When There Is Nothing Left But Love
Chapter 643

Chapter 643

Nora turned to me and queried, “Scarlett, if we indeed get to go home this time around, what would youwant to do most of all?”

What did I want? That question lingered in my mind as I continued trudging forward, deep in thought.

There wasn’t any food I was especially craving. After a moment’s pause, I concluded, “I want to see theperson I miss most, give him a hug, and apologize to him face-to-face.”

Nora seemed taken by surprise. Then she curiously pressed, “Is it somebody you’re in love with?”

I gave her a faint smile but declined to reply.

Night had fallen when we finally reached saw signs of human life. The village we’d arrived at waslocated in quite a rural area of the mountains, and perhaps due to its inaccessibility, there didn’t seemto be many inhabitants around.

From the number of lamps we’d counted shining in the dark, there were probably thirty to fortyhouseholds scattered throughout the village.

“Let’s replace a place to hunker down for the night,” Nora suggested, already making her way towards thedoor of the nearest cottage.

“Woof! Woof!” A dog suddenly rushed out into the yard and began sounding the alert at our suddenintrusion.

We clung to each other, terrified. Fortunately, the dog was leashed to a rope. It strained against itstether, barking continuously.

The owner of the cottage had evidently heard the ruckus. Out stepped a middle-aged man with tan,weathered skin.

He spoke, but none of us understood what he was trying to say. After a while, Tabitha gasped. “Wemight have unknowingly crossed the border into Venria!”

We all froze. The arduous journey we’d made, crossing peak after peak, hadn’t brought us any closerto home. We’d even gone so far that we were in another country altogether.

The man’s foreign tongue threw us all into disarray. Upon seeing our confused faces, the owner of thecottage seemed to further mistake our intentions. He waved his axe at us threateningly in a bid tochase us off his property.

Fortunately, a young woman, approximately sixteen years of age, ran out of the cottage just then. Shetugged at the man’s sleeve.

The young woman urgently conferred with the man for a while. He then grew noticeably calmer andlowered the axe in his hand.

The man then turned toward us and gestured. Uncomprehendingly, Tabitha made a few hesitantmotions with her hands in return, trying to convey our goodwill.

We couldn’t tell if he understood. He did, however, let us into his home eventually.

The cottage we entered was a dismal sight and stripped down within. Its clay walls were caked withsoot, doubtless from the fire that was burning in its hearth.

A filament lamp hung from the ceiling, the sort that farming villages would have used decades ago. Thelamp burned dimly at a bare fifty watts, probably to save on electricity costs. Shadows filled the entirecottage.

There were some bowls and utensils in a neat stack in a corner. The roof of the cottage was, in fact, atent stitched together out of gunny sacks. There was dust everywhere. It turned to grime at damp spots

where rainwater had seeped in.

The small heaps of blackened dirt that covered the tent looked sure to be full of pests.

The man took out two bowls from a cabinet and placed them before us.

Due to the language barrier, the man continued to gesture furiously. He seemed to be inviting us to eat.

We peered at the bowls in front of us. The food was steeped in chili. Nora recoiled ever so slightly,asking, “What dish is this?”

“It’s pickled onions. I think it’s supposed to be a starting dish. Shall we try it?” Tabitha exclaimed ratheradventurously. She had more of an appetite than the rest of us for more exotic and unusual delicacies.

Having endured hunger for a whole day, we dug in rather gratefully. The flavor of the pickled onions,spicy with a hint of sourness, was quite refreshing.

It had been a few days since we’d really tasted anything. The pickled onions thus thoroughly satisfiedour tastebuds.

As we ate, the man and his daughter squatted in a corner. They gazed at us with curiosity and awe,mixed with a tinge of fear.

Sensing their uneasiness, Nora persisted in her attempts to communicate with them. Along with herhand signals, she deliberately spoke a few basic words, emphasizing each syllable slowly.

It worked. Somehow, both father and daughter came to understand that we were here to borrow adevice to contact home.

They were stumped, however, by what exactly a phone was.

We’d run into another roadblock. We could only wait until the next day for the man to seek help fromhis fellow villagers. Until then, we’d have to take shelter in this battered cottage. Compared to spendinga night out in the open mountains, however, this was considered a win.

When we blearily woke the next morning, the man was already up in the tree in his yard plucking fruits.

His daughter stood beneath the tree with a basket, picking up the soft fruits he’d accidentally let tumbleonto the ground.

Every time she bent over to pick up some fruit, she’d beam a smile in our direction. It was as if she waseagerly trying to transmit her simple joy to us.

“Really makes you rethink the link between happiness and wealth, doesn’t it?” Tabitha mused, lookingrather wistful. She looked almost like a child with her slender frame.

Nora crossed her arms, leaning against the door frame. “Why? Are you thinking of something sad?”she quizzed, raising an eyebrow.

Tabitha shrugged. “Not really. I was reflecting on this whole turn of events, and I feel as if I’ve beenenlightened. How we live our lives should be entirely up to us. It doesn’t matter what other peoplethink.”

“It’s all been destined!” Tessa quipped. This discussion aligned with the philosophical tendencies she’dbeen harboring all this way. We’d finally managed to pique her interest.

Nora massaged her temple, groaning, “Can we take a break from philosophy for once?”

Tessa ignored Nora. She marched straight out into the yard and began picking up fruits with the younggirl.

They still couldn’t communicate with words but smiles and gestures seemed to suffice for now.