A kind old lady
Short Story - Two travelers make the mistake of finding solace from the storm in a hut.
The two travelers ate more than they could from the kind old woman. Yet, she kept piling more rice on their leaves.
The younger one, Kanti, rubbed his stomach at the end, grinning at his companion. He had convinced Dinesh to ask for help when they saw her hut deep in the forest.
They had gotten drenched in the storm outside. Their clothes were drying by the fire while she ate a small portion on her own as Kanti fanned her like she had done for them earlier.
“Do you live here alone, Amma?” Dinesh helped clean up the space and threw their leaves at the back of the house, in the pit.
A head nod as she arranged for them to sleep in the open space outside kitchen.
“Since when?” Kanti had barely seen any woman during their journey, especially alone. Mostly, they found shelter and food with the community shelters or families.
“This has always been my home.”
They waited for her to leave for the inner room.
She turned the lamp off, apologizing for the moaning sounds from the door.
“The air escapes sometimes. I am trying to fix it.”
“I will fix it tomorrow before leaving.” Kanti promised in the dark.
She smiled before leaving them to sleep.
She came back before dawn, with gum to fill their mouths, a white paste she had grinded all night with water.
When she started eating one, something stuck in her throat.
“I told him not to eat the bone of fish earlier. It is poisonous, they say.” Dinesh chuckled in the dark, woken up by the sound of her chewing.
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