Enchanted Stew of Plenty

Talia's POV

After cleaning up the mess the dough caused for almost an hour, I am tired already and need to rest. All hope of eating is lost now, and one thing is clear. "I need to proceed with the journey." I can't stay here despite the peace and love I enjoy. This place is just too small for me to reside. My concern now is how to tell George and Dave; they are already getting used to me, and I promise to always be there for George.

"Dave," I call slowly; we are sober now thanks to hunger, except for Dave, who had eaten with his Grandmother earlier. "Don't you think your Grandmother needs you now?" I say slowly.

His face lit up, and then he frowns, probably realizingfrowneduld have to leave me. "She's probably looking everywhere for me now as we speak, but I don't want to leave you guys here like this. George, can we sort for some leftovers."

"We'll be fine; go and attend to your grandmother, and please, Dave, don't you ever try stealing again. It will only land you in more problems." I advise, dismissively waving him to go.

"Thanks, Miss Giant, it was nice meeting you." He replies and I guess he understands my way of saying goodbye. Even if I didn't get to spend much time with Dave, I can already tell he's a good boy. "And don't keep bad friends!" I shout, hoping he hears since he is already on his heels.

"You said he was going to work for you all through your stay, why then did you dismiss him, Talia." George questions, looking into my eyes.

"I'm going George," I replied without hesitating. "You see, I can't stay here. I don't have plans to stay in a place like this." His face lit up and I'm seeing pain in his tiny eyeballs.

"I'm beginning to bond with you; since my guardian died, I have been all by myself in this house, with no friends, family or even a pet. When I met you, I thought I had seen a friend, a sister, a mother and all. I guess this was just a dream I would wake up from anyway. The truth is, I'm meant to be lonely all my life."

I fight back the tears my eyes are gathering, hearing his words. This boy must have gone through so much living all by himself since he lost his parents. But here I am, not even sure of my destination; how can I help him when I need help myself?

"Will you go with me?" I ask slowly, not sure of what I am saying, but somehow I have to help George. It will break me to leave him behind to continue sorting for leftovers just to live. Right now I don't know where I am heading, but one thing I know is that he'll be fine with me.

George wipes the tears on his face, his little eyes locking into mine, "I'll be more than happy to go with you, Talia. Where are we heading to?" He asks the question I have no answers to.

"Anywhere George, as long as we're together, things can never go wrong." I raise my hands to high-five his hands, and somehow, I get to put a smile on the poor boy's lips, even if the future isn't certain yet.

We set out immediately, leaving everything behind, and in no time, we are back in the woods, on a journey to nowhere. This time, I'm happy because even if George is just a little boy, I can still call him my companion.

********

We've been walking for a long time now, not reaching any town or clearing where we can eat, and probably pass the night. It's getting dark, and we are starving already. "Let's sit here for some minutes or spend the night if need be. I'm tired, starving and thirsty." I say, already squatting to sit on a stone I had spotted.

"Look, there's a house!" George announces. I squint to see it, but unfortunately, I don't see one.

"Are you serious, George, 'cause I can't see it?" I ask, still scanning the whole area.

"Come, let me take you there." George pulls me back up, insisting we go see the house.

"Alright, alright, I'm up. Now show me your invisible house." After a few minutes walk, I see the house too. George was right. He did see a house. But it isn't built like a residence; it looks more like an inn or a shrine or something.

My suspicions were right. It isn't a residence, but a roadside Inn, the funniest thing is that there are no houses around. After scanning the area, I can't see any town or houses where people reside, yet the inn is filled with people. "Are these people travellers like us?" George asks tiredly almost falling from hunger.

"I don't have an idea, George. Let's see if we can get something to eat here" But moving closer, I notice people sitting there are not smiling. Not a single one is, as everyone's eyes are pale, and I guess it's from hunger, just like us.

A man is going in and out of the Inn, pleading to the guests. "Can we get some food to eat?" I say, finally catching up with the man, who I guess owns the inn.

"We are out of foodstuffs right now, Ma'am, and we are still waiting for our suppliers. These people also want the same thing." He points at the sitting guests. "But if you want a place to lay for the night, we can certainly cover that just for a token."

"Can we at least get water to quench our thirst while staying here for the night?" I ask. If we can't eat and at least get some water, we'll be fine till the morning, and we can then continue our journey.

"That, we can give more than you need, Ma'am," the Inn owner smiles. "A room here for the night is $200.

"200 what!" I scream already alerting some guests sitting close to me. "That's too much, I don't even have a hundred, not to talk of 200."

"Then you can find another place to stay for the night." The Inn owner says not even looking back at us.

"That's too expensive." George, who has been quiet for some time now, speaks weakly.

The Inn owner strolls back outside, attending to some other customers and then I rush to meet up with him before he vanishes again.

"I can cook. Can I help with cooking, and we get to stay for the night in return?" I ask without even thinking.

"The ingredients we have are not complete, and right now, we are waiting for our suppliers from town to bring more ingredients in. Maybe then you can..."

"I can work with the ingredients you have. Let me see if I can manage to get something out of the ones you have, so you can serve these hungry guests of yours." I don't know why I'm saying these things because my words are not even making sense to me, but I don't care. Anything for me to have a place to lay my head tonight. And most importantly, George is with me now; he can't sleep in the bush like I have been doing in the previous days. I won't forgive myself if anything bad happens to him.

"Ok then, come along. I'll show you to the kitchen. I rush back to where George is sitting, pull him up, lift him with every strength left in me, and then run to meet up with the Inn owner. He was just going, not even bothering to check if I was following or not.

I am now in the kitchen, with George, looking into each other's eyes, and there are a bunch of other kitchen staff behind us waiting to see what miracle I want to perform. Gently, I unzip my bag and bring out my recipe book, the first page I open shows a soup recipe called "Enchanted Stew of Plenty"

Luckily, the ingredients to cook the soup are few, so I ask to see if I can get them amongst the ingredients they have. Moonlight mushrooms, Starfire peppers, Golden roots and Elixir berries are all I need to prepare. I call out the ingredients and a staff member helps with the sorting.

I begin the cooking, following the instructions in the recipe book strictly and occasionally looking at George, who is sitting tiredly beside the stove. I bet he's praying the soup doesn't end like the bread we tried to bake earlier. I'm also doing the same thing inwardly.

The soup is ready now, and I carefully recite the incantations I see following the cooking instructions in the book. I guess this is where the magic lies. "You can have a taste now, and if you like it, then you can serve your guests with it," I announce, stepping back from the stove.

The Inn owner steps closer, his eyes widen when he thirsts the soup. "This tastes heavenly!" He remarks, and then I sigh in relief.

"Serve the guests immediately. Ma'am, let's get you settled in your room." He orders and his staff gets to work, while he leads the way for me and George to follow.

"Oh my God!" The staff who serves the first plate screams, stopping us in our tracks. My eyes widen at the sight before me.