NovelEnglish"Miss! Miss! I'm so sorry!" The little girl apologized meekly.
Elisa stopped and looked down at the girl.
She was all skin and bones. Her eyes were wide with panic and fear.
The girl's hand clenched tightly behind her back.
However, Elisa continued to browse the medicinal herbs on display.
The market was bustling with people, and the sound of people shouting their wares and haggling filled the air. Elisa had already forgotten about bumping into the little girl from earlier. After paying for her items, she glanced at Gareth, indicating for them to leave.
But they were blocked in.
"Excuse me. Please let us through.” Elisa said to the middle-aged man standing in the center.
But he was more focused on what was happening outside and completely ignored them.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtRealizing the man would not move, Gareth led Elisa past him, pushing a path through the crowd.
The crowd surrounded the little girl who had bumped into Elisa earlier! The girl looked emasculated, as if she hadn't had a good meal in a while. She was so pale. Her eyes looked like wide orbs filled with fear in her little face.
Across from her stood a middle-aged man in ssort of work uniform. He looked to be around his mid-forties.
Catching her attention, Elisa stopped to watch.
"What are you all looking at? He's just disciplining the child!" A woman called out with impatience.
"Is that so?" Someone else piped up.
The woman had seen the waiter catching the girl stealing. She yelled back, "That girl's a thief! Of all things to learn! I can't believe she's learned to steal at such a young age. Someone needs to teach her a lesson!" "I can't believe what I'm hearing!" The other woman cried out. She spun around and stalked off.
Elisa looked the child up and down. The girl's skin was mottled with cuts and bruises.
She looked like she had just been beaten.
Devoid of empathy, the man wrapped a hand around the girl's neck in an iron grip.
"Please..." She whimpered.
Her pupils dilated with fear. Her eyes looked left and right, desperately seeking help from anyone in the crowd.
Her eyes met Elisa's compassionate gaze.
The girl's eyes brightened with hope.
Elisa's chest tightened. She looked away.
She couldn't bear seeing a child treated this way.
Violence should never be the answer even if she had made a mistake.
The man was strangling her! What if he killed her? Her family would be devastated.
No! Her conscience would not allow her to let this happen.
Elisa dropped her newly bought herbs and ran towards them.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmThe man squeezed the girl's neck, and the color drained from her face.
"Let go of her!" Elisa shouted.
The man stopped and glared at her. "Is she yours?" "She's not." Elisa did not hesitate to bark back. She reached forwards to pull the girl out of his grasp.
"Then mind your own business. I'm going to flog this little thief within an inch of her life if it's the last thing | do.” The man snarled.
The girl's eyes shone with hope. She parted her lips as if to say something.
She mouthed something to Elisa as if pleading with Elisa to save her.
"If you do not let go of her right now, I'm calling the police." Elisa reached into her pocket for her phone.
This only enraged the man.
He stalked menacingly toward Elisa.
But Gareth grabbed his hand before he could reach Elisa.
There was a snapping sound.
The man squealed like a pig led to slaughter. He was in so much pain that he flung the girl aside.
The girl fell onto the ground face first. She coughed violently, spitting out blood.
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