Six Of Foxes (Six Foxes)

Ken 2's

Ken was only nine years old at the time, still missing his father and afraid of leaving the only home he knew. She held her brother tightly together as they traveled for miles through the fragrant countryside of the hills, until they arrive at one of the main waterways and board a large boat that transports produce to Moontown.

    "When it gets there, how will it go?" ask him to Keiko.

    "I will find a job as a courier in Bursa, then become a clerk. I would save up to buy shares and then become a real merchant. That way, I'll be a rich man."

    "I how?"

    "You have to go to school."

    "Why don't you go to school?"

    Keiko grunted instead. "I'm too old for school. Too smart, anyway."

    His father used to take them every week or two once a week there, he said that there are a lot of money markets or trades that are suitable for easy work but produce. However, many people fool. And what Ken misses most is the uncle who often gives him brown brownies.

     The first days in the city were exactly what Keiko had promised. They walked along a curved road along the harbor known as the Ret area, then down the Eastern Kharfa to look at the casino. They dodged too far south, because they were warning that there were some dangerous gangs there. They rented a room in a neat little dormitory not far from Bursa and tasted every new food they saw, had also cooked bonbon candy to the extent Ken's stomach. Ken likes omelette kiosks where people can choose to want any extra material.

    Every morning, Keiko goes to Bursa to find work and tells Ken to stay in the room. Young children should not wander alone in Moontown because they are not safe. There are many thieves, pecopet, even kidnap small children and willing to sell to the highest bidder. So, Ken just stayed in the room. He climbed into the chair he pushed into the sink so he could see himself in the mirror while trying to remove coins, just like the magician in action at one of the casinos. Ken wants to watch the magician for hours, but he is dragged away by Keiko. The card trick is fun, but what makes him unable to sleep is the coin that disappears. A moment the coin existed, but the next moment had already vanished.

    Keiko came home hungry and irritated, frustrated to go through another day for nothing. "They say there's no work, but they mean there's no work for boys like me. Everyone there has a connection-cousin or brother or son of the friend of the guy."

    Ken doesn't want to comfort Keiko. He himself was fussy after hours in a cold room with coins and cards. He wants to go to Eastern Kharfa to find the magician.

    Years later, Ken always wondered what would have happened if Keiko had not served him, had they gone to the harbor to look around the boat, or if they walk along the other side of the canal. Ken wanted to believe that his other actions would have other consequences, the older he got, the more he worried.

    They passed by the lively green Zold Palace and, boy was selling small dogs that could be moved with bronze keys. As soon as the key was turned, his legs were fluttering forward, while his tin ears were flapping. Ken squatted down, turned all the keys so that all the dogs moved together, while Keiko chatted with the seller. It turns out that the boy is from Lij, not far from where Ken and Keiko grew up, and he knows a man who opens job openings for couriers-not in Bursa, but, play an office on that street. Keiko should come tomorrow morning, he said, and the boy will accompany her to speak to the employer. He himself hoped to be coerced as a courier as well.

    On the way home, Keiko buys a hot chocolate drink for Ken and himself. Unlike usual, they do not need to share.

    "Our luck is improving," Keiko said as they held onto their respective cups billowing steam, their feet twitching over the small bridge, the lights of Kharfa flicker on the water. Ken looked at their reflection on the surface of the canal and thought, I now feel lucky.

    The boy who sold the toy dog was Filip, while the man he knew was Aang Bartholo, a minor salesman who owned a small coffee shop near Bursa.

    "Let's look over there" Keiko bragged to Ken upon arrival at their residence late that night. "People come there all the time, talking and exchanging news, buying and selling stocks, but they are ordinary butchers and bakers and yard workers. Mister Bartholo said, Everyone can be rich. All he needs is luck and the right friend."

    Keiko and Filip begin work delivering and delivering Bursa orders, Ken is allowed to sit in the coffee shop and generously gives Ken as much hot chocolate as he can afford to drink. They were invited to Mister Bartholo's house for dinner, a luxurious blue door and low-white curtained dwelling in the window. Mister Bartholo was a large, friendly-faced reddish man, and branched-gray swath. His wife Magit pinched Ken's cheek and gave him a smoked sausage, and he could play in the kitchen with their daughter, Diana. Diana was ten years old and, according to Ken was the most beautiful daughter she had ever seen. It was then that Ken felt happiest since his father died. Mister Bartholo even allowed Keiko to plant a little money to buy shares of the company. Keiko wanted to invest more, but Mister Bartholo always advised her to be careful. "Slow down, kid. Slow down."

    The situation improved when Mister Bartholo's friend came home from Ru Kraine, apparently having a trip with sugar farmers in the port of Riverdale. The drunk farmer complained because his fields were flooded. Right now the price of sugar is very low, but when sugar is hard to come by, the price will soar. Mister Bartholo's friend intended to buy as much sugar as possible before the news broke into Moontown.

