He's The Unaffordable
Chapter 1 - The thief

*Mila*

“Stolen!! Hurry up and chase him! He stole my wallet!”

I ran with all my might from the pursuit of many people. My little legs did not run over the feet of the adults, but I kept trying. I don't know why they're pointing at me and chasing me. All I did from earlier was pick up the leftovers that people threw away. I'm not stealing.

Seeing a suitable place to hide, I immediately lowered my body and made my body as small as possible. My heart was pounding very fast hearing the footsteps that passed me. There were so many people running up to the ground that I was shaking. I held my breath so no one could hear me.

When no more footsteps were heard, I raised my head. I peeked out of my hiding place, there were no more people looking for me. My stomach suddenly sounded. I haven't had a chance to eat, but the food I gathered just now has fallen.

I had to walk home. In order not to meet them, I chose another path. I passed where the big ship docked. Mother said, we will go on that ship someday. But Mom and Dad were already sleeping long in the ground, we couldn't go on a boat ride.

A woman ran up to me while shouting a word I could not understand. Seeing her blond hair, I immediately ran away. Mom said I should avoid seeing blondes and blue-eyed girls like me. So, I immediately ran away and looked for a hiding place.

I'm so tired I can't run like this anymore. Fortunately I found a suitable place and they kept running past me. Once it was safe, I ran home as fast as I could. Afraid that if I go looking for food, I'll be accused of stealing again.

I am the only one living in this empty house. Mom and Dad never accompanied me to play and always left me alone. I was also forbidden to go out to play with the other children. I don't miss my mom and dad because they love me, but I miss them to feed me.

The crowd came to this house the last time was when Father and Mother were buried. As soon as they got home, I was alone at home. No one cooked for me, no one talked to me, until I went hungry and checked what I could eat in the kitchen. But there's nothing. Only the tableware and cooking utensils that had been neatly cleaned the crowd had ever come to the house. The one who doesn't come anymore.

Hungry, I look for food from anywhere. The trash can is not my place because stray dogs have mastered it first. I was lucky several times to be able to eat the leftover rice that was on the plate that people left at the food stall. But I will be beaten if caught by the shop owner.

Learning from experience, I often roam the market because they like to throw rotten fruit into the street. Bananas, oranges, and mangoes are easy to clean because the peel can be removed. But for apples and grapes, I must immediately take them from the ground before they are stepped on.

No matter how far I go, I always go home and sleep there every night alone. But my suffering ended when an old mother saw my situation and fed me. He also cleaned my body and changed my clothes which had started to be small. He invited me to live together at his house.

Every day he took me to a big building where there were a lot of people pacing around. I was asked to sit in one corner of the kitchen while she was at work. He doesn't like me hanging around that place because people like to talk to me. They were surprised to see me as different from most people. My hair is blond and my eyes are blue.

Just a moment with her, the mother was also lying on the floor just like Father and Mother. Many people came to his house. They cried, sang, and talked until the mother was put to the ground. When I grew up, I understood that it was a sign that they were dead, away from this world.

I still often come to the old mother's place of work because there is a lot of food there. Until there was a little girl who greeted me and we played together. She also has the same hair color as me, but her eyes are different. People say it's brown.

He then became my sister. His parents liked me and raised me to be their son. The process was quite long because they were strangers and my parents turned out to have no identification whatsoever that had anything to do with me. Even on their family card, my name wasn't listed there.

When they took me away from that place, I had a second name. Mila remains my first name and they added Foster, their surname. My family-name. We lived together in a simple house away from Mom and Dad. I went to school, met and played with a lot of friends. I'm very happy.

After living with them, I was neither hungry, cold, nor alone anymore. Dad and Mom loved me, and so did my sister. People don't think I'm weird either, because I have a brother who looks like me.

“What do Papa and Mama believe in me now? He is an ungrateful child. After he has lived with us, lived well, his nature has not changed. Trust me, Pa, Ma. The report he showed you was not his hard work. It's all the result of cheating. Papa and Mama can ask their classmates.” My sister's accusations continue. He spoke English and I understood it well.

“His diligent attitude at home is also just pretending. Whenever Mom and Dad were not home, she would sit, eat, and watch all day. He also often invites his friends to come here and spend all the food in our house.

“I even watched myself she started flirt with men. Papa and Mama please ask her friends, they've seen her kiss with a young man in her class. If not for being caught off guard, I don't know how far they'd be together in the room,” my sister said in a fiery voice.

“Papa and Mama should do something. I can be ashamed if my friends see more of his bad behavior!” This time he was sobbing. Mom hugged him, Dad too. I could only stand looking at the three of them, one family, slowly taking me out of their circle of affection.

They did not report me to the police that day, but the accusation of the thief stuck firmly in my mind. People who were originally in love with me, hurt me in ways I never thought possible. I wasn't even given a chance to defend myself.

As soon as I finish SMU, I say goodbye. I've had enough unfair treatment at their home. I have a diploma in hand, other personal documents that they have taken care of I have brought, I am ready to live independently. I only brought makeshift clothes so I wouldn't be accused of stealing. With one suitcase, one backpack, shoes and a jacket I was wearing, I prepared to leave the house.

“But, Mila, where will you stay?” ask Mom who is worried about me.

“Mama don't have to worry about that. I'm sure there are many of his male friends ready to give you a place to stay.” He kicked my suitcase. “Open. I want to see if you secretly steal my clothes or Mama.” jewelry

“Honey, if you lose one or two clothes, we will buy them again for you,” Mom said. “Let him go peacefully without any more fuss.”

“No, Ma. I have a lot of sponsor clothes that I have to return to within a certain period of time. The clothes are not cheap, Mama or Papa will not be able to pay for it.” He kicked my suitcase back. “What are you waiting for? Quickly open!”

“You have hands. If you so believe I have stolen your clothes or your jewelry, just open it yourself,” I said, tired of succumbing to it.

He kicked the suitcase to sleep, then opened it violently. Of course he had no intention of checking properly, he threw all the contents in the suitcase into every corner of the room. I looked at Dad and Mom who just kept quiet looking at their daughter's behavior. At that moment, I realized. I was never a princess to them. I'm just the kid they picked up from the hotel where they were on family vacation.

I tidied up every dress that was made in such a mess. If only I could, I'd love to pile those clothes in my suitcase. But all the clothes will not fit into the suitcase if it is not neatly folded. Just wasting my time.

The wicked girl deliberately stood in front of me, enjoying me kneeling before her. I wasn't angry with him, I felt sorry. He had to act this low just to prove that he was better than me.

“Hey, don't forget. You have to pay for all the money my parents spent on you during your stay here. You have dared to steal, so you have to pay all your living expenses in exchange for us not reporting you to the police,” the girl said after I left. It was the most painful attack he had ever uttered.

“I didn't steal .. ah, that's it. Ma'am? Pa?” The two of them just kept quiet, not saying anything regarding the cruel sentence their daughter said. “Good. Your silent attitude I consider as you agree I have to pay the debt to this family. Please count and tell me the number. I will definitely pay every penny with keel.”

“If you can't pay?” challenge the girl I once loved as my own sister.

“What if I can pay?” I challenged him back.