tangled heap near the headrest. Soft sighs of struggle slipped from beneath the mound of blankets. The pile went still for a moment, then started again.
A series of quick but soft inhales followed, the heap rising and falling before—
"nn-chh!"
The sneeze barely made it out.
The bed creaked softly while the heap stirred around. Then, all at once, a small head popped out from the top.
Their eyes were drowsy.
A blurry mess surrounded them while the blankets clung to their shoulders.
Their nose scrunched at the smell of the city outside. Their eyes darted around the room—one bathed in a soft, warm ambiance.
Another sneeze rang through the room, and the little figure pulled the blankets closer before shaking their head in defeat.
The blanket slid off their head, revealing a bundle of dark blue with the faintest hint of purple. Two little plumages of brown, almost black, peeked from the top of their head like wheat in a field.
The small figure rubbed their eyes, clarity slowly returning. Their hands pressed into the bed before they crawled forward. Small feet found the floor—white and pink socks doing little to keep them warm.
A wildefowl plushie dangled from one hand, its white and brown fabric worn with age.
Their steps were light, almost soundless even to themselves.
Placing the plushie on the seat with delicate care, they picked up a stool with difficulty and carried it toward the air-conditioning panel.
Once the stool was in place, they grabbed the plushie again and placed one knee on the seat, using the wall for support. After managing to stand on the stool, their free hand stretched toward a button.
After once, twice and a few more, they kept pulling their hand back—one covered in band-aids that stiffened their fingers.
In the reflection of the control screen, was her own face.
With a small push, she sat down on the stool, balancing for a moment before sliding off with a quiet thump.
A tiny, happy sound escaped her lips.
Then she hopped back into her fortress of blankets and oversized stuffed beasts.
She burrowed deeper into the city of dreams with her plushie in tow, hugging it with all the strength her small body could give.
The fortress was warm, but beyond its walls, the outside was cold, the noises from beyond pierced through the thin walls. Rain began to patter against the glass while wind whistled softly through the opening.
She closed her eyes while lying on her side, breathing softly for what felt like minutes.
She tossed and turned within her fort, unable to sleep, only to catch herself staring at the wildefowl. Lifting it up, she made it stand up and swiveled its head, mimicking chirping sounds.
"Kwi. Kwi. Kwi~"
The sound came out small, barely louder than the rain.
She scratched at her forearm for a few moments until a sharp sting shot through her forearm.
Her hand froze mid-motion.
After a moment's hesitation, she raised her arm high into the air, her small silhouette casting a tower through the fort.
A faint shimmer caught her eye.
Brown, almost black masses were etched along her forearm. She tapped them gently, then twisted her arm as their surface gleamed under the soft light.
"Kwi-niyum"
She stumbled over the word, her tongue chasing sounds that refused to come together no matter how hard she tried. Her mind leapt through hoops, trying again and again.
"Chi-ni-yum?"
The air conditioning barely did its job, forcing her to tug the blanket up even more, her little head peeking out from what had once been a mighty fortress.
She stared at the ceiling for a while before finally pushing the blanket aside. Once her feet touched the ground, she shuffled to the small desk, pulled the chair back, and dropped into it with a soft thud.
In the same breath, her hand grabbed a sheet of paper, one corner already starting to go damp from the rain slipping through the window gap.
Her feet swung freely beneath the chair, kicking at the air while the minutes flew by—time slipping away.
kchhk...
The sound of keys jingling reached her ears, and she rubbed at her weary eyes. Two distinct voices bounced across the walls of her room.
The footsteps quickened as her ears caught the sound of a door closing—then a particular word drifted across to her.
She puffed up her cheeks and narrowed her eyes in mock offense.
Her pencil pressed harder against the paper, her legs still swinging idly when the door to her room creaked open.
Groaning like an alarm.
"Are you awake?"
A gentle voice called out.
She answered with a small humf, letting go of the pencil before crossing her arms like a tiny lady.
The little girl glanced back over her shoulder, then quickly swung her head away again, her hair flicking like a cape.
"Hah..." The woman sighed audibly, taking a step toward the center of the room. "Jie?"
"Mmhm!"
The little girl spun around with a radiant smile on her face, her round eyes sparkling with childlike smugness.
The woman's purple hair hung loose over her shoulders before she scooped the girl up like a doll.
Jie's expression flattened the moment she was caught under the arms, her limbs dangling limply. Her cheeks puffed out just a little before she turned her head away.
Jie looked at the woman, but her mind was already drifting toward something else.
"We're going to meet someone, okay?"
The woman set her on the bed, and the little bundle of mischief bounced back to life.
