Drip. Drip. Drip.
Dark skin shivered as yet another drop of water hit the floor. They should really try to figure out a way to patch up the holes in the shed's roof. It would help keep it warmer, and dry. But then, there was no telling when they would be chased out and forced to find yet another temporary home, and they doubted the owner of this shed would allow them to continue living in it, even for a short amount of time until they could find another place to live, so the effort would be pointless.
The child sighed, pulling their legs to their chest and wrapping their arms around them as they shivered again. Mismatched purple and pink eyes wandered around the small space inside of the shed. There were rusty tools lined against a wall, and newer looking ones hung on the wall above them. A table was pushed against another wall, the top littered with what the child considered to be random junk, as they had no idea what any of the things possibly were. Nothing that could be used to keep warm, sadly. They had taken refuge in the shed a few weeks ago, as the farmer that owned the shed seemed to be away visiting family, or on vacation. They had no doubts that the farmer would return soon, and chase them out. The shed really wasn't in the greatest condition, with holes in the roof and the floor being nothing but dirt, and thus not very warm, but it was the most proper shelter they had had in... Months? A year? Two years? How long had it been since they had a place to sleep that had actual walls, a roof, and a door? They couldn't remember, and when struggling to find food and a roof to stay under, along with figuring out how to keep warm during the colder months, and trying to maintain proper hygiene and educate themselves the best they could, they found it hard to keep track of time.
The child fiddled with a lock of their dirty, just-past-shoulder length purple hair, messy and unbrushed, briefly wondering if they'd ever manage to get it untangled again. Oh well, no sense worrying about that now, they decided. The sun would be up soon, and it would be time to go look for something to munch on to stop the rumbling of their stomach. Maybe today they could find an easy job they could do, and make some money? They could then buy bread, and there might still be apples left on one of the apple trees in the park. They could use their knife to cut the apples into slices, and then they could have apple sandwiches!
Glancing out the shed's small window, the world outside having begun to be covered in light, they stood, leaning against a wall momentarily as the room spun. When had they eaten last, anyways? They remembered that it was some stale peanuts that they had eaten, but had it been yesterday or the day before? Or was it the day before that? It was pointless to them to try to figure it out, but yet they still wondered as they stepped out of the shed, being sure to close the door and latch it before beginning the walk to town. It was still a bit dark out, but they figured it would be completely daylight by time they reached town. As they always heard people say, "The early bird catches the worm!" Or in this case, they supposed it would be "The early child gets the job!" They hoped that was true, apple sandwiches sounded quite tasty. Though, any sort of food sounded good to them at the moment, really. Even more stale peanuts.
As they walked, they briefly wondered how they should introduce themselves to potential employers. Obviously they would begin with their name, Trivvy, but what else? And what questions would the employers ask them? Since they were young, it'd probably make the most sense for an employer to ask about their parents, right? They'd probably ask them about their age, too, which was eleven years old. Figuring out how to explain their gender seemed like a good idea too, since most people just assumed it, and they didn't like being called a girl or a boy.
---
By time Trivvy reached the town, the sun had risen high enough to cast away what darkness there had been at the beginning of their trip, and caused long shadows from trees and houses and such to form. Sadly, it hadn't gotten much warmer, though Trivvy supposed they should be used to the cold by now. At least this was one of the years they were lucky enough to have long sleeves, though they didn't own any long pants, the only pants in their possession being the knee length shorts they currently wore. The blue shirt and brown shorts they wore were littered with holes and tears, but at least they were clothes, and good enough they could actually be worn.
Trivvy glanced around as they headed towards the center of the town, where most of the shops that looked like they'd have easy jobs resided. They had tried finding a job before, but the owners of the shops would either tell them they weren't looking for children to work for them, or they would laugh in their face. It annoyed Trivvy to no end, but they decided not to dwell on those experiences. Perhaps one of the shopkeepers would change their mind about not needing a child to work for them, or at the very least let Trivvy work for a day and pay them.
