The woman who owned the house was watching me with pursed lips. The skinny boy next to her was laughing at my situation. Inside, I regretted feeling sorry for this little monster, and at the same time I was angry. I was completely stuck in the mud. Arwa came to me as fast as she could.
"Oh, my child, are you okay? Didn't I tell you to be careful when climbing the stairs? Anyway, my child, put your hand on my shoulder, I'll try to lift you up." The woman said worriedly. She put my hand on Arwa's shoulder and pulled me out of the mud. Arwa said the following to the woman who owned the house, embarrassedly.
"Ruseppa, my apprentice got stuck in the mud, it's cold outside so he can clean himself by the water. Can he clean himself in your house?" The old woman didn't like the woman in front of her at all, but she had to ask for help. The woman named Ruseppa, who heard what the woman said, didn't like the offer of help, but her face became even more sullen. Just as Arwa was about to say something to the woman, the woman started talking without letting her speak.
"Mother Arwa, it would be good if you taught your apprentice how to walk. I have a lot of work to do. Thanks to your apprentice, you added a new task to the list. Anyway, you came a long way to cure my daughter. Mother Arwa, let's take a look at my sick daughter together. My daughter can help her clean herself," said the know-it-all woman. She hit the child on the head to stop the little boy next to her from laughing. The woman started shouting inside.
"Walma you little lazy rat come outside quickly. Come to me quickly" it was obvious that the woman did not feel much love for her daughter and took all her anger towards us out on the girl. A girl of 21-22 years old with a thin nose, high cheekbones, black wavy hair and blue eyes came out of the door of the house. Although her clothes were shabby, they were clean and looked good on her. She was dazzling with a brown pleated skirt, white shirt and an apron with red flowers embroidered on it. I was sure that she would have been a famous actress in my old world.
"Girl, I have been shouting at you for hours. Why don't you come when I call you?" the woman said half angrily.
"I had dishes to wash and I was washing them. Should I have come with my hands covered in foam?" the young girl said rudely.
"When I call you, you will stop what you are doing and come to me, no matter what you are doing. Is that understood, young lady. You are 21 years old and continue to be a spinster. If you act impulsively like this, you will get beaten a lot by your husband in the future. Of course, if anyone takes you," the woman said condescendingly.
"You, who cling to my father like a leech, have no right to talk to me like that," said the young girl. Hearing Walma's words, the woman even tried to shake her hands in anger, but her sick daughter needed to be healed soon. She would make the girl pay for this rudeness later.
"Welcome, Mother Arwa, I guess you came to look after my sister, right?" said the young girl.
"Yes, my child, we came to look after your sister," said Arwa politely. After listening to Arwa's speech, the young girl turned to her mother.
"Why did you call me? I have housework to do. If you helped, the workload would be lighter. How much more work are you going to burden me with? If I know you, you'll order me to do something, won't you?" The young girl said.
"Ah, lazy girl, when I was your age, I would have done the work long ago and helped my mother. Anyway, do you see the child behind Arwa mother, covered in mud? Help her wash herself with hot water from the fire. Give her some of your father's old clothes to wear. I'll go with Arwa mother to look after her sister." The middle-aged woman said. Hearing this, the young girl grumbled and pulled me, indicating that I should follow her.
"Alek, my child, this girl I told you about before will help you get cleaned up, go with her. I'll also go look after the patient," the old woman said. I was a little surprised when I heard the old woman's words. Was this the girl she had previously mentioned to me to marry? I was starting to think that Arwa was gradually becoming senile. The person she proposed to me was almost 7 years older than me. I may have been 14 years old physically, but I was mentally older. I started following the young girl named Walma, thoughtful and covered in mud. I was starting to feel cold because I was covered in mud. Fortunately, the inside of the house was warmer than expected.
"Follow me kid, you're a pain in the neck. I have a lot of work to do tonight," the young girl said with a grunt.
"I didn't know I would get stuck in the mud like this either. Trust me, I didn't want to be in this situation. Besides, we didn't have the chance to meet. My name is Alek, what's your name?" I asked. We entered a small storage-like room.
"My name is none of your business. I'm going to get hot water and a basin. Take off your clothes until I get back. Put your dirty clothes in that corner. Don't mess around," the young girl said. I had no choice but to do what Walma said. She looked at me as she walked out the door.
"They call me Walma," she said mischievously and left the room.
I was waiting for him, having taken off all my clothes except my underwear. At the same time, I was cursing the unpleasant situation I was in. After a while, Walma came into the room. She brought clean patched clothes, a basin, a bag and a jug full of hot water. She put the basin on the floor. She implied that I should get in it.
"Do you see that stool behind you? Put it in the basin and I want you to sit down," said the young girl. I did exactly as she said.
"Also, you don't want your underwear to get soaked, do you? Take off your underwear and sit on the stool," she said. I was embarrassed when I heard what she said. I could feel my cheeks turning red.
"Thank you for your help, you can go now, I can handle the rest myself," I said. She found what I said ridiculous. She didn't even move from her place.
"You don't have to be embarrassed, and you're no different than a child to me. I don't want to waste my time with you. Take off your clothes quickly," Walma said, slightly annoyed.