Epsilon Twilight
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19. Body
🕑 Added 2023-07-20 11:23:25 +0000 UTCShahrazad woke up to the groans of her daughter. Even if the walls of her house were thick and the windows were closed, she could still perfectly hear Aloe. Peering into the slit of the wooden window doors, Shahrazad saw a glimpse of dim morning sunlight.
Considering she wouldn’t be able to sleep anymore with her daughter’s groans and that was almost time to wake up, Shahrazad got up from her bed, too big and lonely for her liking.
“I curse the heavens for giving me a body!” And her decision proved right as Aloe’s screams only got louder.
With a sigh, Shahrazad walked down to the kitchen. She was used to Aloe’s screams, so she picked up a jar of chamomile with a practiced motion and lit up the hearth to boil water.
“I will sunder the sky, dry the earth, and drink the sun! Bring all to an end!” As she was reading the infusion, yet another colorful curse came out of her daughter’s mouth.
“Oh, hot,” Shahrazad whispered to herself whilst pouring the chamomile tea into the two cups. She blew a bit to cycle the steam away and mounted the cups into a tray.
Even recently woken up, she had no problem doing all of these tasks and carried the filled-to-the-brim cups upstairs. At this point, it had become a monthly tradition. With her free hand and a slight kick, Shahrazad opened her daughter’s room door.
“Yet another moon I have failed to satiate the sacrifices for a newborn.” Aloe whimpered weekly as she rolled across her mattress. “The heavens laugh at my suffering. When will the pain end? My mortality is always confronting me with the hardest challenges.”
“Oh, daughter. Always exaggerating.” Shahrazad left the tray on the nightstand and went to open the closed windows. Once the room had a hint of light, she sat on the bed with her daughter.
“Exaggerating?” Aloe looked directly at her and stood up in rage. A gesture that ended up being a bad idea. “Ow!” She placed a hand on her stomach in pain.
“Careful.” The mother lent a hand to her daughter and positioned her along the bedstand and pillows.
“You don’t understand, my colic is burning me up from the insides!” Aloe pleaded with tears in her eyes.
“Yes, yes.” Shahrazad patted her daughter. “Just drink the infusion.”
She, indeed, did understand the pains of her daughter. She was also a woman after all, but it was true that she suffered from greater menstrual pains than most.
“Oh, hot,” Aloe added weekly as she took the cup from the tray and slowly blew the steam off.
“How do you intend to cultivate at the greenhouse if you are also going to be like this next month too?” Shahrazad asked. “I’m scared of leaving you alone in the desert while you squirm in pain.”
“Oh, I don’t intend to be in the desert when the next cycle comes, that’s for sure. I’ll just come the day prior if not earlier.”
Shahrazad frowned and gave her daughter a tired look. “So, are you just not going to water the plants for days?”
“What? It’s not like they are going to instantly die.”
She continued to look at her daughter with the same expression, but after a while without any response from her, Shahrazad took a sip out of her town cup and just sighed.
“You need to care for the plants if you want this ‘enterprise’ to find success.” The scribe spoke in terms her daughter could understand.
“I know, I know,” Aloe said between sips. “But how do you intend for me to survive in the middle of nowhere with these cramps?”
“They are just cramps, stop being a child and grow some spine.”
“My bloodied sheets tell otherwise.” Aloe countered.
Shahrazad flicked a finger at her daughter’s forehead. “You know what I meant. They won’t kill you.” Then she stood up. “Once you finished the infusion, get yourself clean and take out those sheets.”
“Yes, Mom.” The girl said with a monotone tone, prompting her mother to flicker her finger one more time. Albeit stronger now. “Ouch!” Aloe led her hands to her forehead.
“You don’t speak to me with that tone.” Shahrazad smiled at her. “Gonna make breakfast, don’t take long.”
{ · }
After having breakfast and solving all the mess she had made, Aloe went back to sleep. These types of days were basically a void in her life, she couldn’t bring herself to do anything, there was just so much pain.
“I hate being an ‘adult’.” Aloe groaned as she woke up. It was already past midday.
She went down to the kitchen and grabbed a banana. She wasn’t hungry enough to have a full meal, but she also knew it was bad if she didn’t have something to eat. She also emptied the remains on the kettle. The chamomile was long cold by now, but it still was drinkable.
Once she finished her meal, she sighed in exhaustion. There still was half a day in front of her, and she couldn’t just waste it. The best moment to depart to the greenhouse would be tomorrow morning. It would give her the most time to stay in the greenhouse and read Karaim’s cultivation technique.
“I have to go out, don’t I?” Aloe groaned her way of the kitchen.
She dressed herself in light clothing, she felt like her body couldn’t tolerate anything else in her current state.
“Alright, what things do I have to do?” Aloe went through her mental list. “Sent the letter to the bank, buy rations... is that all?” She looked at her fingers with confusion. “I feel like I should ready myself more. I will only bring potatoes and those seeds Umar gifted me to plant, I think I should plant more things. What could I plant?”
The best idea she had was to stroll down the bazaar to get actual ideas. Good ones, hopefully.
“It has to be food. But I need to make money, don’t I?” Aloe scratched her head. “Sure, if the Evolution thing works I’ll be able to make money out of any plant, but that’s not a real plan, is it?” She knew she was risking a lot in a gamble that had shown prodigious results but knew nothing of the process. “What can make me money?”
Her thoughts instantly went to the small pot of cannabis she stored in her backpack.
“I... maybe? But?” It was risky. She hadn’t grown up with scary assassin bedtime stories for anything. “I’m not that short in money. I can put it off for... an indeterminate amount of time.”
It was free money, yes. But the consequences of involving herself with the assassins were too big. Those people were powerful enough to murder the previous Emir of Sadina and get away with it scotch free.
Aloe sighed. “Maybe, just not now. Not yet.”
The truth was that the idea of making a lot of money excited Aloe. She remembered fondly the days of her childhood with her mother and father, those days when the family overflowed with riches. And unlike selling the greenhouse, this alternative presented constant income.
“Not yet.” She repeated to herself, guiding a hand to her heart.
Her thoughts were dispelled by the smell of food. She looked at the sun, which had moved significantly from its previous place since she had gone outside. How long have I been wandering around? With a sigh, Aloe looked at the stall in question that was selling fasolia.
“Care for a stew, darling?” The female shopkeeper inquired as Aloe stood far too long looking at the steaming cauldron.
“No, thanks I’m f-“ Then her stomach grumbled, reminding her she hadn’t had an actual meal. She sighed. “Pour me a bowl.”
“Of course!” The cook smiled. “Two drupnars.”
The price was quite reasonable, so Aloe didn’t have any problem taking two small copper coins out of her purse.
“Thanks for your patronage.” The woman accepted the money with a smile and handed her a wooden bowl and spoon. “You can sit there and have your meal.”
“Right.” Aloe took the bowl and on top of a barrel, then guided the spoon to her mouth. “Hmm!” Normally these types of food stalls would sell a watery mess, still good, but not truly able to call it a meal. This one though? It was surprisingly tasty.
“You seem to enjoy it quite a bit.” The shopkeeper remarked.
“It’s been a while since I have had fasolia. But this is one of the betters I had.”
“The ingredients matter a lot. Most people say the crucial ingredient is the lamb, but I disagree. The special touch is the beans!” The middle-aged cook boasted as she pushed her chest outwards. “And only the best of the best!”
“Beans, huh.” As she took another spoonful, Aloe got an idea.
To say the least, she spent more time than needed in the fasolia stall.