"Hey, watch where you are going, kid!" Trivvy winced as an older man yelled at them. They must have gotten distracted and bumped into him without noticing. That seemed to be a rather common occurrence, as it was not uncommon for them to get lost in thought, and momentarily forget their surroundings.
"Sorry, mister. I wasn't paying attention, and didn't see you there." Trivvy apologized. The man scowled at them, before turning and walking away, muttering something under his breath that Trivvy was unable to make out. They assumed it probably wasn't something nice, but chose to believe he was muttering about how polite they were for at least apologizing instead.
As Trivvy reached the town square, they noticed a large makeshift stage had been built in the middle of the square, with a woman standing atop it, wearing strange, warm colored poofy clothing with flower patterns, and a small crowd had gathered around the stage. What was going on? They couldn't help but be curious, and walked closer to the stage.
"Hello there, citizens of Rubith Town! My name is Amy, and today, I shall show you a grand show, of magic and mystery, laughter and joy! What will make it a show of joy, you may wonder? Well, let's just ask my friend, Roy!" The blonde haired, blue eyed woman, Amy, spoke cheerfully, and loudly, moving aside as a brown haired man jumped onto the edge of the stage, and cartwheeled to the center of the stage where Amy had previously stood. The man's clothes were poofy like Amy's, but seemed to be a one piece suit instead, and it was cool colored with paw print patterns, and he also wore a strange hat with bells on it.
"Hello, hello! My name is Roy, the bringer of Joy!" The man, Roy, spoke confidentially, as Amy had done. Trivvy heard a few people in the crowd mumble and whisper to one another, but paid no attention to what they said. Suddenly, a cat leaped onto the browned eyed man's shoulder from behind him.
"Ah, here's little Joy! Say hello!" The cat meowed what Trivvy assumed was a greeting. They hoped the cat stayed up there with Amy and Roy, the cat was adorable and seemed friendly, but they found themselves feeling oddly frightened by it nonetheless. How had that cat gotten there, anyways? Trivvy was sure it wasn't onstage before, and they didn't see the cat hidden on Roy anywhere when he made his appearance. Maybe Amy hid it? But how did it get to Roy without being seen...?
"I have brought little Joy here to help us with today's performance! In fact, she's the most important part of the show! It wouldn't be a show of laughter and JOY without her, after all!" Roy laughed at what Trivvy decided was supposed to be a joke, while several people in the crowd groaned, unamused. Trivvy thought the joke was amusing, however.
"I wonder, what trick shall we start the show with? Why don't we ask Amy, she has the amazing amusing ideas!"
"Hmm, I'm not sure, lemme think for a moment, Roy..." Amy placed a finger on her chin for a moment, before looking surprised.
"Oh hey, what's that on your back?"
"What ever do you mean?" Roy looked confused, before attempting to look over his shoulder, and then turning around so that his back faced the crowd.
"What is this? Where did these sticky notes come from? Amy, Joy, those weren't there before! Do either of you know anything about this? And why write with a RED marker, of all colors! Why not blue instead?" Roy sounded somewhat annoyed. Amy giggled.
"Geez, you sure do axolotl questions, Roy!"
"Oh, you've gotta be kitten me, Amy!" Trivvy began giggling. Such lame sounding jokes, but so oddly amusing. They loved it. They heard a few people in the crowd start laughing too. As much as they were enjoying this, however, they had to go. There was no telling how long the show would go on, and they were still cold, and needed to try to find some work to do if they wanted bread for apple sandwiches. Trivvy turned to leave, headed towards one of the shops that appeared to be open, glancing over their shoulder at the stage. If they were lucky, perhaps Amy, Roy, and Joy would still be there once they were done.
---
The first shop that Trivvy chose to look for work at, a small clothing store, turned out to be a bad idea. The old lady working there told them that she was not looking for a dirty child that's probably planning to steal, before telling them, rather rudely if Trivvy did say so themself, to leave, and ordering her dog to chase them out of the store when they tried to convince her that they were not going to be a thief, and simply looking for work. To make matters worse, the old lady's dog was large, and, in Trivvy's opinion, absolutely terrifying.
