It was May 5th, 1898, a month of heavy rainfall. The wind was a little stronger than it had been on previous days, but the moon shone brightly. In the Kazuma family's dining room, Lola Kazuma, the eldest grandchild, was picking up eating bowls and dishes that had been used during the night meal from the dining mat.
Her dress sleeves were folded back, and her hair, thick, dark braids resembling a three-knot rope, was pulled back and secured with a hairband. Her skin resembled the cocoa bean cakes usually brought from the city by her aunt during festival seasons.
After carefully picking everything off the mat and placing it in a larger bowl, Lola wiped the mat clean and stood up to carry the dishes and bowls back to the kitchen, which was outside the house but across from the back door. When she reached the back door, Lola placed the larger bowl down and removed the bolt from the door.
As she opened the door outward, a gust of wind swept in, causing goosebumps to appear on her skin and her body hairs to stand up. This made her stiffen her shoulders and shake her head, a sense of fever briefly running through her.
"What's about to happen?" Lola asked herself, her eyes scanning the surroundings for any clue, but nothing suspicious was in the vicinity. As the moonlight began to fade, she moved her right foot forward to the next stair, looked around, and quickly rushed to the kitchen, careful not to miss any step.
She pushed the kitchen door open with her right elbow. The kitchen, dimly lit with an oil lamp left on, was a little warmer. Lola arranged the main kitchen table and placed the dirty bowls on the other side, covering them with a basket to prevent rats from running over them.
After ensuring everything was in place, she blew the lamp out and moved to the door to bolt it from the outside, securing it against the winds and animals.
Just then, the back door to the main house slammed shut, startling her. "Another ghost at this time?" Lola joked, carefully bolting the kitchen door for a few seconds, as the inner lockers were a bit loose and required extra effort to fasten from the outside.
Lola muttered to herself, "Stupid door..." as she struggled to fasten the lockers. She then heard a loud banging knock on the gate and looked around, wondering if anyone was monitoring her, as bandits had been targeting homes in the previous months.
She returned to the kitchen, stood for a few seconds, and looked through the tiny hole to see if anyone was outside, her hands held a sharp knife.
After seeing that no one was outside, Lola slowly pulled the kitchen door open and stepped out carefully, pausing to look around. Before she could take a step toward the back door, she heard two voices exchanging greetings.
One was for her grandmother, Mrs. Deena, and the other was an unknown male voice. Lola tiptoed to the side of the house leading to the front and stood there listening to their conversation. Her slim body shape and height of 161 cm blended well with the corner, disguising her.
There was a small curve to the corner of the house, giving it a round outer look from the front side, like half a circle. "When should we pick it up?" Deena asked the man at the gate, whose body figure Lola could not see, as he remained outside the premises. "Any day from now, but not beyond a week, unless, of course, the body reacts to nature and becomes a problem for us," the man answered. "I will keep you updated." Deena replied, and there was a moment of silence for some good seconds.
The noise of a horse cart riding away was heard a few minutes later. Deena slowly pushed the gate back and bolted it. She walked back to the house, and Lola quickly tiptoed back to the back door, opened it slowly and turned around to bolt it slowly.
She remained in the inside mini kitchen, close to the back door, and arranged the remaining things that were not in order.
Minutes passed and Deena came to the kitchen door,
"What time are you going to bed?" Deena asked Lola, analyzing the back door bolt and the windows. "After filling the pot with drinking water for tomorrow," Lola replied, smiling at deena.
"Alright, have a good night. Please wake up very early tomorrow and attend to the shop," Deena replied, giving Lola a small smile.
"I will do so, Mother. Have a good night," Lola replied. After Deena left, Lola sighed and a wide smirk appeared on her face as she scratched her crown. "Whose dead body could it be?
After finishing her preparations in the mini kitchen, Lola closed the door and walked towards her room. However, she noticed that one oil lamp at the far end of the corridor remained lit, despite the rule to keep only the middle lamp on. Lola approached the lamp and blew it out. She then massaged her neck and shoulders with her right fingers, relieving the tension.
As she sighed, Lola overheard her grandmother Deena, and her aunt Zera engaged in a hushed conversation, but it sounded more like an argument. Deena was in Zera's bedroom, where Zera slept with her young son, Ezra, who was about a year old.