Chapter 15: So Yummy
The pale moonlight cast a soft glow inside the forest, illuminating Harold's eyes as he searched for danger in the underbrush.
The forest was thick, with dangerous beasts lurking everywhere, but this was not the first time Harold ventured inside during the night.
Harold had learned to navigate its dangers, having developed a powerful instinct that guided him to safer paths.
If this were the depths of the forest, he would be long dead, no matter his instincts. For in the depths, the dangerous beasts roamed everywhere.
Praise the god that it is not the depth but just the outer side of the forest. Even so, he wouldn't let his guard down, he wasn't a some stupid hot blooded brat, he loved his life and loved his family.
At this time, Harold should have been fearful, but he wasn't, instead, there was a bright smile on his face despite the surrounding darkness.
"I can't believe not only did I survive that beast, but I also managed to..." he looked at the large piece of bone in his hands.
Today, lady luck had smiled upon him; he had managed to scavenge a piece of bone from that wolf's prey.
"That ferocious beast didn't manage to detect my smell. Is its nose broken or what? Anyway, I survived. I truly thought I was dead," he sighed with relief.
Harold didn't have an idea that the leaves he had been eating were not some normal leaves but a magical herb that contained a special property, it could hide the presence of the person who would eat it for limited period of time.
The bone wasn't huge, but neither could it be referred to as small; its size was that of an adult man's whole leg.
The bone was sharp at one end, where the beast had gnawed away the flesh, leaving jagged edges that gleamed faintly in the dim light of the moon.
The surface was smooth in some places, slick with remnants of blood and sinew, and bits of fur still clung to it, a testament to the violent end the prey had met.
The hollow core inside had been sucked clean, a hollow reminder of the predator's hunger. Despite its grisly appearance, the bone was a piece of heavenly treasure to him.
It wasn't much for others, but for his family who hadn't eaten for almost a week, this bone was simply a life-saving treasure.
As Harold made his way back to the village, the sun had long gone into hiding, and the dark sky was dominated by the moon and small twinkling stars.
Harold thought he was walking at a decent speed, but if anyone had noticed him, he was actually running towards the village.
His thoughts were filled with the anticipation of surprising his family with his find. The piece of bone was gripped tightly in his hand. "Wait for me, Dad and Mom, today we will eat delicious bone soup," he mumbled in his heart.
...
Evel was still there witnessing everything. He couldn't do anything, all he could do was watch this brat's stupidity.
....
After some time, he finally found himself standing before a small hut.
Harold's home was a small, dilapidated structure that bore the scars of countless hardships, the walls were riddled with cracks, as if they had withstood numerous earthquakes, giving the house an air of fragile persistence.
The roof was patched together with mismatched pieces of wood and metal, barely holding off the elements. Inside, the floor was uneven, with gaps that allowed the cold wind to seep in. The sparse furniture was worn and rickety, showing signs of age and use.
But no matter how the house looked, Harold could feel a sense of warmth and security upon approaching it.
As he neared the small hut he called home, Harold noticed something unusual: the faint aroma of cooking wafted through the air, mingling with the evening breeze.
His heart raced with excitement. Could it be that his father had managed to secure food? The thought of a real meal made his stomach growl in response.
The interior of the house was not much different from its exterior—it was the same broken house full of cracks and worn furniture here and there.
Inside was not absolute darkness; there was a candle in the center of the house. The candle burned with a flickering, pale light, casting long shadows across the room. Its flame danced delicately, struggling against the drafts that crept through the cracks in the walls.
The soft, amber glow provided just enough illumination to pierce the darkness, creating an atmosphere of fragile warmth amidst the cold and gloom, the wick, charred and uneven, sputtered occasionally, adding to the eerie ambiance.
This solitary light source, though feeble, brought a sense of comfort, its gentle radiance a small beacon of hope in the otherwise shadowy and oppressive surroundings.
Harold entered the house quietly at first, not wanting to disrupt the rare moment. The sight that greeted him filled his heart with joy.
His father, Hary, was standing over the fire, intensely focused on the meat he was cooking. Beside him lay a large bag, overflowing with fresh cuts of meat. The aroma was intoxicating.
The meat was cooked in a simple, battered iron pot, blackened from years of use. The pot, a relic of their poverty, had seen countless meals prepared over the fire, its surface scarred and worn.
Harold took a step closer, unable to contain his excitement. "Father!" he called out, but Hary didn't respond. He was entirely absorbed in his task, his mouth watering as he tended to the cooking meat.
Frustrated but amused, Harold walked up to his father and gave him a playful slap on the back with medium force. "Father!" he repeated, louder this time.
Hary finally snapped out of his trance, turning to face his son. A wide smile spread across his tired, weathered and corpse-liked face as he embraced his son warmly. "Harold! You're home!" he exclaimed.
