It's been too long since I updated this and I apologize to any regular readers for that. If you are new to this blog I suggest you go back to the oldest post and work your way forward. On with the story:

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Pelu sat in the dirty back alley, protected from the pressing crowd by a vendor's cart. Under the bottom of it he could see the constant motion of legs as people passed by the cart. Occasionally, a pair of legs would stop and he could see a face as someone talked to the vendor and haggled over the price of produce. He watched as nine different faces appeared, hovered for a while, and disappeared again. As Pelu kept waiting for Jacob to return he began to think of the home he had left. The people there would never believe that a place like this bazaar even existed. They valued their open spaces and freedom to move around more than they valued life. Pelu had always thought he was different than the people he had grown up with but he realized that just growing up with them had instilled him with many of the same values.

Pelu's reverie was broken by the sound of footsteps in the side alley. He looked up expectantly and was relieved to see Jacob's face looking back down at him. Jacob now held a brown parcel under one arm and was eating an apple with the other hand. As he finished the apple, he tossed the core over Pelu's head and into the pile of filth that sat behind him. "Ready to go?" he asked. Pelu slowly climbed to his feet and set his most determined look on his face. "Yes", he replied, "just don't go so fast this time." "Don't worry" Jacob said. "I'll lead you through it this time." With that, Jacob grabbed Pelu's arm and slowly led him back into the crowd of people.