Chapter 149 – Chapter 4: Ruby – 6
As Posao said, the drawers in the pharmacy were filled with ‘edible things.’
All the herbs I had dried overnight had been preserved so that they could be used throughout the winter.
Even so, since it’s just leafing, you’ll only feel the bitter taste, and it won’t be enough to fill your stomach at all. I remember that there was probably enough left to eat for about three days. If that were the case, hunger would have been resolved quickly.
But Tia wanted to leave the pharmacy as is.
There was no other meaning to that wish.
Tia… They still haven’t forgotten me.
It’s a problem that can be solved by just going to the pharmacy. I didn’t do that.
Because I don’t want to destroy the memories we had together, I want to keep our memories intact.
That’s what he said.
It wasn’t an angry voice. Although her expression was closer to desolation, Tia’s words contained a strong will.
Posao looked at Tia blankly, and eventually she turned her head hesitantly.
“Okay. Well, then I’ll just leave it there.”
“…”
Jeez. Jeopuk.
Posao gave up climbing the hill and walked to the other side.
They started searching for food again.
Hwii-!!
The two people searched for places they had not yet found.
As I watched Tia making a fuss every time, I realized that we had no idea how the villagers lived until now.
Marvin’s drinking habit, Merid’s difficult personality, and Uncle Joseph’s cheerful laughter. Even knowing that, we thought we ‘knew’ people well.
But can we really say that we knew them well, since we don’t even know what their houses are like or where they are?
No.
We are too young. I didn’t know anything.
In the end, they searched the village until the sun set, but they found nothing.
The two sat empty-handed on a low hill.
Tia, who was depressed, apologized in a low voice.
“I’m sorry.”
“Oh, no.”
He probably knows this too. Because I knew what I did better than anyone else.
I was right next to watch as the herbs were dried and prepared for winter.
If I could just go there, I would have realized that I had plenty.
Tia said.
“Because there is a little bit of stew left over. It will be for a while. Probably.”
“Yes? “Wow, there’s not even enough left to eat alone.”
“I just don’t eat it.”
“Neaa? “What do you mean?”
Posao, who was resting, jumped up from his seat.
“And then Tia starved to death!”
“It’s okay.”
“Oh, no.”
The sky becomes increasingly dark, and the village is plunged into darkness.
Posao did not return to the big house, but looked around to another house down the hill.
Since both of them had glanced at each other once, even if I tried to search further, I couldn’t.
The guy thought for a moment and looked towards the drug store, then suddenly started moving towards that direction without saying a word.
Tia woke up in surprise.
“Mister? The sun is setting now! “I have to go back.”
“Ta, follow me.”
“There… “Isn’t it a pharmacy?”
The place where Posao was heading was the hill leading up to the pharmacy.
In the end, you can’t bear it anymore and come to my pharmacy.
The space where our memories are stored that Tia did not want to be touched even at the risk of starvation.
Is Posao heading towards ruthlessly trampling?
“Mister…”
This was when Tia grabbed Posao’s arm as he walked toward the pharmacy.
Boom.
My feet stopped.
The place where he stood was not in front of the pharmacy.
A little further down was Grandma Madrina’s small cabin.
I heard that he eventually passed away after struggling with the village chief, but somehow the house remained intact.
It seemed that people were unable to sort things out because bad things happened one after another in the village.
Posao looked up at the old woman’s house and asked.
“Woah, here. “It’s Aunt Madrina’s house, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Then… Oh, you’re probably right.”
Posao entered the hut without hesitation.
It’s an old, shabby cabin that doesn’t really look like there’s anything there. It seemed like Grandma Madrina’s frugal, quiet, and kind personality was evident.
It was actually a small house located right below the pharmacy.
I have never been to Madrina’s grandmother’s house.
He always took a walk around the entrance to the village, and when it was meal time, he appeared without saying a word, ate only a few pieces of bread, and then passed away.
“Aunt Madrina used to hide sweets in her closet and give them to Lee and Lina.”
Rattling.
Posao picked up an old chair and set it down in front of the closet.
Tia said in a nervous voice.
“Mister. Why don’t you take it easy and come back tomorrow? It’s dark, so you won’t be able to see it anyway…”
“Dog, Ganchana! “It’ll be soon.”
As if nothing had happened, Posao hopped onto his chair. And since the light was not coming in, he stretched out his hand on the dim wardrobe.
It was that time.
Puddeuk-.
An uneasy sound was heard from the worn-out chair.
The legs of the chair, which looked as fragile as Madrina’s grandmother, were unable to support the weight of the fossao and were shaking precariously.
Tia asked in an anxious voice.
“Mister?”
“Now, wait a minute.”
But Posao did not come down and continued to wave his arms.
After putting it in deep and rummaging around, I found it. Finally, something caught hold of his fingertips.
“I found it!”
At the same time as that cry.
Kwasik! Uddangtang!
The chair broke and Posao’s huge body fell down.
Tia quickly tried to catch him as he fell, but it wasn’t enough. Before he could even stretch out his hand, he was already on the floor.
“Mister!”
“Aaaaah-.”
It must have been quite a shock. Unfortunately, he was alive.
And he was curled up on the floor, holding something tightly in his arms.
“Are you okay?”
“Ugh, that’s not okay…”
With a painful groan, Posao took out what he was holding in his arms and showed it to him.
“This, this.”
It was a bag wrapped in straw.
Tia accepted the bag with her trembling hands.
So far, I’ve been in vain. All day today, I didn’t see anything that resembled a straw, let alone a pocket.