The woman moved toward a closet near the door, rummaging through clothes while Jie kept bouncing on the bed.
She dove into her sea of blankets and stuffed beasts, a catastrophe in motion much like the city around her, until after some time, she surfaced triumphantly with her plushie clutched tight in her arms.
The woman pulled out an outfit and, with practiced ease, changed little Jie's clothes before she could even protest.
Little Jie now looked like a miniature adult—her chubby face full of seriousness, plushie in hand. A small bow sat neatly beside one of her feathered tufts.
The woman smiled to herself before pulling a bag from inside the closet, nearly filled to capacity.
The door creaked, drawing both their gazes toward the entrance.
A man stood in the doorway, a tan cap pulled low over his dark hair.
His cheek looked bruised—or maybe that was just the cold. Jie's little mind churned hard, working in overdrive to decide which answer to settle on.
"Uncle?"
The little girl leaned to one side and stared harder, a light smile creeping onto her lips before her face lit up.
"Uncle!"
She raised one hand into the air and the little hand was met with a high five while the woman smiled, amusement shining in her eyes.
The man said nothing.
He stepped into the room, grabbed the duffle bag and slung it over both shoulders.
WRAA—WRAA—!
The little girl ignored it, but the two adults shared a quick glance.
The woman reached down and took Jie's small hand. They stepped out into the living area, red and blue flashes already spilling through the glass.
Jie's face turned worried, and she pressed herself closer to the woman. A hand rubbed her head. She looked up at the woman's reassuring face, the lights painting it in shifting colors.
"Little Jie." The woman said softly.
The red and blue lights kept moving across the woman's face, changing her skin, her hair and her eyes over and over.
The woman smiled.
"...why don't we eat something, okay?"
"Mm."
She turned and walked toward the kitchen, her shoes whispering against the floor.
The kitchen was right next to the living room.
Her fingers found the edge of the counter first, then a chair. She pulled herself up with a small grunt, her plushie pressed between her arm and chest.
Behind her, the adults started talking.
"What is it?"
The man asked.
She placed both hands on the edge of the counter and rose onto her toes, peeking at what had been left out. A cup of amber liquid. An empty wrapper. A small plate with crumbs.
And, something round and sweet-looking tucked behind a napkin.
fwip.
She looked back just in time to see the woman holding Uncle's cap.
The woman stared at him for a moment.
"You look good."
Jie's fingers finally caught the edge of the napkin. She pulled it closer, until the sweet thing came into view.
The woman stepped closer to him, smoothing the front of his clothes with her hands.
She took a small bite.
"How much do we got left?"
Jie chewed a bit faster, savoring the taste.
The sweet thing stuck to the roof of her mouth.
"...we'll be lucky if we can make it through the month, we're running out of money."
Jie took another bite and picked up the crumbs one by one.
A small plastic sound followed.
Uncle had pulled something from his pocket. A little amber bottle with a white cap.
"Pain killers, for your head—I got them on the way back."
He tapped the side of her head with it. The woman took the bottle after a moment, popped it open, and shook two pills into her hand.
The woman tossed them into her mouth and swallowed them dry before handing the bottle back.
"I can manage for a bit more you know?"
He grabbed the bottle back and slipped it into his pants.
"Well, you wouldn't stop complaining that your head felt like it was being squeezed."
Squeezed.
She pressed both hands to the sides of her skull for a second, puffed her cheeks, then let go.
That sounded bad.
"Then those folks came up, and made it worse."
His accent slipped through harder at the end, frustration starting to show in both his eyes and the way his body moved. She could practically see the tension twisting through his silhouette with every sharp motion.
"Wel—"
"Done!"
Jie pushed herself off the chair and barreled toward them, her hands covering her eyes with thin slits between her fingers.
She wedged herself between them and used every bit of her childlike strength to push them apart while huffing under her breath.
She puffed up her cheeks like little balloons the moment she was picked up.
"Up we go."
She squealed, grabbing onto his head while her little legs stiffened.
The floor moved farther away, and the woman's face dropped lower until Jie had to look down at her instead.
Jie pressed her lips together.
Uncle closed his eyes for just a second, then pushed forward. On the way to the door, he stopped by the kitchen, grabbed the plushie from the table, and handed it to her.
Her hands wrapped around it immediately.
Click.
Uncle turned around just in time for Jie to see the woman putting on her glasses, the thin frame catching the light around her eyes.
The man inhaled dryly and stepped into the hallway.
"You look worse wearing the glasses."
Jie's mouth opened a little.
The woman's smile stayed.
