My Pretty Sweetheart (Arianna)

As expected in rural areas, the man's house only had a single room. The walls of the house was a little black, probably because of the smoke from the fireplace.

The sole light source was an incandescent roof lamp used in villages during the nineties. For the sake of saving electricity, the light was only about fifteen watts and was dim. There were pots, bowls and ladles placed in a heap, all next to a tent that had been set up with sacks. Dust had fallen around it and there was rain water seeping in. Layers of gray, damp soil were piled up on top of the tent. They looked dark, and it seemed as if there were bugs growing out if it.

The middle-aged man took out two bowls of food from a black wooden cabinet and placed them in front of us. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the FɪndNovᴇl.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Since there was no way to communicate verbally, the man gesticulated a few times. Perhaps he was asking us to eat.

Naomi stared at the chili- filled dishes with a stunned expression and asked, "What kind of dish is this?"

"This is pickled melon. It's hot here, but this helps to relieve the heat, and it's a good appetizer. Try it!" Tina grew up in the southwest region, so she knew a thing or two about food around the area.

We had starved for a whole day, so we ate after giving our thanks. The melon was sour to the tongue, and a little spicy as well.

We hadn't been able to eat much in the past few days, but it was a blessing to finally satisfy our hunger.

saw the father and daughter sitting beside each other, looking at us. There was

they didn't speak our language, so she gestured with her hands and spoke some

had planned to call our families

puzzled by that, however, as if they didn't know what a

the other villagers. The five of us stayed under the broken roof and rested for the night. After

was in the yard,

up the mangoes after him, which had softened after

one up, she looked back at us and smiled brightly, as if she were passing on her happiness

or poor doesn't define one's happiness, huh?" Tina said. Her thin, small figure made

the door frame and raised her eyebrows.

"No, it's just that after all we'd been through, I realized something.

the word of God!" Dahlia retorted as she

"God this, God that. You don't tire of

what she had said. She went straight to the yard, picking up the mangoes on the