After they were welcomed, Mira asked them to follow her, saying: "Alright, we've introduced you to the people of the village. Come on, let's take you to the place where you'll be staying."
Mira began walking through the crowded markets, while the group members kept looking in amazement at the village markets, the items being sold, and the voices of vendors everywhere promoting their goods: "Lentils for ten Inro!" "Bread for five Inro!"
Mira stopped in front of one of the huts and said: "Alright, this is your place of residence, boys. You can get some rest. And you, my friend, follow me so I can take you to the women's hut."
Mira and Jenny slowly walked away, while Jesse and the other two entered the hut.
From the inside, the hut was a medium-sized room with three separate beds and a clay jar filled with water placed near the door.
Nicholas' pupils widened, and he rushed toward one of the beds and fell onto it. He pulled the blanket over himself with a big smile on his face and immediately drifted into sleep.
Jesse walked toward the water jar and began drinking, then he too went to a bed, covered himself with the blanket, and slowly began closing his eyes to rest from this exhausting day.
After the two had fallen asleep, Ethan remained awake for a while, examining the hut from the inside. Then he turned and left the place, walking while observing the small shops here and there.
While Ethan was amazed by what he was seeing, he bumped into a passerby in front of him, causing both of them to fall to the ground.
The passerby was a man bigger and older than him, with smooth hair and wearing an entirely white jacket.
The man looked at Ethan angrily and shouted at him: "Can't you watch where you're going, you idiot?"
Ethan made no reaction other than standing up and staring at him with puzzled eyes.
The man's pupils widened quickly, and he pointed his finger at Ethan, saying: "Oh! You're the new refugee!"
The man placed his hand on his head with a slight smile and said: "Sorry, man. This is our first meeting and I started it by yelling."
He raised his arm toward him for a handshake and said: "Let's forget what happened earlier. Your name is Ethan, right? My name is Joseph, nice to meet you."
Ethan was confused by Joseph's gesture, wondering about its meaning, but he remembered the moment when Jesse returned Mira's handshake.
So he shook his hand as well.
They moved between the markets and huts until they reached a small red stall with five wooden chairs. Inside it was an elderly man with white hair and a large white beard, his features full of wrinkles.
Two other people were sitting on the chairs, eating soup while talking to each other.
As soon as they sat down, Joseph addressed the stall owner: "One bowl of soup, please."
The old man nodded and went to prepare it.
Joseph said: "This stall serves the best soup in the village, and I'm sure you'll like it. It will take some time, but it's worth it."
The two waited for their order, while Ethan kept staring inside the stall, looking at the utensils and ingredients. He heard nothing but the market noise and the conversation of the two men eating in front of them. He glanced at them from the corner of his eye while focusing on what they were saying.
One of the men said: "Man, did you hear about Marcus' squad?"
The other replied: "Yeah, the news is everywhere."
The first said: "What bad luck, running into the Katuran Empire."
The other continued: "Yeah, I feel bad for the victims' families, especially old Rahaf. I heard she's been crying day and night since the news spread." (He narrowed his eyes, and sadness was heard in his tone.)
The first said: "Yeah, but there's nothing we can do for her. He's already dead."
Ethan was distracted from listening to them when the stall owner placed their order in front of him. Joseph thanked the stall owner, then turned to Ethan with a slight smile and said: "Go on, try it and feel its attractive taste."
Ethan looked at the bowl with narrowed eyes, then picked it up and smelled it, surprised that it had a delicious aroma. He then lifted it and took a sip. From the very first sip, his eyes widened greatly. He took a second sip, then a third, and with each sip the taste became better. Because the soup was so good, he finished his bowl in just a few seconds.
Joseph laughed a little as he looked at Ethan's mouth covered with soup remnants and said: "Hahaha, man, I think you really liked it."
Ethan looked at Joseph's bowl with wide eyes and quickly snatched his soup and drank it.
Joseph's features froze for a few seconds, and before he could react, he found that Ethan had finished his bowl as well.
Joseph looked at his empty bowl, then returned his gaze to Ethan.
Only seconds passed before the stall owner burst into hysterical laughter, saying: "Hahaha! Man, he liked the soup way too much! Hahaha!" After a few seconds, Joseph started laughing as well, while Ethan was licking the leftover soup from his mouth.
Joseph paid for the two bowls and told Ethan that he would be heading back to his hut. He said: "Goodbye, my friend. I truly enjoyed being with you. I hope to see you again."
As Ethan began walking back toward his hut, the markets were emptying, most people were closing their shops, and others were heading toward their huts.
On his way, Ethan began hearing the sound of hysterical crying.
He turned his gaze toward the source of the sound and saw an old woman collapsed on the ground, tears flooding her eyes.
Her face was red from excessive crying, and some people around her were trying to calm her down while she screamed: "(Crying) Why? Why my son? He didn't do anything wrong, so why did they kill him? (Crying)."
One of the people trying to calm her, with a gloomy face full of sadness, said: "Calm down, ma'am. I'm also saddened by your son's death, but you know how savage the Katuran Empire is."
The old lady placed her wounded hand on her face, and her crying intensified: "Damn Katuran, damn them all! (Crying)."
While watching the woman scream, Ethan felt a strange emotion he had never felt before—an uncomfortable feeling. Faint traces of sadness appeared on his face. After that, he turned his gaze away from her and continued walking toward the hut, the old woman's voice fading little by little with each step.
Ethan reached the hut at sunset and found Jesse and Nicholas lying on the ground with some food in front of them. Jesse quickly looked at Ethan, surprise on his face, and said: "Kid, where have you been all this time?"
Ethan ignored him with cold features and walked toward one of the beds, then went to sleep.
Nicholas looked at the sleeping Ethan angrily, and in a tone filled with irritation said: "Hey, kid! Get away from my bed."
Jesse placed his hand on his shoulder and said: "Don't worry about it, man. You can take his bed. It's not worth shouting over."
Nicholas removed Jesse's hand from his shoulder and continued eating the food in front of him, while Jesse kept looking at the sleeping Ethan with a puzzled expression, wondering what had happened to him today.
Nicholas stood up, wiped his hands from the food remains, and said: "I'm going to sleep."
End of chapter.