Jie looked from the woman's curled hand to the man's head beneath her, then slowly hugged the wildefowl closer.
The woman joined them outside after a short pause, pulling the door shut behind her and twisting the knob to make sure it was locked.
Their footsteps echoed down the corridor.
From up high, the hallway looked longer than usual. Doors passed one after another. Some had light under them. Some did not.
Jie leaned forward, resting her chin on top of the man's head.
A few minutes later, they reached the elevator at the center of the floor. The woman pressed the button, and Jie watched the little light turn on.
The doors slid open after a moment.
Little Jie felt her stomach drop when the elevator jump.
When the doors opened again, noise rushed in.
Jie's hands tightened around the plushie. From the man's shoulders, she could see heads moving everywhere. People looking at the front doors, then at their wrists, then back up again.
They said nothing while they moved through the sea of bodies, snippets of conversation brushing past them.
"Mira, que ya se pasaron. I bet you they'll close that one off too."
After a few more steps, they crossed through the front doors.
The cold hit hard.
Jie scrunched up a little on his shoulders while the roar of the street rushed into her ears all at once, loud and full and busy enough to make the inside of the building feel far away.
Her ears caught every little shift in sound spilling through the street. Honks, steps, city life.
They turned right, and the people below looked smaller from up high—some dressed well, others worse for wear.
Uniforms kept appearing through the crowd.
One here. One there. Then more. The man's hand around her legs kept her steady while Jie looked wherever she wanted, her gaze roaming over bright signs and windows and passing faces.
They moved with the current for what felt like forever. Every step he took sent tiny tremors through her body.
Then something changed.
A figure was moving the wrong way.
This one shoved against the crowd instead, forcing itself through. Bodies bumped away from him while voices flared up around him.
She made a small sound and tapped the man's head, pointing.
Farther back, three more shapes were moving fast in the same direction, making the crowd split around them.
Some moved aside before they got too close.
The woman stepped close to the man and gripped his arm.
They edged closer to the street, trying to go around it. Flashing lights flickered a few meters ahead, brushing over the sidewalk and the people packed onto it. For a second, Jie thought someone looked right at her.
The first figure stumbled suddenly, pitching forward—right at the woman's feet, who lifted a foot on instinct.
Then stepped back quickly, pulling them with her in one sharp motion.
The fall caused a stir.
Heads turned and a few conversations stopped altogether. The person lay sprawled on the sidewalk, shabby clothes setting him apart from the rest of the crowd.
The man stayed down for less than a second before shoving an arm under himself and forcing his body back up with visible effort.
He looked up with famished, exhausted eyes full of desperation, then bowed his head and covered his mouth with one hand, coughing harshly.
When he lifted his face again, Jie got a better look at him.
His eyes were cloudy.
Hazy.
And on one cheek, clinging just beneath one eye, were the same little brown crystal masses.
"Help me...tell them I'm with you!—Anyone!"
He looked toward them when he said it, his voice cracking hard enough to make Jie flinch.
Her fingers tightened around the wildefowl.
The man glanced around and tried to stand, but his legs gave out beneath him and he fell again. A ripple passed through the people nearby—murmurs, shifting feet, bodies leaning away while the uniformed figures closed in.
They were almost on top of him now.
The man looked back once.
Then he threw himself forward, dragging his body across the sidewalk with his elbows and knees until he somehow managed to push himself up again.
The uniforms shoved people aside. One of them raised something in their hands—a small, strange, shaped thing, a little like a crossbow.
PFFT!
Something thin caught around his legs, a cord so faint it almost disappeared in the light. He hit the ground awkwardly and immediately started clawing at it, pulling and yanking with both hands.
He yanked and clawed at it, trying to free himself from the weighted line. The crowd was a mix of everything—some people backing away while others lifted their phones or wrists to record.
The man's pleas cut through it all, his voice ragged with desperation.
She pressed the wildefowl harder against herself, blinking fast when the tears began to well in her eyes.
"Let me go!"
One of the uniforms forced his head down, pressing hard until his cheek flattened against the ground. The man's face flushed red with strain, but he still managed to plant one arm beneath himself.
It did not last.
One of them yanked his hand away, and his chest slammed hard against the pavement.
The others wrenched his arm behind him, one produced a baton-like device, then jabbing it into his back while the rest loosened their hold for only a moment.
"Gyah!"
The man's body went rigid the instant the baton flared, spasms tearing through him while white sparks spat from its tip.
The uniforms shoved back anyone who got too close, barking orders and driving the crowd away.
The three of them didn't stay to watch the end of it. They slipped sideways through the sea of bodies, forcing their way out of the crowd one step at a time.