The shopkeeper in the second shop was nicer, even offering them a cookie upon hearing their grumbling stomach, much to Trivvy's delight, though unfortunately that shop wasn't looking for workers either. But hey, they got a free cookie, and didn't get chased out by a big terrifying dog! They counted that as a win, even if they didn't accomplish their goal there.
The third shopkeeper laughed at them, and told them that yes, he would hire them! In fact, he told them that he even already had something for them to do! He ordered them to go outside and get some empty boxes from the alleyway beside the store. Trivvy had excitedly ran out of the store and into the alleyway, eager to complete their first task. Upon picking up a box, they discovered a rat residing in it, however, which then proceeded to jump at them, causing Trivvy to shriek and drop the box, before it scurried off somewhere. After taking a moment to calm down, Trivvy grabbed some empty boxes, after very carefully inspecting them, in case another rat resided in one, and began to take them to the front of the store. ...Only to try to open the door of the store, and find it locked once they brought all the boxes to the door. The shopkeeper looked up from the counter upon hearing Trivvy begin knocking on the door, and began laughing, showing no signs of getting up to let them in. Trivvy sighed, then began carefully arranging the boxes in front of the store's door, before leaving to look for another job. Sure, the boxes weren't heavy at all, and could easily be pushed or kicked aside, but Trivvy liked the idea of inconveniencing that man, however minor the inconvenience may be. It amused them to see the confused look on the shopkeeper's face as well, as they arranged the boxes.
Store number four turned out to be a pet shop. An instant "Absolutely not!" from Trivvy, as soon as they stepped inside and realized it was a pet shop. They loved animals, but had numerous bad experiences with them, and found them terrifying, no matter how friendly the animal may look. That fluffy puppy looked really cute though, like a teddy bear. ...They wished they had a teddy bear, or any sort of stuffed animal for that matter.
---
After three more failed attempts at finding a job, Trivvy decided that maybe they should give up for the day, even if it disappointed them, as they had really been looking forward to potentially having sandwiches for dinner. The only places left that they knew of where they could possibly find a job at were the factories, or at one of the nearby farms, and they knew they wouldn't be capable of doing work at either place, due to their lack of strength. They always saw big, strong people working in those places, and Trivvy was small and weak.
Trivvy sighed. They supposed they could go ahead and check the apple tree in the park for any apples. Though they had planned to wait until they found a job and bought some bread, so they could at least have something that sort of counted as an actual meal, it was clear to them that that wouldn't be happening today, and probably not tomorrow either, with their luck. At least they would have food for tonight, assuming there were apples left. Then again, they had already eaten a cookie today, maybe they should take whatever apples they can find and store them away for later instead. ...But they had no way of storing food, there was no telling when the farmer would come back and reclaim the shed that Trivvy was staying in, so they couldn't store them there.
Beginning their trip to the park, which unfortunately resided on the opposite side of town, they began to think. How come no one would hire them? Sure, some of the places said they had enough workers already, but they surely could have found something for them to do. Was it because of how short they are, maybe? They couldn't hardly reach any of the higher shelves in the stores even with a step ladder, so that seemed like the most likely possibly. Then again, perhaps it was because of their strange, mismatched eyes. Or just because of how young they are. It could've been because they didn't like being referred to as a girl or boy, too.
Becoming lost in thought, Trivvy didn't notice a strange person watching them from the other side of the street. They jumped, startled, when the man called for them.
"Hey, kiddo! Where are you heading?" Trivvy stared at him for a moment, confused. Why was he talking to them? Did they know him? They couldn't remember ever seeing the man around, but perhaps they did know him, and simply couldn't remember.
"I, uh, I'm going to the park. I'm going to see if there are any apples left on the apple trees." Trivvy answered, walking closer to the man. As Trivvy got closer, they noticed the man had reddish brown hair, and looked to have black colored eyes, and wore black framed glasses.
"Ah, how lovely. Apples are nice at this time of day, yes? Tell me, however, where are your parents? Most people around these parts wouldn't allow their child to run around unsupervised. It's quite dangerous for a child your age to be without a guardian." The man spoke, sounding friendly and cheerful. Trivvy decided he could be trusted.