"Wait a minute, a..short....minu..te, the meat is almost about to get ready, be patient and go and seat there", Hary was speaking very fast, the spit flying here and there as his mouth was full of water because of the meal in front of him.
Harold slowly nodded, his eyes staring at the meat and his mouth full of water, he gulped and withdraw his eyes from the meat.
After some time of waiting which felt as more than eternity, the meat was finally cooked, its delicious aroma filling every corner of the home.
Hary carefully served the cooked meat with great care, afraid that he would spill any precious meal onto the floor, his hands trembled slightly from both exhaustion and the overwhelming anticipation of finally having a proper meal after so long.
Each piece was placed meticulously on the plates, his eyes glancing repeatedly at the food to ensure nothing was wasted.
Harold looked at the plate full of meal in disbelief, it was still hard to believe this for him. He slowly moved his hands and pinched in his skinny cheek.
"Ouch....it pains", it was painful but the pain was nothing, Harold was feeling a flood of happiness, joy and excitement.
"It isn't a illusion after all,..Ha.haha..haaahhahahah", he began to laugh crazily like a madman.
Hary looked at him, a bright smile of satisfaction and relief appearing in his corpse-like weathered face.
"So yummmmmmmy...", two words automatically came out from both of their mouths at the same time as they took their first bite.
The sensation was overwhelming, the meat, though unseasoned, was tender and rich, its juices flooding their mouths with a savory intensity.
Their teeth sank into the flesh, tearing it apart with a primal hunger that had been building for days, the warmth of the cooked meat contrasted sharply with the cold, gnawing emptiness that had settled in their stomachs.
Each bite was a desperate, almost frantic attempt to fill the void, their senses consumed by the taste and texture of the long-awaited meal. For a moment, the world outside ceased to exist, and all that mattered was the sustenance they had finally found.
"Ffatheer..", Harold called the meat still in his mouth, his teeth grinding and his tongue enjoying a heavenly pleasure.
"Uhmm..what?...", Hary said after some time as he swallowed the meat after crazily chewing it.
"Where did you get all this?" Harold asked between bites, marveling at the abundance before him.
"The landlord... , Forget it and just eat, you brat don't need to know how and where i get it" Hary said, a hint of something unspoken in his voice. But Harold was too overwhelmed by the joy of eating to notice.
As Harold and Hary continued to savor their unexpected feast, the fire was already been exhausted due to lack of the firewood but warmth was still coming from it.
The flickering flames of the candle cast dancing shadows on the walls of their humble home, and for a moment, the struggles of their daily lives seemed distant.
As Harold took another bite, a question suddenly crossed his mind, he hadn't seen his mother since he returned from the forest.
"How did i not notice it, may be I was too concern about this meal.", he swallowed his food and looked up at his father, his curiosity piqued.
"Father, where is Mother? I haven't seen her since I got back," Harold asked, his voice filled with a mixture of concern and curiosity.
Hary paused for a moment, his expression darkening ever so slightly with a slight sense of worry but he quickly suppressed it as he couldn't show it in front of his son.
He glanced at the candle, the light reflecting in his weary eyes. "She had to go outside for some reason," he replied, his voice calm but with an undertone of tension. "She will be returning soon."
Harold found the response a little odd, but the joy of having a real meal dulled his suspicion, he shrugged off the uneasy feeling and focused back on his food, the hunger overpowering any lingering doubts. After all, his father seemed confident that she would be back soon.
The meat was tender and flavorful, a stark contrast to the meager rations they were used to. As he ate, Harold couldn't help but marvel at the abundance before him.
He felt grateful for the moment, for the unexpected feast that brought a semblance of normalcy back to their lives, if only for a while.
"Father, this meat is delicious," Harold said, his mouth full. "It's been so long since we've eaten like this. How did you manage to get so much?"
Hary's eyes flickered with a mix of emotions—relief, pride, and a hint of something else, something he couldn't quite place. "The landlord was generous today," Hary replied, avoiding Harold's gaze. "We should be thankful for his kindness."
"Hmmm...Landlord?!.., that greedy fatty bastard, things like 'generous' and 'kindness' doesn't suit with him", Harold found it quite hard to believe it.
But he was too wrapped up in the joy of eating to notice the subtle tension in his father's voice or the way Hary's hands trembled slightly as he served the food.
As Harold continued to eat, savoring the rare feast, he suddenly bit down on something hard, his teeth met with a metallic object, sending a jolt through his mouth.
"Ahh.. what is it, a bone?," he slowly sided that hard thing with the help of his tongue and then took it out from his mouth by grabbing it with his finger.
It was very dark, he was unable to identify what it was, so, he slowly took that thing near the light of the candle.
What he noticed next made his heart beat faster and his breathing ragged, many weird and dark thoughts and possibility playing in his head.
.....