literacy

Esther had been sitting on the empty crate at the door of the Vulture Bar until dawn. She looked up at the sky in silence, from the setting of the red moon to the rising of the sun.

Esther, who kept thinking about what to do, was afraid of the future. Such fear made her not move anywhere, hoping that no one would disturb her.

Esther felt that an invisible barrier appeared around her, isolating her from the outside world, but she didn't think about it.

Until the other end of the street started to gain popularity, Esther watched all kinds of people passing by, and the noisy shouts and footsteps gradually diluted the chill around her. But these people all have something very obvious in common - traces of poverty are imprinted on their clothes, words, deeds, and the darkness of their faces, and the most indispensable thing in such an environment is criminal behavior. This makes Esther curl up uneasily, Her eyes followed the others closely, observing them.

Fortunately for Esther, she could understand what these people said. She tried to absorb any information she could get from them, eager to understand the world.

Esther imitated several passers-by and tried to whisper to himself words such as "Good morning", "The weather is good today", "Praise the goddess", "The storm is above" and "Stay away from me, you little thief", so that To Esther's surprise, she found that she could actually speak this language, and she was so proficient that it seemed like she had been speaking for a long time.

But soon, Esther felt something twisting in her sleeves. She felt that the little bug understood what she said and was mocking her.

Esther spoke to it in a low voice this time in the language of others: "So do you know where this is? Or do you know me?"

This time, the meaning conveyed by the little bug was clearer and more specific. Esther felt that it disliked her for being an idiot. Although the tone of the words was not so intense, she could completely feel the other party's contempt and disdain for her.

Why is a bug so arrogant!

Esther curled her lips and looked at the stalls set up on the nearby streets. The shops were all open, and the aroma of baking bread wafted over. Esther touched her stomach and surprisingly found that she was not very hungry. Esther immediately decided to save the money. She didn't know how much the money could buy, so she had to save as much as possible.

As this small street became more and more lively, it also began to become chaotic. Someone threw smelly rotten fish into the ditch not far away, and a pungent smell gradually came over. Esther didn't like such an environment very much, but because she had nowhere to go, she could only sit on the uncomfortable crate and continue to feel all this.

Fortunately, no one noticed here, Esther said with emotion, as if they couldn't see me.

Wait, she won't become a ghost, right?

Just when Esther was thinking wildly, there was a sudden commotion in the crowd, and a female voice shouted: "Catch that thief quickly! It's that child!"

Almost at the moment when the boy in the gray shirt wearing a beret approached, Esther thought about catching the thief, and her hand reacted far beyond her thoughts. She accurately clasped it on the boy's forearm and quickly The running boy was almost dragged down by her. The boy's hat fell to the ground, and he looked at Esther in shock, as if he had just noticed that there was someone here.

Esther, on the other hand, was shocked by her reaction speed and stared at the boy. The child's skinny cheeks looked like they had never been full, not to mention the bruises on his forehead and chin, which made Esther subconsciously relax. The shouts from the crowd behind were getting closer, and the boy slammed away from Esther and ran forward. The moment Esther stepped back, she subconsciously put her hand in the boy's arms, and then she let the boy run. Entering the crowd in the other direction.

"Catch the thief! There is a thief - phew..." The gray-haired middle-aged woman beat her waist with her hands. She finally squeezed out of the crowd, but lost track of the boy. The woman was holding on to the crate and breathing heavily. Thinking that she had lost this week's salary and that all the money for food at home was gone, she was so aggrieved that she almost cried.

At this moment, the spinner's rough red cloth bag was handed to her. The woman snatched it away and held it tightly to her heart. Then she looked at the girl opposite: "Thank you, thank you, thank you, very much." grateful..."

Esther shook her head, but out of caution she didn't speak. She just smiled at the woman, and then she squeezed into the crowd and walked toward the street slowly.

The sense of invisibility that had been ignored before disappeared, replaced by a faint feeling of fatigue. Esther rubbed her eyes and between her eyebrows, feeling a small amount of empty stomach coming over her. It was not the daily physiological hunger for food, but more like In order to replenish the consumption just now, the body's own reminder appears.

Esther was reviewing what she had just done. The invisibility effect, the quick reaction when grabbing the boy, and the quick snatch at that moment all showed that she had some abilities beyond ordinary people.

But in Esther's memory, she was just an ordinary modern person.

While feeling strange, Esther also felt a little more at ease with her situation. With such a "skill", how could she try to find some part-time jobs to make money, right?

Esther glanced at the fruit stalls. Many of them were things she had never seen before. The red fist-shaped fruits looked similar to apples. I wonder what the difference in taste was?

When Esther was thinking this, she subconsciously glanced at the owner of the fruit stall. The bearded owner was impatiently dismissing a couple who were trying to bargain, and his attention was not here.

Then Esther's hand took action again before she realized it. By the time she reacted, there were two red fruits stuck between her bent arms and her body.

 The unpaid fruit was completely blocked by Esther's oversized sleeves and could never be seen from the outside. However, she didn't stop at all and had already walked several meters away with the flow of people.

Esther continued to walk among the crowd stiffly, full of panic about his instinctive stealing behavior just now: Could it be that this body is still a habitual offender! ? How come I just had an idea and immediately started stealing things!

Return the fruit? That's hard to explain. Esther doesn't even recognize the coins here. She doesn't know how much she should pay.

With random thoughts in her mind, Esther did not stop walking and finally walked out of this messy street. Since she couldn't find any source of clean water, she could only wipe the red fruit in her hand with the inside of her shirt several times before she dared to put it in her mouth.

The fruit is crisp and has sweet flesh. Although it is not as sweet and delicious as the apple in Esther's memory, the taste is not very strange, at least it is not a taste that transcends human cognition.

But what next?

Esther stood at the intersection, confusedly looking at the words on the intersection sign that she didn't recognize at all, and fell into confusion again.

She needs literacy! Very necessary!

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