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.

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.

to eat and which ones to

many other kinds of mushrooms in the soil. She

need to cook them. If not, we’ll

a pity. None of us have a lighter, otherwise, we could have made ourselves a feast supplied by Mother Nature herself,” Nora

of a sudden, prompting everyone else to look towards her, surprise hanging on

God decided to

her body stiffened, as she

her gaze simultaneously. There was a tiny green snake, about fifty centimetres

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

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

of my eyes. There was a branch that must have been snapped in half by the wind. One of its

goosebumps!” Nora stood close to me. Driven by anxiety and fright, she clung tightly onto me as if her life depended on

was scared too. The creature was inches away from

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

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

it! But we can’t

scared that she was shaking uncontrollably, her face completely drained of

to glare at the reptile hiding

to the snake. Any careless movements and the snake could latch onto her and sink its fangs