When There Is Nothing Left But Love (Ashton And Scarlett)

“Let’s go that way!” Nora called to us. She spotted Tabitha and Laurel just climbing out of the hole. “What’s up, you two? If you’ve had a good rest, let’s move on!”

The two women nodded as they dusted the dirt and grime off their wrinkly clothes. They glanced at Tessa, who was still immersed in her prayers. Tabitha mumbled, “She’s so pious. Do you think God with really bless her?”

Nora shrugged. “Let’s go!”

The forest was rather humid in the morning. The soil had become loose. One could hear the soft crunching of the earth just by stepping on it.

“Ah!” Laurel screamed. Then, she squatted on the spot she had previously stepped on and began to scrape at the ground.

Very soon, we saw what had been hiding underneath the earth. It was a cluster of yellowish-white fungi. Some of them had been crushed under her feet.

Only a few short and stout ones were spared.

“Mushrooms!” Tessa, who had been reciting her prayers the whole time, promptly came forward and started digging up the plants from under the fertile soil. She wiped the dirt off and began to swallow them a few pieces at a time.

Laurel, looking equal parts terrified and worried, wondered, “Do we… eat them raw? Just like that?”

Tabitha turned around and, indeed, managed to find other mushrooms of the same variety under some rotten leaves.

She passed some of them to us. “Yes, this kind of mushrooms can be eaten raw. There used to be plenty at my place and we did this all the time. Sure, they won’t satisfy our hunger, but it’ll have to do for now. Let’s eat!”

They dug in. The rest of us, having barely eaten anything for a day, followed suit.

helped herself to some mushrooms. A while later, she looked at Tabitha, a question on her mind. “Are you sure we won’t have any hallucinations after eating these? Once, I watched the news about poison testers in the south. They usually do that come May and June. Those who

ones to eat and

other kinds of mushrooms in the soil. She turned around to ask

cook them. If not, we’ll see

have made ourselves a feast supplied

of a sudden, prompting everyone else to look towards

your God decided to show Himself?” Nora

turned pale, her body stiffened,

about fifty centimetres in length, hanging around the leaves of

would not have noticed it if we had not been paying attention. The snake spat out its forked tongue. It looked like it was preparing an

to be careful!” Tabitha yelled, her face pale and

that must have been snapped in half by

at that ugly thing! Ah, it’s giving me goosebumps!” Nora stood close to me. Driven by anxiety and fright, she clung tightly onto me as if her life

too. The creature was inches away from us, equipped

too late if we run now?” Nora muttered, already backing

too late!” Tessa said, her voice trembling. “This is a bamboo snake. It’ll come after

we can’t just stay here like

scared that she was shaking

at the reptile hiding among the leaves with a

snake could latch onto her