she fought against the crowd to no avail. she always got pushed and shoved to the back. the little girl squeezed, shouted and wriggled back through the small holes in the crowd, clutching the little red bucket close to her chest as if her life depended on it.

'excuse me!!' she shouted in her native language.

the crown suddenly rushed back, but she fought against it and soon got to the front. the delighted child tipped on her very toes, stretching her arm as hard as she could, dipping the coconut shell into big, silver pot.

she scraped air.

her eyes widened as she stared back at the empty shell. her pulse increasing, she stretched even further and once again tried to at least scoop something out of the tall pot.

nothing.

nothing.

nothing.

it just scraped against the bare bottom of the big pot. tears welled up in her eyes as she slid down and sat on the hot, sandy ground, her skirt riding up to reveal numerous burnt mark and slashes across her skin. she picked up the hem of her skirt and sobbed loudly into it.

'mummy is very good to her children. even if you bring nothing back for her, mummy would still give you something in return...'

"no mummy no,"

the poor little girl cried into her soaking skirt.

"no mummy, please, i'm sorry..."