Romani

Liam looked down at the money notes in his hand, his brown eyes still wide with shock. Although it had been quite a few days since the mysterious noblewoman had given him so much money for his supposed “magic trick”, he had not managed to get over the event. Such an act of kindness was incredibly foreign to him. He figured that it may have been an English custom or something, as he had deduced quite quickly that the woman had not been a French native. The one statement she had said in French had pronunciation so poor that Liam had to hold back his laughter.

His teeth latched onto his bottom lip as he snapped out of his thoughts and was brought back to reality. He was sitting with his siblings, all five of them, who were chattering and laughing amongst themselves. He hated how poor they looked, with their tattered clothes and stomachs concave with hunger. He could change that for about three weeks with the money the stranger had given him, but he was hesitant to hand over the money to his parents.

It would help, of course. And when he’d run home from his station after receiving the money, he’d been incredibly excited to throw the money at them and let them bask in the temporary riches. But the closer he got to his place of residence, the bigger the nervous knot in his stomach grew. What if they questioned where the money had come from? He’d never brought home so much money before, and they might jump to the conclusion that he’d managed to get a job in the city or something similar, which would cost hostility. After all, his father had been trying for years to get a real job, trying to hide the fact that he was merely a gypsy man, but it had been fruitless. The employers always managed to realize the truth.

Liam knew he should stop being selfish and give the money. The woman had been kind of enough to give him a large tip on top of the money she would have lost, and maybe that made her naïve, but he appreciated it. He’d tried a couple of times to look for her in the city, but she was nowhere to be found. The pessimistic part of him believed that she had returned home, that she was just on holiday, but he could not make himself give up hope.

“Li Li,” Liam’s youngest sister, Anna, exclaimed. “Do you think that you can get a chocolate in town today? We could all share it.”

“What a nice treat that would be!” Jenna, the sister just older than Anna, agreed. “Liam, please do try.”

Liam got to his feet and nodded. “If I get enough money today, I’ll do what I can.”

The second the message left his mouth, he disappeared out the door, slinging his homemade bag over his shoulder and stuffing the bills further into his pocket. With the new challenge presented, he felt his stomach drop. Should he use the money to buy all the kids chocolates, pretending that he’d magically made enough money during the day to give them all sweets? Or should it go toward something else?

He shook his head and decided to do the clear-headed thing: he’d get his siblings chocolates if he managed to make enough money solely in that day, and no one would get suspicious. And later that night, after the children had retired to their beds, he would give the money to his parents and tell them the truth if they inquired as to its origin. There was no reason to sneak around. It was immature, and that was something Liam prided himself on not being.

Once Liam got to a new spot in the city, one that he rarely visited because it was more in the open than he was used to, he unpacked his bag and readied his materials. As the people passed by, he called out to them, wanting desperately for someone to stop and fall under his spell. He needed them to furrow their brows in concentration and, later, frustration as they struggled to figure out why they couldn’t follow the cups properly.

But no one came. No one even glanced in his direction, their noses turned up like they were afraid that if they so much as rested eyes upon him, they would lose all their wealth and land and become a beggar like him.

After a few hours of sitting in the same position, his legs and knees and hips starting to ache in agitation, he saw the woman he’d been searching for since her generous donation. Her dark curls fell perfectly about her shoulders, her dress the perfect length for her relatively tall frame and pressed to perfection. She carried a grace with her that showed she was of an aristocratic class, yet she had no pride about her countenance that would turn off people of any social standing, no matter how poor.

She didn’t seem to notice her when she passed. Not until Liam yelled, in English, “Hello, miss!”

She turned to him, her wide set eyes curious until she saw me. Her mouth turned up subtly in the corners as she expressed, “Well, hello again. Still performing the same trick, I see?”

Liam swallowed. He wanted to answer without making it sound like he wanted to beg her for money, but the best thing he could conjure up in his mind was, “I must make the money for my family. I have no other options.”

A shadow of sadness passed her face as she nodded in understanding. “I do believe that I didn’t catch your name the last time we met. I’m Nadya.”

Liam’s eyebrows perked up in confusion. First, it was custom for people to introduce themselves by their family name, not their given name. The fact that she'd broken the tradition made the energy between them much more casual and relaxed. On top of that, Nadya was a classic gypsy name. How was it possible that a girl from England could be called such a thing. “I hate to ask,” he started, feeling a light blush sweep across the apples of his cheeks, “but is it possible you’re a gypsy? Or perhaps your parents are?”

Her features twisted in confusion, but not distaste or disdain like Liam would have guessed. “No, of course not. My father is a wealthy man in England. We have no ties to any sort of gypsy organization.”

He nodded, not wanting to push the subject. “Please forgive my questioning. Your name is just quite common throughout my people. I’m called Liam among my family, and I am a gypsy.”

Her expression did not change in the slightest, which alerted Liam to the knowledge that she had already figured out that very fact. “Tell me, Liam,” she continued conversationally, completely ignoring the people who were beginning to stare at the pair with disgust, “how large is the family that you work to support?”

Liam shifted his seated position, wondering if he should stand up, or if she would be threatened by the change. “I have five brothers and sisters,” he replied. “And my parents are unable to work. My mother is quite sickly and catches things that most of us fight off with ease, so she spends most of her days in bed. My father has tried to find work, but no one will hire him because he is a gypsy. So I must do what I do to make sure my family is somewhat taken care of.”

Nadya seemed to be almost hurt by the news, her blue eyes taking on a kind of glassy look as she fought back the bit of emotion that threatened to take over. “I’m sorry to hear that. So you are unmarried?”

“As of yet,” he admitted embarrassedly. “Not many women flock around a poor gypsy man.”

Nadya, without saying another word, reached into her bag and handed over a few more notes. Liam almost refused the handout, but the look on her face showed that she would not take no for an answer.

So he took the notes in his hands, trying not to look at just how much she’d given him. “Thank you very much,” he replied, his accent growing thicker as his focus shifted from the conversation to the things he could buy with the money in his hands.

Instead of saying that he was welcome, which would be the expected answer, she merely smiled and said, “I hope we meet again.”

And with that, she was carried away by the crowd, leaving Liam to gaze after her in awe.