ʜɪꜱ ᴘʀᴇʏ || вαηg ¢нαη

Chapter 5: Hell With A Side of Firewood

She was in pain.

I knew Grandma was in pain, she just wasn't saying it that night.

Morning came, and just at the crack of dawn, I awakened with a bad feeling twisting and turning in my stomach. I could sense something was wrong. Stepping out of my room, I proceeded towards the couch. Grandma wasn't there. So I checked her room. The cottage felt awfully more quiet than it usually was, which scared me. Grandma has always been an early bird. Something was different today. I walked into her room, cautious with every step I took. She's asleep. Just to make sure, I checked her breathing. Still breathing. A feeling of relief rushed through my body. I was beginning to worry. Exiting her room, I gently closed the door behind me. Didn't want to wake her up.

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The kitchen was colder than usual. My feet were freezing, even with socks on. At least that means our food hasn't gone bad. Grabbing some ingredients from the shelves, I made two servings of pancakes with a side of scrambled eggs for Granny and I. Then, placing the cover over her food to keep it warm, I started to eat mine. If she was asleep at this time, she wasn't going to wake up for another hour or two, which left me some time to burn.

My eyes wandered towards the window. Snow was down by about 17 centimeters, which made it much easier to walk. I could chop some wood for our fireplace and stove, I thought. We were almost out anyways, and we've never been the type of people to buy firewood since it's expensive around this time of year. After finishing my food, I quickly got changed and headed outside.

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The air was cold and crispy, biting my lungs with its icy winds. If I were to guess, I'd say it's 4 degrees Celsius. Not bad for winter. It felt more like autumn, which made sense since winter was coming to an end. That meant that spring was next. I've always loved spring, and I couldn't wait for the frosted, dead leaves to turn into lush green, lively ones dripping with fresh morning dew. When the weather was just right, warm but not too warm with a nice breeze; It was the type of weather where you could either have a cold beverage or hot beverage and it wouldn't matter. I loved that about spring.

Setting the piece of dry wood down, I swung my ax. With a clean chop sound, the wood broke into two. I was just about to set down another piece of dry wood when the sound of clapping came from behind me, making me stop my movement.

"Not bad, Little Red." He commented. I politely smiled at him, feeling accomplished.

"Thanks Mr. Wolf," I couldn't help but giggle at the nickname. "Been doing this my whole life."

Chan nodded. "I can definitely tell. You're a strong person. Care to demonstrate again?"

Grabbing the dry wood now, I placed it evenly onto the tree stump. Without a second to waste, my ax came down onto the dry wood, splitting it perfectly into two pieces. He clapped once again, still amazed with my special talent.

"So who taught you how to chop wood like this?" Chan asked me.

I smiled at my memory. "When I was seven, my Grandfather taught me. Before he passed, he taught me a lot of things that helped me take care of myself and Grandmother as we got older."

My smile was a happy one, even though it looked more bittersweet to outsiders.

"I'm sorry about that. At least you have the good memories of him... he sounds like an extraordinary person. Truly." He answered.

Curious now, I asked Chan a question, not expecting the reply I got. "What about your family?"

"Don't exactly have one."

I furrowed my brows, feeling rather confused at his reply.

"What do you mean?"

"Well..." Chan began to explain. "Ever since I was a kid, I grew up with my father. I never knew my mother very well. All I knew is that she was kind, beautiful, and really smart. But she was... an outcast. My dad was the leader of my people. After my mom had me, she disappeared. I was left by myself. My father died when I was fifteen. Never met my grandparents or anything. All I knew about them was that my Grandfather was a royal douche. Hated my mom's guts just because she was an outcast." His voice fell flat, making it clear he didn't like his Grandfather at all.

"What do you mean by 'outcast'? Did she do something wrong?" I asked him. He shook his head, looking away from me.

"She was different from my people. Times have changed now, they've come to accept I'm her blood too. I still get a lot of pressure, but I can easily silence them."

A shiver ran down my spine from the choice of words he used; It was very... formidable...? The more I asked questions, the more questions I had. I just didn't get it; What did you mean by 'his people'? How did he 'silence them'? He looked at me, and for the first time I noticed something. His eyes. They looked so.. different. A scar covered his left eye, scratches all over his body. Both his eyes were a deep, dark brown color. His skin shimmered in the rising sun.

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I was so caught up in talking to him that I almost forgot about my Grandmother.

"I'll be right back," I told him, catching him off guard as I dashed into the house.

I saw her sitting at the table, eating the breakfast I had made her. "Good morning Grandma!" I called her. I froze in my tracks at the sound of her voice and what she said next.

"Who are you?" She asked me.

"And who's the young gentleman behind you?" I turned around only for my eyes to meet Chan's.

That's when hell broke loose.

That's when my life took the turning point I wish I was prepared for.