However, the pocket that Posao was holding triumphantly was clearly swollen as it was full of something.
Sreuk-.
When I untied the string that tied the pouch’s mouth, pure white and fine powder appeared inside.
It was flour.
Posao grinned while lying on the floor.
“This is enough, right?”
The first edible thing I discovered.
A great sense of relief appeared in Tia’s eyes when she saw that.
“Yes! That’s enough!”
“Thank goodness.”
Posao, who had fallen, tried to get up.
But is it because of the size, or is there something wrong? I couldn’t get up and just whined on the floor.
Tia, realizing that her behavior was unusual, looked towards Po Sao’s legs.
And she got scared and screamed.
“Mister-!!”
The pants Posao was wearing were stained with blood.
When the chair broke and fell, it seemed like sharp pieces of wood had pierced the skin.
“Neaaaaa-.”
“Don’t move!”
Tia carefully began to remove the piece of wood lodged in her shin. As she pulled out a piece almost the size of a finger, Posao let out an ugly scream.
Boo-!
Tia took off her cloak from around her shoulders and tore it into thin pieces with her teeth. She said as she covered her blood-flowing legs.
“I will help you.”
Hug Posao and raise him upright.
She left her grandmother’s cabin with her injured leg unable to walk, as if it had become her own crutch.
It was already night when she returned home.
Tia laid Posao on her bed. Then she took off her pants and washed her wounds carefully with cold water.
“Nuuuuu-!!”
“Does it hurt?”
“Ugh.”
The blood was still flowing without stopping.
“So why are you overdoing it! “I told you to come back tomorrow when the sun rises!”
Her wounds were quite deep.
Wounds sustained in winter require very good care. There was a risk of frostbite because the injured part had to always be taken outside, and there were not enough medicines to use in the winter, so treatment took a lot of time.
Moreover, with a cut of this magnitude, if it were to be severed again, he could have lost the use of his legs for the rest of his life.
It was that dangerous, but stupid Posao couldn’t have known.
I just scratched my head and laughed.
“T-Tia, something to eat…” Because I’m looking for it. Because I want to save you. That was it.”
“… I said it was okay.”
“Still, Tiahi, you’re having a hard time. Oh, it was helpful, right?”
“…”
Tia glanced up at Posao. Her eyes quickly turned red, and she wiped away the small tears with her sleeve.
“It’s because of me…”
Tia looked down at Po Sao’s swollen legs.
If she had asked to go to the drug store, she wouldn’t have been hurt this bad. If she hadn’t been stubborn, she would have been able to find something to eat safely.
It was visible in her eyes that she was thinking such things.
“No. Tia. Uh, anyway, did you get something to eat? That’s enough for me.”
The flour Posao brought was enough to last a week.
You could make dough out of it and bake it, and if you were having a hard time, you could just eat it as a powder.
Just as he said, somehow it worked out.
“Tia told me… Meat stew, hey, I guess you gave in. So, I also wanted to repay you.”
“… !”
Tia’s eyelids trembled slightly.
Eventually she lowered her head and remained silent.
“Tia?”
In a moment.
Tia spoke in a voice as small as an ant.
“Mister.”
“Huh?”
“If you get hurt again, I won’t forgive you.”
“Ah Okay. Hehe.”
The guy said as he wrapped a clean bandage on Posao’s leg.
“… Thank you.”
* * *
After the commotion broke out, Posao did not leave the house.
There was no reason to leave.
To make firewood for the winter, Tia went around the village alone, tearing down her fences, discarded furniture, doors, etc. And breaking them into small pieces.
Food was made from flour and baked into cookies.
Posao’s job was to lie in bed all day with his leg bandaged.
If fluid comes out of the wound, change it to a clean bandage brought from the pharmacy and check the wound ten times a day. Tia cared for him with utmost sincerity.
“It was just baked. She didn’t add any honey or spices, so it wouldn’t taste like anything. “Try it.”
Misleading!
Posao tried the hard cookie and evaluated its taste.
“It’s a little burnt.”
“It’s my first time making it here, so I’m inexperienced. “If it doesn’t taste good, I’ll make a new one.”
“Oh, no! Fine. Wow, it’s delicious. “If you melt it and eat it like this, it’s fine.”
Posao chuckled while chewing.
Tia laughed along and glanced at her wound.
“I wonder why… It’s not getting better. “I should have gained weight by now.”
“Hmm?”
“I think I may be treating it wrong.”
Tia, who has often been injured, looked anxious because Posao’s wounds did not heal at all.
For a normal person, the wound would begin to heal in two days at most. However, Posao only managed to stop the bleeding, and the inside of his leg was still hollow.
“Well, it’s because I’m old.”
Posao looked down at his legs helplessly.
“Normally, as you get older, you don’t get better quickly. Hehe. But one day, I will get better. “Don’t worry too much.”
“Is that so…”
Tia’s thoughts deepened.
She seemed to be realizing the age barrier once again.
If you have a body as healthy and young as yours, you should be waking up by now. Posao, who seemed quite healthy, looked so weak because of one wound, and it seemed like he was in trouble.
Sigh.
Posao reached out his hand and lightly touched Tia’s chin.
“Tia.”
“… ?”
“Hey, isn’t it hard?”
Tia quickly shook her head.
“No. Are you okay…”
“If we move? Let’s live happily.”
Suddenly, Posao spoke in a serious voice.
“My, I. “I will make Tia happy.”
“Mister…”
The two looked at each other.