    "The message is like cheating" Ken told Keiko.

    "Not cheating," snorted Keiko. "That's a good business tactic. After all, how could anyone possibly progress in this world without a little help?"

    A few days later, Mister Bartholo got word from his friend about the arta harvest. "Rain is troubling people this year" said Mister Bartholo. "But this time, it was destroyed not only the fields, but the warehouses in the port of Rem. Fortunately it can be a lot and I intend to place a big bet."

    "In that case, we better be too" Filip said.

    Mister Bartholo frowned. "I'm afraid this isn't right for you, son. The minimum investment value is still too high for both of you. But, sometime there will be another trade opportunity!"

    Filip windy. The young man yelled at Mister Bartholo, saying that he was unfair. Philip interjects that Mister Bartholo is tantamount to the merchants of Bursa, who hoard their own wealth, and names Mister Bartholo with nicknames that keep Ken in a sniff. The three young men came out grumbling, everyone in the coffee shop looked at Mister Bartholo's embarrassed face.

    The merchant then walked into his office and slumped in the chair. "I can't change this business. Stock traders only want big investors, people who are willing to take big risks."

    Keiko and Ken stood there, misbehaving.

    Of course not, they convinced him. The one who is unfair is Filip.

    "I understand his anger" said Mister Bartholo. "Opportunities like this don't come twice, but we can't do anything."

    "I have money" Keiko said.

    Mister Bartholo smiled consolingly. " Keiko, you're a good girl, no doubt, you're going to be the queen of Bursa, but you don't have enough money to invest in this business."

    Keiko's chin lifted. "I have. From the sale of my father's farm."

    "The money I'm guessing is your life and Ken's. The money should not be wagered on stock trading, even if that is said to be a profit. A kid your age doesn't deserve--"

    "I'm not a kid, if there's a good chance, I'll take it."

    Ken always remembers that moment, when he saw greed taking over the older brother, driving Keiko forward with his invisible hand, cranking up his greed.

    Mister Bartholo again invited them to his house and conferred until late at night. Ken fell asleep in the lap of the silvery dog's belly while gripping Diana's red ribbon. When Ken was awakened by Keiko, the candles were short and the day began to morning. Mister Bartholo has asked his business partner and made Keiko a loan contract. Being a minor, Mister Bartholo lent him money and Keiko's money would be invested in him. Then they all walked to the bank that kept the proceeds from the sale of the farm and there, Keiko signed a signature to give up the funds to Mister Bartholo.

    Mister Bartholo insisted on escorting them all the way to his rented hostel and hugging them at the door. He handed over the loans to Keiko to secure it. "Well Keiko," he said, "it's a small chance that this trade will lose money, but even if it's small, it's unlikely. Do not use this document to collect loans. We have to take this risk together. I believe in you."

    Keiko looked at the man with a sparkling face. "A deal is agreed," he said.

    "A deal was agreed," Mister Bartholo said proudly, then they shook hands like genuine merchants. Mister Bartholo gave Keiko a thick roll of cairo. "Celebrate with good food. Go back to the coffee shop in a week. Later we can watch the price increase together."

    That week they were playing around in the Ret arcade. They bought a nice new coat for Keiko and a new pair of shoes for Ken. They eat waffles and french fries, while Keiko buys all the novels she craves. After a week, they walked to the coffee shop.

    The shop is empty. The front door is locked and locked. They glued their faces to the dark window and saw that everything was gone - chairs, tables, whiteboards where daily trading values were justified.

    "Are we taking a wrong turn?" ask Ken.

    But they know they are not going the wrong way. Gripped unrest. They headed to Mister Bartholo's house in silence.  They knocked on the bright blue door, no one answered.

    "They must have been out for a while" Keiko said. They waited on the steps of the house for hours, until the sun almost set. No one comes in and out. From the window, there was no candle lit.

    Finally, Keiko ventured to knock on the door of the household. "Yes?" said the waiter in white who opened the door.

    "Do you know which family lives next door? The Bartholo family?"

    The waiter furrowed his brows. "I know they're people, Zierfroot. They're just a temporary layover."

    "No," said Keiko. "They've lived here for years. They--"

    The waiter nodded. "The house next door has been empty for years, and it was just rented a few weeks ago."

    "But--"

    The waiter again closed the door in Keiko's face.

    Ken and Keiko said nothing to each other on the way home or when they climbed the stairs to their tiny dorm room. Then they sat in the dimness. The voices drifted into their ears from the canal below while the people were busy at night.

    "Surely something happened to them" Keiko said. "Attempt or emergency. He'll be right away courting us. He's gonna call us."

    That night, Ken took Diana's red ribbon from behind his pillow. He rolled up the ribbon to form a neat spiral, which he then clutched in his palm. Ken lay down on the bed and tried to pray, but all he thought about was the magician's coin: one that was still there for a moment, but then vanished without a second.