Tom K. —“The Price of Freedom”

Today, as Tom wandered the streets looking for something to eat, he noticed a girl walking along, absorbed in a book. She was carrying a backpack, which made him think she was probably on her way to school.

Curiously, he quickened his pace until he was standing next to her.

—“Do you go to school?” Tom asked, casually breaking the silence.

The girl looked up from her book, somewhat surprised, but answered naturally:

—“Yes, why?”

Tom hesitated for a moment before muttering:

—“Do you know how I could go too?”

Tom had spent his entire life in an orphanage, a place where he was forced to work tirelessly and denied basic necessities like food and toiletries. To top it all off, brutal beatings were a constant routine.

One night, taking advantage of a moment of carelessness, he managed to escape. Without a home or family to welcome him in the outside world, he ended up surviving on the streets alongside vagrants and other outcasts.

Although life on the streets was hard, there was one thing Tom wanted desperately: to go to school. He'd never had the chance to learn to read or write, but he dreamed of doing so one day.