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It was late autumn. All the leaves had long since fallen from the trees. Fallen to cover the earth and protect it from all the suffering. The world had become cruel and cold. The people didn't notice how everything had turned gray and dreary. They just watched, looked away.
People's hearts were clouded. They couldn't be happy and happy. Their minds were all about work, money, success, envy, arrogance ...
Society was petrified. Nobody cared about others. Everyone thought of themselves. And if there was a thought about other people, then it was only someone who planned how to harm them.

Nobody noticed the young woman who was sewing tirelessly. She herself forgot the world around her. She only had her work on her mind. The woman, who had almost forgotten that her name was Ariadne, sewed a dress. A dark, elegant dress for a customer. It was a very important assignment because she was going to get a lot of money for it.
Ariadne was not doing well financially. She was poor and lived in the back room of the shop. The business owner only let her live here because Ariadne did a good job. Otherwise she was on her own.
The young woman had no family, friends. She didn't know anything like that. As far as she could remember, she was always alone, alone and abandoned.

Many people in the city had the same fate as Ariadne. Despite work, they were in the deepest poverty. The poor couldn't buy anything and the rich hoarded the money. The economy was pretty bad because of it. If not dead.
This is exactly what the streets looked like. Broken.
There was nothing going on in town. Everything was calm. You couldn't hear any laughter from children playing either. There hasn't been anything like it here for a long time. Silence. It was dead silence that ruled the city.

Ariadne was still absorbed in her craft. At first she did not notice someone entering the shop. "Good afternoon," said a high, arrogant voice. A middle-aged woman entered the small shop and looked around. She wrinkled her nose when she saw Ariadne. The lady took a handkerchief from her purse and held it to her mouth and nose.
Actually, Ariadne was well-groomed. She brushed her blonde hair every day and washed herself as often as possible. For them, water was precious and limited. But her worn clothes made her look even poorer than she was. The seamstress lowered her gaze.

The noble lady began to speak: “I would like to speak to the business owner!” “That is not possible.
"What? That's unheard of! I really want to speak to you. It's important," the woman was upset and looked around the store. But there really seemed to be none other than Ariadne in the house.
The lady turned back to the blonde: "Listen to me.I want you to get her over here right now. Or you won't see any more customers here anytime soon. "
Ariadne didn't know what to say. She also had no idea where the person she was looking for was. "I'm sorry ..." she just mumbled.
The elderly woman disappeared from the shop with her head held high. Ariadne was sure that she would tell everyone that the sewing was bad. The customers would stay away.

A few more days passed, and with each passing day, fewer people came to the business. The owner let Ariadne stay there because the minimal clientele also wanted to be served.
Food was becoming scarce for the young woman. And so she had to grudgingly ask for money in her spare time as a beggar.

Out in the cold, young Ariadne crouched on the main street. With downcast eyes and trembling hands she tried to get some change. Few people were on the street. Nobody paid any attention to the blonde. Everyone was preoccupied with themselves.

At last. A distinguished gentleman put a few coins in Ariadne's half-frozen hand. She thanked them politely and bowed her head.
The seamstress sat there until early evening and all she got was 2 gold marks. That would be enough for half a loaf of bread.

Ariadne sighed and got up. She rubbed her tired legs. Her bones were heavy and cold from long crouching. She dragged her back to the sewing room, which was also her sleeping place. She put her hand on the metal doorknob and pushed it down. The door would not open!
Panic rose in Ariadne. She went to the window and knocked. She called the name of her employer and after a while she opened the door.
"I'm sorry, dear. I can't keep you living here. Business is bad and I can no longer afford to hire you here. I'm sorry. Here!", The old woman made a worried face and squeezed The rest of the wages in her hand and hurriedly closed the gate again. Ariadne had no chance to reply.

The young blonde was confused. Was she fired? Where should she live and work now? Finding a job in this city was difficult. And she wouldn't get enough of begging.
Disappointed and discouraged, she sat down on the sidewalk. She clasped her hands over her head sadly. Big tears ran down her cheeks. Ariadne felt lonelier than ever ...

