Ali is

a young

One day, Ali woke up to his mother's voice, saying to him in a trembling voice:

-Ali, there is no more bread in the house... Go to the market and buy us some with the remaining coins.

Ali took the few coins and left quickly. The sun was scorching hot, and the road was long, but he didn't care. He was dreaming of the loaf of bread that would make his mother and sick father happy.

Upon arriving at the bakery, he found a long line, so he stood waiting patiently. But when it was his turn, the coins fell from his hand to the floor and rolled away before he could grab them. He quickly bent down to collect them, but a thick foot crushed them before he could reach them.

He raised his head and saw a huge man looking at him indifferently. Then he pushed him with his shoulder and said to him coldly:

-Go away, little one, I don't have time for children's games!

Ali stood in amazement as he watched the man take his place in line and buy bread. He tried to speak, to object, but his words were choked by his tears. There was no one to defend him, no one to care about a poor child who had lost his pennies.

He looked at the bread the man was holding in his hands, and felt very hungry, but what burned him more than hunger was his sense of helplessness.

He left the bakery confused, walked slowly down the street, thinking:

What will I tell my mother? How will I return without bread?

In a moment of despair, he found himself standing in front of another bakery, but this time he didn't stand in line. Instead, he stood watching the baker place the fresh loaves on the table, the aroma of warm bread filling his nostrils.

He looked around, no one was watching him. His heart was pounding, and his mind was wrestling with a thought he had never thought of before…

“What if I take one loaf? Just one… no one will notice!”

His trembling hand reached out, and before he knew it, the loaf was in his hand. He ran quickly, not knowing where to go, just wanting to escape. But suddenly, he heard a screaming voice behind him:

-You thief! Catch him!

He turned around and saw a man running towards him, and people staring at him with disgust. He didn't think twice, he just kept running as fast as he could, but suddenly, he felt a strong hand grab his arm, and everything stopped.

He looked at the man who had caught him. It was a policeman, looking at him angrily. He asked him sharply:

-Why did you steal? Don't you fear God?

But Ali did not answer. He just looked at the loaf of bread in his hand, then looked at the policeman, and said in a trembling voice:

-I wanted to feed my mom and dad…

There was silence for a few moments, then the policeman loosened his grip, looked at the people around him, and said in a calm voice:

-Go, son... and don't steal again.

Ali hesitated for a moment, but then he saw a look in the policeman's eyes that he didn't quite understand... It wasn't a look of anger, but something else, perhaps pity, perhaps sadness... Then he quickly turned around and ran towards the house, hugging the loaf tightly.

When he reached his mother, he fell into her arms and began to cry. But she didn't ask him anything. She just stroked his head tenderly and said in a loving voice:

-It's okay, son...it's okay.