What made you take it?

I was so close. It was right there. I would grab the container and run, that’s all I had to do.

So then why is this so hard? My brain asked me. I couldn’t answer.

“Jimmy, just grab it!” I heard my brother say.

I went back to the side alley where my brother waited. I had to steal a mystery container from the food stand up the street. Or so he said.

“What are you doing back here? Go and steal the mystery food!”

“Why do we have to steal this food though?”

“Because Dad’s in the war, Mom isn’t home, there’s nothing in the fridge and we’re hungry! Couldn’t you figure that out!?” My brother Dan asked me.

“Can’t we just work for food?” I asked him.

“Dude, our currency is inflated. No, excuse me, I mean HYPERinflated. The money dad saved us for college ‘ain’t enough to buy us a pack of gum anymore. Now, steal the darned food and let’s get going!”

“Why can’t you steal it?” I retorted.

“Because I’m younger than you by fourteen minutes, now go, boso!” Dan whisper-shouted, slapping me on the shoulder to make a point.

I sighed mentally. I didn’t know how I was gonna steal a bite to eat without the guy literally running the stand noticing. But I had to, because there were four mouths to feed at home and we couldn’t just live off of water.

I stood in front of the food stand like everyone else. I waited, waited until people started ordering meals.

REAL FOODS was a huge food-selling business made up of food stands that set up about two booths in every city. It was kind of like a rations line, but for people who had money. Nothing was free in my crumbling country. Nothing.

There it was. Right at the edge of the stand. The carton containing food that would last me and my siblings at least ‘till tomorrow. It was a mystery cartoon, but I didn’t care what food was in it. Anything would be good in our condition.

But I couldn’t take it. I had never stolen in my life. Sure, the war had gotten really bad, but is it really worth stealing food?

Then I thought about what my older sister Kibi had said yesterday.

I was walking by our youngest sister Jenny’s room when I had overheard Kibi telling Jenny something I didn’t think she ever would.

“The government is not on our side, Jenny.” Kibi had said. “We don’t know if dad well get home safe, if we’ll lose our house, or if we’ll even… forget it.” Kibi always gets overwhelmed when thinking about the state of things now. Dan did too, but he turned his overwhelmed energy into anger.

“We’ll make it through this.” Jenny said back, and something about the way she said it gave me a layer of hope inside my own body.

“How do you know?” Kibi had asked her.

“Because we’ve survived this far, and what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, after all! ‘Ain't that right Victer?”

“Woof!” our dog barked, and went to sit with Jenny on the window.