"They aren't around anymore. They died when I was seven."
"How terrible! Do you not have any other family members to watch over you?"
"Nope. But I do okay on my own. Sorta."
"Terrible, simply terrible... A child your age shouldn't have to go through that. There must be so many nights you go hungry, and sleep in the cold, with no one to provide for you." The man sounded concerned.
"It's not too bad... Sure, I go hungry sometimes, and get really cold when the weather starts getting cooler, but I can deal with it. I'm used to it by now." Trivvy explained.
"It still is not right for a child to be on their own, whether capable of taking care of themselves or not. You probably aren't able to receive the proper education you deserve, either."
"Hey, I know a lot of stuff! I'm smart for my age! I can read a bunch of those big fancy words that are in library books! I can add, subtract, and do multiplications too!" Trivvy protested. ...In all honesty, they had no idea whether that was stuff they could actually be proud to know at their age. Kids around their age hardly spoke to them, so they didn't know what other kids learned.
"Even so, I imagine there's a lot you don't know, that you should be learning. Perhaps I could tutor you?"
"Really?! You'd do that? The only people I've had teach me stuff are some of the older kids around here that are orphans like me, and one of the old librarians!"
"Of course! You seem like quite a smart child, it would be a shame for you to go without proper education! We could even start tomorrow, if you'd like?"
"Wow... Thank you! Starting tomorrow would be great! But I don't have anything I can give you for teaching me..."
"Ah, do not fret, child. I used to be a teacher, and I simply enjoy teaching children and watching them learn. I don't require any sort of payment. By the way, you may call me Mr. Unigma. I don't believe I ever caught your name?"
"Oh, whoops. My name is Trivvy! Nice to meetcha!"
"Nice to meet you as well, little Trivvy. I apologize that I currently cannot help you out of your predicament of having no home to go to, but I will try my best to make sure you at least are able to have a proper education." Unigma spoke, smiling.
Dark skin shivered as yet another drop of water hit the floor. They should really try to figure out a way to patch up the holes in the shed's roof. It would help keep it warmer, and dry. But then, there was no telling when they would be chased out and forced to find yet another temporary home, and they doubted the owner of this shed would allow them to continue living in it, even for a short amount of time until they could find another place to live, so the effort would be pointless.
The child sighed, pulling their legs to their chest and wrapping their arms around them as they shivered again. Mismatched purple and pink eyes wandered around the small space inside of the shed. There were rusty tools lined against a wall, and newer looking ones hung on the wall above them. A table was pushed against another wall, the top littered with what the child considered to be random junk, as they had no idea what any of the things possibly were. Nothing that could be used to keep warm, sadly. They had taken refuge in the shed a few weeks ago, as the farmer that owned the shed seemed to be away visiting family, or on vacation. They had no doubts that the farmer would return soon, and chase them out. The shed really wasn't in the greatest condition, with holes in the roof and the floor being nothing but dirt, and thus not very warm, but it was the most proper shelter they had had in... Months? A year? Two years? How long had it been since they had a place to sleep that had actual walls, a roof, and a door? They couldn't remember, and when struggling to find food and a roof to stay under, along with figuring out how to keep warm during the colder months, and trying to maintain proper hygiene and educate themselves the best they could, they found it hard to keep track of time.
The child fiddled with a lock of their dirty, just-past-shoulder length purple hair, messy and unbrushed, briefly wondering if they'd ever manage to get it untangled again. Oh well, no sense worrying about that now, they decided. The sun would be up soon, and it would be time to go look for something to munch on to stop the rumbling of their stomach. Maybe today they could find an easy job they could do, and make some money? They could then buy bread, and there might still be apples left on one of the apple trees in the park. They could use their knife to cut the apples into slices, and then they could have apple sandwiches!