Little Jie twisted in his hold and looked back over his shoulder, still clutching the plushie in one hand. She caught a final glimpse—one uniformed feline pinning the man's wrists together before locking something around them, while the others lifted his limp body off the pavement.
"Why?"
She leaned forward until her head nearly bumped into the man's face, her weight resting against him while her eyes searched his for an answer.
"Why what?"
He answered, encouraging her to finish her question. Her gaze pondered before opening her mouth.
"Why are they beating him?"
Her eyes full of curiosity.
"He must've done something wrong."
The little girl scrunched up her face and pulled away, an annoyed huff slipping from her lips.
"He was scared."
Her voice came out pouty—small and stubborn, her gaze dancing anywhere but the ground. Neither of them said anything else, keeping their thoughts to themselves.
The three of them kept moving, the scene behind them shrinking until Jie could no longer make out the commotion. Only the flashing lights remained, bouncing off the walls and storefronts.
The busy street swallowed the moment whole, traffic only seeming to get worse—the cars packed so tightly they were practically on top of each other.
Jie rubbed one eye with the back of her hand.
When little Jie lifted her gaze, her eyes caught the giant screens clinging to the sides of the high-rises ahead, glowing through the gaps between the buildings.
As they reached an intersection, the woman and the man spoke quietly while Jie watched the screen across the street, resting her weight on the man's head.
"Stretching our legs was the right call. Too much traffic."
The woman answered with a soft hum.
The woman lifted her free wrist and a dim screen appeared, lightly illuminating her face. She dragged a finger through the air, trying to call someone.
Brrt—brrt—brrt!
Jie looked at the sound.
On the giant screen ahead, a crowd filled a street somewhere else in the city. Too many people moved together beneath shifting light, signs bobbing above their heads while a few figures at the front seemed to pull the rest along.
Jie watched the screen without really understanding it.
A few minutes later, warm light caught her eyes from across the sidewalk.
Brrt—brrt—brrt!
A small café sat tucked between taller buildings, its window glowing softly while rows of sweet buns rested behind the glass. They were round and golden, some striped with pale sugar that cracked across the top like little shells.
"Concha!"
"Do you want some?"
the man asked, bouncing slightly to keep her from slipping off his shoulders.
Little Jie bobbed her head enthusiastically, nodding along with happy little bounces while the trio changed course.
A few steps later, the woman grabbed the handle and pulled the door open.
Then sweetness.
Jie's nose wrinkled as she breathed it in, her shoulders lifting. The smell was soft and sugary, exaggerating her next inhale.
The door swung shut behind them with a soft chime.
Inside, the café was packed with people. Voices overlapped in a constant blur, different tones and dialects brushing past her ears while no one seemed to care about the city outside.
They walked up to the short line and little Jie held her wildefowl up near her face, making it copy her.
"Hello! cuál es su pedido?"
The barista was short, her hair tied into a neat ponytail. Jie noticed that first.
Then the ears.
Then the tail swaying lazily behind her.
"You have any liberica?"
The woman asked, looking at the roast list on the counter through her glasses.
Jie looked too, but the words were too many and too small, stacked in neat little lines that meant nothing to her.
The feline bent down, her knees popping lightly when she checked under the counter.
"nomás uno."
"Just for one more."
The young woman repeated with a small smile while her canine ears twitched, the barista's tail swaying lazily behind her.
"Three sugar and two cream please."
The woman pushed her glasses up from the edge of the rim while the barista noted the order down, then turned her attention to the duo.
"Black, two sugar, two cream, and tw—"
"Concha!"
Little Jie blurted it out with all the strength in her small body.
She sank a little against the man's head, hugging the wildefowl tighter while pretending she had not noticed anyone looking.
They finished ordering, and the man tapped his phone against the terminal to pay.
[Procesando…]
The word flashed briefly before the receipt printed out. The feline handed it over with a polite nod, then moved off to prepare the drinks.
By the time the woman picked up the slip, little Jie was already happily nibbling at her sweet bread.
The trio made their way to a small table in the corner. The man lifted Jie from his shoulders and set her in her seat before settling beside her while they waited for the rest of the order.
Jie placed the wildefowl on the table beside her concha, facing it toward the bread and ripping out a small piece for it.
She broke off a tiny bit and pressed it against the plushie's beak.
Then she ate it herself.
The woman sat down, rested an elbow on the table and lifted her wrist, already trying to call again.
Darkness dropped over the café.
Little Jie froze with the concha still in both hands.
For a heartbeat, the only light came from the woman's bracelet, pale, turning the faces around them into white shapes.