A Lamp’s Light Never Extinguishes

"Get up!" barked the woman when she spotted Anji.

With both hands on her hips, her shadow fell over the small girl's form, blocking the afternoon sun from reaching her. With a dark expression, she waited for the kid to respond, but Anji was too deeply asleep to hear her.

Taking matters into her own hands, the research assistant roughly grabbed the girl by her hair with a snarl. The girl was lighter than she imagined, and Anji was lifted off the ground almost immediately. The sharp pain startled her awake with a cry, but almost as quickly as she was lifted off the ground in her sleep, she was thrown back down again.

Staring at a pair of dirty shoes in front of her, Anji held back tears as much as she could, unmoving. Calmly, she tried to assess the damage, but the assistant researcher in front of her snapped angrily, ranting about Anji's work.