It was getting dark. The deep blackness settled over the city and hid all the misfortune and suffering.
People returned to their homes. You weren't sure at night. Too many crimes have already begun and the moon has been the only witness.

After a while, Ariadne stood up. A cool wind brushed her hair. She looked around. Where should she go now?
She got scared. It was dark and the time of crime began.She ran quickly through the streets. There had to be shelter somewhere. But because of the great poverty, almost all corners of the street, alleys and holes were occupied by citizens seeking protection.
Ariadne sighed. It couldn't be that hard!
Then she remembered Miss John's old house. The senile lady lived in a huge villa on the outskirts of the city until 2 years ago.

Without wasting another thought on the consequences, the blonde ran off. She wanted to be as fast as the wind. She wanted to feel the life. Because for some reason she knew it wouldn't be long before her death. After all, she had no money, and therefore no food and no real shelter. In the cold winter she would freeze to death if she didn't die of starvation beforehand. But she didn't care at the moment.

"Go on, go on! Towards life!", She called and a beam could be seen on her face. She has never been so infinitely happy. She didn't know the reason, but the liberating laugh was good for Ariadne.

It seemed as if she was laughing in death's face ...

Now she stood panting in front of the stately villa. Gasping for air, she stepped through the heavy iron gate. She walked slowly up the gravel path to the house. The entrance portal was huge and made of solid wood.

Ariadne hesitated. Maybe someone lived here after all? But she had no choice and opened the door. To her amazement, it was not locked.
She entered and looked around. A dark parquet was laid on the floor and the house smelled pleasantly spicy.
Ariadne strode through the building. It clicked with every step she took.

She looked for food in the kitchen. First she looked in the cupboards. Nothing. Then she discovered a small door. A pantry?
Ariadne walked in and actually found something. There were only a few salami sausages hanging on the wall, but this would fill them up.

She ate with relish. She hadn't eaten anything so delicious in a long time. Maybe it would be the last meal she would get. She looked around the room, but she couldn't find any drinks.

So Ariadne got up and went back to the door to look for some water in the kitchen.
When the door opened, she saw something that didn't exactly please her. A tall man with a club in his hand looked at her intently. "Well? Have you served you on our dishes, huh?", He asked in a dark voice, "Then I have no choice but to punish me for it!"
The stick moved menacingly in the man's strong hand. Ariadne was getting smaller and smaller. She was terrified beyond belief. But what to do

The blonde couldn't utter a word and the man was getting impatient. The giant lifted the wooden stick over his head and let it rush down at Ariadne with a force.But she ducked quickly and jumped to the side. She quickly pushed past the monster of man and stormed out of the house.

Tears ran down Ariadne's delicate face. 'Where ? Why ? Why me ? 'These questions pounded through her head. She was desperate.

She ran towards the city. Suddenly she stopped. What were those bright lights in town? Ariadne went on. Warm air hit her face. It smelled of smoke. And now she could see it: the city was on fire. She looked at everything in silence.

As far as she could see, all the buildings were on fire. Screams reached her ear. Children screamed and cried. The city was in a state of excitement.

The first men with buckets came towards her. They paid no attention to Ariadne. They wanted to go to the sea because there were no water supply lines or rivers nearby.
Without hesitation, the young blonde followed them. She didn't care if the city was on fire or not. Nobody expects them there anyway.

After a while she could hear the sea rushing. Everything was so peaceful here, except that a couple of eager men dragged filled buckets of water. It was like the calm before the storm. People will have the greatest chaos when the fire has been extinguished and daylight allows a view of the rubble field. The selfish beings will not help each other; to get out of suffering. No, everyone will fight for themselves.

Ariadne climbed on a stone and let the fresh sea air blow into her face. It was so dark.
The sea raged; as if it spoke to her. As if it were telling her to come to him. Into the eternal depths of the blue sea.
But she couldn't. The pain would be too great to lose the last thing she had left: her life.
Ariadne knew that for many, her existence was not worth much. But she felt that the feeling of owning something, of taking care of something, was good for her. She couldn't give life. No...

The blonde turned her head to the