Glancing out the shed's small window, the world outside having begun to be covered in light, they stood, leaning against a wall momentarily as the room spun. When had they eaten last, anyways? They remembered that it was some stale peanuts that they had eaten, but had it been yesterday or the day before? Or was it the day before that? It was pointless to them to try to figure it out, but yet they still wondered as they stepped out of the shed, being sure to close the door and latch it before beginning the walk to town. It was still a bit dark out, but they figured it would be completely daylight by time they reached town. As they always heard people say, "The early bird catches the worm!" Or in this case, they supposed it would be "The early child gets the job!" They hoped that was true, apple sandwiches sounded quite tasty. Though, any sort of food sounded good to them at the moment, really. Even more stale peanuts.
As they walked, they briefly wondered how they should introduce themselves to potential employers. Obviously they would begin with their name, Trivvy, but what else? And what questions would the employers ask them? Since they were young, it'd probably make the most sense for an employer to ask about their parents, right? They'd probably ask them about their age, too, which was eleven years old. Figuring out how to explain their gender seemed like a good idea too, since most people just assumed it, and they didn't like being called a girl or a boy.
---
By time Trivvy reached the town, the sun had risen high enough to cast away what darkness there had been at the beginning of their trip, and caused long shadows from trees and houses and such to form. Sadly, it hadn't gotten much warmer, though Trivvy supposed they should be used to the cold by now. At least this was one of the years they were lucky enough to have long sleeves, though they didn't own any long pants, the only pants in their possession being the knee length shorts they currently wore. The blue shirt and brown shorts they wore were littered with holes and tears, but at least they were clothes, and good enough they could actually be worn.
Trivvy glanced around as they headed towards the center of the town, where most of the shops that looked like they'd have easy jobs resided. They had tried finding a job before, but the owners of the shops would either tell them they weren't looking for children to work for them, or they would laugh in their face. It annoyed Trivvy to no end, but they decided not to dwell on those experiences. Perhaps one of the shopkeepers would change their mind about not needing a child to work for them, or at the very least let Trivvy work for a day and pay them.
"Hey, watch where you are going, kid!" Trivvy winced as an older man yelled at them. They must have gotten distracted and bumped into him without noticing. That seemed to be a rather common occurrence, as it was not uncommon for them to get lost in thought, and momentarily forget their surroundings.
"Sorry, mister. I wasn't paying attention, and didn't see you there." Trivvy apologized. The man scowled at them, before turning and walking away, muttering something under his breath that Trivvy was unable to make out. They assumed it probably wasn't something nice, but chose to believe he was muttering about how polite they were for at least apologizing instead.
As Trivvy reached the town square, they noticed a large makeshift stage had been built in the middle of the square, with a woman standing atop it, wearing strange, warm colored poofy clothing with flower patterns, and a small crowd had gathered around the stage. What was going on? They couldn't help but be curious, and walked closer to the stage.
"Hello there, citizens of Rubith Town! My name is Amy, and today, I shall show you a grand show, of magic and mystery, laughter and joy! What will make it a show of joy, you may wonder? Well, let's just ask my friend, Roy!" The blonde haired, blue eyed woman, Amy, spoke cheerfully, and loudly, moving aside as a brown haired man jumped onto the edge of the stage, and cartwheeled to the center of the stage where Amy had previously stood. The man's clothes were poofy like Amy's, but seemed to be a one piece suit instead, and it was cool colored with paw print patterns, and he also wore a strange hat with bells on it.
"Hello, hello! My name is Roy, the bringer of Joy!" The man, Roy, spoke confidentially, as Amy had done. Trivvy heard a few people in the crowd mumble and whisper to one another, but paid no attention to what they said. Suddenly, a cat leaped onto the browned eyed man's shoulder from behind him.
"Ah, here's little Joy! Say hello!" The cat meowed what Trivvy assumed was a greeting. They hoped the cat stayed up there with Amy and Roy, the cat was adorable and seemed friendly, but they found themselves feeling oddly frightened by it nonetheless. How had that cat gotten there, anyways? Trivvy was sure it wasn't onstage before, and they didn't see the cat hidden on Roy anywhere when he made his appearance. Maybe Amy hid it? But how did it get to Roy without being seen...?
