Dust in the Wind

[Dawnika Snow]

The dense air of 4th tier stuffed Yuki’s nose. How she hated the heavy, reused breath of the massive amount of individuals, but it was something you had to live with around here. The teenager looked around the corner of the block for anyone who looked weighed down by their wallet. No marks yet, just a bunch of slum commoners going about their daily life. Drudging through adulthood with nothing more to scrape by than just-enough. Poor sods.

The young lady adjusted her skirt and turned the corner she had been leaning on for awhile now. No patrol was around, it was the perfect time to nab something, if only there was something to nab in the first place. Most of what was here for the picking was nothing but vulture food. Just decaying bones and meat. No warm fruits of conquest for a petty pickpocket girl like Yuki. It would be a sure fire way to get caught, reaching into empty pockets. Shame.

She walked down the busy side walk, head down but eyes up, hidden behind the curtain of golden hair. That’s when she saw him: A man trimmed with gold, a watch and ring, and his clothes didn’t look like they were sourced from a dumpster. Good signs. The distance between them closed. He had just stepped from a taxi, which meant wherever he was heading, he was close. Only one shot at this, make it count.

Just as he came within arm’s reach, another man, not so stocky but tall came from out of nowhere and blundered into the middle-class mark, causing him to tumble into Yuki. His arm smacked into Yuki’s chest where she feigned innocence, grabbing his arm to not fall. What he was unaware of though was the young girl’s true intent. She slipped his ring off in the heat of the moment, slyly shifting it into her jacket pocket. The man is too disoriented to notice.

“Ey, watch where you’re going, retard.” He voices his complaint and adjusts his hat after that scuffle, the tall boy carries on like nothing happened, his face hidden by the huge blue scarf wrapped around his neck. Yuki merely apologizes for bumping into him and heads off. Not more than a second later, she’s mixed into the crowd, behind her the familiar voice echoes through the commute of people. “Get back here bitch! I know you took my ring!” When he looks for her, the girl is just a ghost. Dust in the wind.