My name is Emily Lavender and I''m 4 years old. I was born on 16 June 1847 in London. My life as a poor little girl had started after my mother passed away when I turned 4. I was about to give up my life and lived in heaven together with my poor mother, but I had succeeded in my life. I never knew who my father was because my mother had always skipped this question and told me to behave properly.


    I was wandering in the crowded town of London offering myself to the crowds. The city was busier with the noises of the steam engines hisses and coaches beating on the roads. The sky was dark and grey as if the day could rain soon even though it was summer. I was very dirty after sweeping a chimney in the River''s house and my elbows and knees hurt so much.


    I was so hungry at the time, I''d no money to buy even a single food. Then I saw a black coach passing by the bakery shop. The unbearable smell of the bread had made my little tummy begged and influenced me to be a naughty girl. I decided to steal one of his warm bread.


    I tailed a tall man with black coat and tall black hat on his head and had side hair like whiskers silently without him noticing me. I hid myself behind him as he opened the door of the bakery shop. I dispersed myself away from him and started to steal two breads.


    "A thief!!" Shouted the shop owner.


    The tall man hurriedly turned back and saw me holding two breadsticks in my hand. I got out of the shop hurriedly and the bakery man was chasing me while holding a wooden rolling pin in his hand. My legs were hurt and very painful but I kept running till I finally fell.


    The shop owner caught me in his hand and hit me badly till I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I realized the two breads that I stole before. They were still in my hand but I was located in a dirty place full of slimes and trashes. I was glad that I would be able to eat for that day then I saw a small brown torn paper with ''I''d paid it for you...'' written on it. The tall man was in my thought and I hope I could see him again and thanked him properly soon.


    I saw bandages on my knees and my elbows. Probably the man did this to me, I thought. He was very kind to me because he thought of me of no burden at all. I had never seen such a nice man in my life.


    Later, the sun had totally set and the sky grew darker and the sound of the BigBen Tower tolling could still be heard from such distant places.


    I wandered around again and find my way back to the Thames riverbank cause I was very used to sleeping there. I was very tired after walking for more than an hour and lost in the middle of the noisy city.


    I found a dark place where there were less people using that route. I slept there for a moment while waiting for the day to turn bright again.


    The next day, it had been a week since mother had passed away. I wandered around London again and advertised myself to get a job. I was about to work at coal mining but women and children were banned from working there since 1842, so I''d no job for now.


    I used a tin can and begged for money from people passing the road but nobody had the heart to willingly give me even a single penny. My injuries still hurt and I was very weak to walk so I rested in front of a tailor shop. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The shop owner then saw me and immediately ordered me to leave that place alone. I begged for a penny from her but she threw dirty food wastes on me.


    “Get lost you dirty maggot rat!” she shouted and slammed the door on my face.


    I felt very weak at that time. I stared at the sky as it reached noon but the clouds were grey and dark. Nobody was kind and everyone were devils from hell who masked as humans. Humans were very vile and vicious especially the rich, they enjoyed a wealthy life but they were wicked and coward! They always treated the poor like slaves and always acknowledged them as filthy!


    I finally reached Thame River and saw a boatman stealing valuable things from a dead body. This kind of thing was very often to happen, dead bodies were found in the river by the boatmen then stole and sold the valuable things they got from them.


    I sat against the fence of the Thames River and rested myself. Coaches passing by the road had awakened me from my sleep. Then I saw a black cat walking towards me and meowing. She had shiny and silky fur and I saw an expensive material was used to make a collar for the cat. The owner ought to be rich, I thought.


    I patted her head then she stayed beside me until the day had broken. I called her Emerald because of her shining Emerald coloured eyes.


    At night, I couldn’t bear the coldness of the night breezes that I hugged Emerald tightly because I only had her to warm up myself. I shivered a lot then suddenly remembered mother’s sweet voice singing a sad and lovely lullaby about an orphan who died of her miserable life. I was so tired that I slept soundly against the fence.


    Suddenly I woke up as Emerald disturbed my sleep. She went away so I followed her.


    “Where you going?” I asked again.


    She could bring me away for more than a mile, I thought. She didn’t stop so I followed her to every corner she went. She finally stopped by a house. I caught her in my hand then suddenly a fat and old woman opened the door throwing another dirty young boy like me out of her house. He looked hurt and badly beaten.


    “Naughty boy deserves punishment!” the fat lady scolded the boy, “you are lucky to be free! But if you are with the other master, I guarantee you will be sentenced to jail!!” She slammed the door harshly.


    The boy’s hands and legs were badly wounded and were bleeding. Some part of his face were swollen and his other eye was dark like pandas''. Then Emerald went closer to the boy and made herself comfortable with him.


    “Sorry Aurora, I couldn’t make it today but I got 2 pennies,” the boy told Emerald.


    “Emerald’s yours?” I asked, trying to be friendly with him.


    He watched me from head to toe with his swelling eye, “what’s Emerald?”


    “The cat, I just became a friend to her,”


    “Aurora is my friend. What’s your business?” staring at me again then his bulb light up, “ahh, you''re the pudding-slammer girl! What a coincidence of meeting you here.” He stood up slowly.


    I grabbed his hand and helped him to stand properly, “you shouldn’t call me that, doddy!”


    He rubbed his palms against his ragged dirty green shirt, “you’re a better foolish then I am or should I call you, Strut Noddy,”


    “Am not!” I crossed my hand.


    I realised that he had better English and his accent was incredible but he was just a poor dirty boy like me! Only rich children got a high chance of going to school.


    “Are you posh?” I asked him.


    “What if your suggestions are wrong, young girl?”


    “Well, your cat look fancy and your English is better,”


    “I went to school,”


    "Why you wander around bugging others? Aren’t you lucky to be rich?”


    The boy turned silent for a moment, then he began to speak, “rich without proper love won’t make your life happy, but miserable. You better stayed at your position, girl.”


    The boy lent me one of his pennies then left the area. I looked at him until I couldn’t see any more of his figure walking in the dark. I went back to the Thames river and stared at the boatmen picking up trash floating on the surface of the water. I felt lonely again.