The mud covering the ground, it touching the fingertips of his hand. He cupped his rusty black hands, that had once been lighter, together as the tears searched for a root to exit but sadly the boy pushed all emotions behind him; it was what he had to do for years. Just push any feelings away. 

Silently he scooped up the brown, muddy water with effort for his nimble, weak muscles meant he had only enough strength to get around each day. He gently let it run through his fingers as his mouth tasted it. Repulsion made him wince, but he had to drink it because what else was there?

Jabari was his name and the meaning it had to it was courageous but Jabari never felt like that because of the tears forming in his mind, wanting to soak his eyes thoroughly. He had only a moment of pure peace before his name ringed the air, disturbing the peaceful silence he had achieved only seconds before.

He heaved his body up and slowly walked to his house made of mud, his bony body showing through his cheap light brown top. 

He nodded at his mother, their eyes adjusting to welcome signals between each other. They rarely talked any more due to the recent death of Jabari's little sister. She had always been his favourite sister out of four because despite her young age of four she was always entertaining the family and helping out. But nobody could stop her body thinning each day, and her eyes red with sleepless nights but most of all she would vomit everyday and afterwards have to continue. That hurt Jabari so much and he and the rest of the family had been silent since, just looking beneath them. They once had faith in a God but that had long gone since the endless hours of suffering that went on each day.

Jabari calmly walked to the market with the spare money he made from selling things his father had made and produced. He rolled his eyes to the noise there was and just handed the money over for dinner, it was going to be rice again. He liked rice and he usually had it for dinner, a few grains were enough to last one dinner time and he savoured every grain. 

He thanked the man with a beam to his face and walked through the streets.

He nodded to his mother as he split them between seven people, usually it was eight so despite the sad loss of his sister he did get a couple of grains more rice which was once good thing at least.

He smiled as he put the last grain in his mouth but soon after that smile faded as he had no more rice to eat and he could tell the rest of his family weren't about to give him some.