"I have brought little Joy here to help us with today's performance! In fact, she's the most important part of the show! It wouldn't be a show of laughter and JOY without her, after all!" Roy laughed at what Trivvy decided was supposed to be a joke, while several people in the crowd groaned, unamused. Trivvy thought the joke was amusing, however.
"I wonder, what trick shall we start the show with? Why don't we ask Amy, she has the amazing amusing ideas!"
"Hmm, I'm not sure, lemme think for a moment, Roy..." Amy placed a finger on her chin for a moment, before looking surprised.
"Oh hey, what's that on your back?"
"What ever do you mean?" Roy looked confused, before attempting to look over his shoulder, and then turning around so that his back faced the crowd.
"What is this? Where did these sticky notes come from? Amy, Joy, those weren't there before! Do either of you know anything about this? And why write with a RED marker, of all colors! Why not blue instead?" Roy sounded somewhat annoyed. Amy giggled.
"Geez, you sure do axolotl questions, Roy!"
"Oh, you've gotta be kitten me, Amy!" Trivvy began giggling. Such lame sounding jokes, but so oddly amusing. They loved it. They heard a few people in the crowd start laughing too. As much as they were enjoying this, however, they had to go. There was no telling how long the show would go on, and they were still cold, and needed to try to find some work to do if they wanted bread for apple sandwiches. Trivvy turned to leave, headed towards one of the shops that appeared to be open, glancing over their shoulder at the stage. If they were lucky, perhaps Amy, Roy, and Joy would still be there once they were done.
---
The first shop that Trivvy chose to look for work at, a small clothing store, turned out to be a bad idea. The old lady working there told them that she was not looking for a dirty child that's probably planning to steal, before telling them, rather rudely if Trivvy did say so themself, to leave, and ordering her dog to chase them out of the store when they tried to convince her that they were not going to be a thief, and simply looking for work. To make matters worse, the old lady's dog was large, and, in Trivvy's opinion, absolutely terrifying.
The shopkeeper in the second shop was nicer, even offering them a cookie upon hearing their grumbling stomach, much to Trivvy's delight, though unfortunately that shop wasn't looking for workers either. But hey, they got a free cookie, and didn't get chased out by a big terrifying dog! They counted that as a win, even if they didn't accomplish their goal there.
The third shopkeeper laughed at them, and told them that yes, he would hire them! In fact, he told them that he even already had something for them to do! He ordered them to go outside and get some empty boxes from the alleyway beside the store. Trivvy had excitedly ran out of the store and into the alleyway, eager to complete their first task. Upon picking up a box, they discovered a rat residing in it, however, which then proceeded to jump at them, causing Trivvy to shriek and drop the box, before it scurried off somewhere. After taking a moment to calm down, Trivvy grabbed some empty boxes, after very carefully inspecting them, in case another rat resided in one, and began to take them to the front of the store. ...Only to try to open the door of the store, and find it locked once they brought all the boxes to the door. The shopkeeper looked up from the counter upon hearing Trivvy begin knocking on the door, and began laughing, showing no signs of getting up to let them in. Trivvy sighed, then began carefully arranging the boxes in front of the store's door, before leaving to look for another job. Sure, the boxes weren't heavy at all, and could easily be pushed or kicked aside, but Trivvy liked the idea of inconveniencing that man, however minor the inconvenience may be. It amused them to see the confused look on the shopkeeper's face as well, as they arranged the boxes.
Store number four turned out to be a pet shop. An instant "Absolutely not!" from Trivvy, as soon as they stepped inside and realized it was a pet shop. They loved animals, but had numerous bad experiences with them, and found them terrifying, no matter how friendly the animal may look. That fluffy puppy looked really cute though, like a teddy bear. ...They wished they had a teddy bear, or any sort of stuffed animal for that matter.
