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.

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

“Well, if you know which ones to eat and which ones to avoid, basically you won’t have any

found many other kinds of mushrooms in the soil. She

need to cook them. If not, we’ll see things that

have made ourselves a

prompting everyone else to

God decided to show Himself?”

face turned pale, her body stiffened, as she

tiny green snake, about fifty centimetres in length, hanging around the leaves of the tree next to

The snake spat out its forked tongue. It looked like

is venomous. We have to be careful!”

There was a branch that must have

now! What now! I’m going crazy just looking at that ugly thing! Ah, it’s giving me goosebumps!” Nora stood close to me. Driven by

comfort her, but I was scared too. The creature was inches

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

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

can’t

was shaking uncontrollably, her face completely

the reptile hiding among

movements and the snake could latch onto her