A MAZE OF GREED

Days flew by, and the weather had already chilled considerably. Humidity was evident in the air, and it could be experienced in the day time too. But the nights were calm and pleasantly cold. The nights started to feel longer as the sun set down behind the mighty mountains earlier than normal.

The talk of the celebration was not any more the main topic of discussion. But one could hear the occasional mention of it at public places.

Ruth was in her room. It had been many days that she cleaned her small room. There was not much work for her to do as she had not got any orders of sewing dresses from Mr Cooper. The man had a well-known tailoring shop in the Western part. Whenever he had a load of work, he hired Ruth as she was a skilled seamstress. People said that she had magic in her hands.

Her room was in a mess of different coloured pieces of clothes scattered on the floor. Her sewing tools like needles, reels of threads, etc. were out of the box in which she kept them.

She was busy the last couple of weeks completing the pending orders. Now that she could have time to breathe, she decided to clean her room.

She woke up early in the morning, and after getting done with her daily morning business, she skipped breakfast as there was not anything to eat. If she had eaten whatever the little amount of food she had, then she would have to spend the rest of the day with an empty stomach.

She sighed and turned to finish the task in her hands. As she glanced around her small room, her straight brows creased in the middle with distaste. Ruth liked cleanliness. Her mother had made sure to assimilate this character in her since her childhood. Ruth rubbed her wide forehead with her long fingers while thinking from where she should start.

After planning everything in her mind, she started picking up the sewing tools first. It was a task as the tiny needles were scattered here and there. Some of them sewed in the clothes while some were placed near the window. She gathered everything and started keeping it in a large box that was half-filled with needles, blades, reels of threads, hooks, buttons, etc.

Ruth hissed in pain, for the tip of the needle pierced through her finger while keeping it inside the box. A small amount of blood oozed out of the wound. For some moments, Ruth stared at the drop of blood.

It was red. Everyone had the same red blood running through their veins. The god had not discriminated between his children while making them. Then why some humans get more privileges than the rest? Why some of them roll in the heaps of money while some of them couldn't get a single penny after hours of hard work?

Her throat constricted as she got emotional over these thoughts. She looked at her room again. She had worked relentlessly to complete all the orders. Yet, she didn't get enough money in return for all that hard work. The question of the night's meal stood in front of her with crossed hands.

All the money she earned was gone. She had to pay it to the people from whom she had borrowed money in her troubled times. After paying one person, there stood another one to pay. This cycle was never-ending. Sometimes it made Ruth think that she would never get out of this vicious cycle of life.

She exhaled a shaky breath and cleaned the drop of blood on her finger. She put that box aside and started gathering the pieces of clothes that remained after making the dresses. She was almost done with it when the door of her room knocked.

It was rare to have visitors as she had no relatives or friends for that matter. She was friendly with her neighbours and shared decent relations with everyone around. But that didn't mean that they come to visit her often unless they need her aid with something.

Another knock sounded, and Ruth put the clothes in her hands aside. She opened the door to see her landlord's figure standing at her doorstep. The man had a stoic face as he looked down at Ruth's nervous form. As soon as she found that the visitor was no one but her landlord, her round face had worry lines appeared on it. She slowly gulped in nervousness because she knew why he was there.

"Welcome, please come in-" Ruth gathered herself and said after putting a welcoming smile on her face, but the man cut her before she could finish her sentence.

"I don't have time for pleasantries. You know why I am here. Let's get straight to the business." He said impatiently as his bushy eyebrows knotted in the middle of his forehead.

Ruth knew that she had to face this situation no matter how much she avoided it. "Yes. But I would like it if you come and sit inside. Let me give you a glass of water." She said in a polite tone.

She wanted him to come inside the room not only out of courtesy, but she also didn't wish the neighbours to witness what was going to happen. It was a routine. On the fifth day of every month, the landlord came to collect the rent. And it was a rare sight that he left without insulting and creating a scene.

The man's face turned into displeasure, and his stare became hard. "I don't need anything. Just place the amount of rent on my hand." He said impatiently.

Ruth's hand clutched her dress tightly as her brain worked hard to think about what should she tell him now.

"Ms Moore, hurry up. I don't have only this work. I need to be somewhere soon. Don't waste my time." He said in a raised voice as he figured out Ruth's situation by looking at her timid state.

Ruth's eyes roamed around to see if anyone heard his rude words. To her bad luck, a girl named Claire stopped to listen when she was going to take the stairs. Another old couple, Mr and Mrs Payne came out of their room to see what the noise was.. The building had small rooms with thin walls so, a little louder voice was enough to attract attention.