---
After three more failed attempts at finding a job, Trivvy decided that maybe they should give up for the day, even if it disappointed them, as they had really been looking forward to potentially having sandwiches for dinner. The only places left that they knew of where they could possibly find a job at were the factories, or at one of the nearby farms, and they knew they wouldn't be capable of doing work at either place, due to their lack of strength. They always saw big, strong people working in those places, and Trivvy was small and weak.
Trivvy sighed. They supposed they could go ahead and check the apple tree in the park for any apples. Though they had planned to wait until they found a job and bought some bread, so they could at least have something that sort of counted as an actual meal, it was clear to them that that wouldn't be happening today, and probably not tomorrow either, with their luck. At least they would have food for tonight, assuming there were apples left. Then again, they had already eaten a cookie today, maybe they should take whatever apples they can find and store them away for later instead. ...But they had no way of storing food, there was no telling when the farmer would come back and reclaim the shed that Trivvy was staying in, so they couldn't store them there.
Beginning their trip to the park, which unfortunately resided on the opposite side of town, they began to think. How come no one would hire them? Sure, some of the places said they had enough workers already, but they surely could have found something for them to do. Was it because of how short they are, maybe? They couldn't hardly reach any of the higher shelves in the stores even with a step ladder, so that seemed like the most likely possibly. Then again, perhaps it was because of their strange, mismatched eyes. Or just because of how young they are. It could've been because they didn't like being referred to as a girl or boy, too.
Becoming lost in thought, Trivvy didn't notice a strange person watching them from the other side of the street. They jumped, startled, when the man called for them.
"Hey, kiddo! Where are you heading?" Trivvy stared at him for a moment, confused. Why was he talking to them? Did they know him? They couldn't remember ever seeing the man around, but perhaps they did know him, and simply couldn't remember.
"I, uh, I'm going to the park. I'm going to see if there are any apples left on the apple trees." Trivvy answered, walking closer to the man. As Trivvy got closer, they noticed the man had reddish brown hair, and looked to have black colored eyes, and wore black framed glasses.
"Ah, how lovely. Apples are nice at this time of day, yes? Tell me, however, where are your parents? Most people around these parts wouldn't allow their child to run around unsupervised. It's quite dangerous for a child your age to be without a guardian." The man spoke, sounding friendly and cheerful. Trivvy decided he could be trusted.
"They aren't around anymore. They died when I was seven."
"How terrible! Do you not have any other family members to watch over you?"
"Nope. But I do okay on my own. Sorta."
"Terrible, simply terrible... A child your age shouldn't have to go through that. There must be so many nights you go hungry, and sleep in the cold, with no one to provide for you." The man sounded concerned.
"It's not too bad... Sure, I go hungry sometimes, and get really cold when the weather starts getting cooler, but I can deal with it. I'm used to it by now." Trivvy explained.
"It still is not right for a child to be on their own, whether capable of taking care of themselves or not. You probably aren't able to receive the proper education you deserve, either."
"Hey, I know a lot of stuff! I'm smart for my age! I can read a bunch of those big fancy words that are in library books! I can add, subtract, and do multiplications too!" Trivvy protested. ...In all honesty, they had no idea whether that was stuff they could actually be proud to know at their age. Kids around their age hardly spoke to them, so they didn't know what other kids learned.
"Even so, I imagine there's a lot you don't know, that you should be learning. Perhaps I could tutor you?"
"Really?! You'd do that? The only people I've had teach me stuff are some of the older kids around here that are orphans like me, and one of the old librarians!"
"Of course! You seem like quite a smart child, it would be a shame for you to go without proper education! We could even start tomorrow, if you'd like?"
"Wow... Thank you! Starting tomorrow would be great! But I don't have anything I can give you for teaching me..."
"Ah, do not fret, child. I used to be a teacher, and I simply enjoy teaching children and watching them learn. I don't require any sort of payment. By the way, you may call me Mr. Unigma. I don't believe I ever caught your name?"
"Oh, whoops. My name is Trivvy! Nice to meetcha!"
"Nice to meet you as well, little Trivvy. I apologize that I currently cannot help you out of your predicament of having no home to go to, but I will try my best to make sure you at least are able to have a proper education." Unigma spoke, smiling.