8. The Village that Conceived the Hero (3)
As Bork was busy counting, Hilda, suppressing a fit of laughter, dashed off. Where should she hide? Where could she hide without being found? These were the thoughts racing through her mind.
The alleyways? No, there were plenty of hiding spots, but they were too dangerous. What about the market? No, there were too many people there, increasing the risk of being found.
As Hilda darted about with a racing heart, an idea suddenly came to her, and her face lit up. That’s the place!
The place Hilda had run to was none other than Othel’s house. Hilda knocked on the door with her small fists, calling out for Othel.
“Grandma! Grandma Othel!”
But no matter how much she knocked, there was no response. Was she not home? As Hilda anxiously paced, unsure of when Bork would come looking for her, the tightly shut door finally opened, and Othel stepped out. Wearing an apron, as if she had been cooking something, Othel looked surprised to see Hilda standing at her door.
“Oh my, Hilda?”
“Ah! Grandma!”
“What brings you here? Weren’t you playing with your friends?”
Othel bent down to Hilda’s eye level and asked kindly. At her grandmotherly warmth, Hilda responded with a bright smile.
“We’re still playing! We’re playing hide and seek, can I hide in your house, Grandma!?”
“Ho ho ho. I don’t mind, it’s rather quiet here. But your friends might not be able to find you, is that okay?”
“Um…. I think it’ll be okay!”
“Ho ho, alright. If you’re okay with it, come on in.”
“Okay~!”
With a spirited reply, Hilda entered Othel’s house. A sweet and savory aroma filled the air.
Even though she had eaten a strawberry pie before playing, the smell made her mouth water. Unconsciously swallowing, Hilda looked at Othel with sparkling eyes.
“It smells amazing!”
“Does it? Ho ho, it seems the smell of the pie I baked this morning is still lingering in the house.”
“Hehe, the strawberry pie was really delicious! Ah…. I want to eat it again….”
Seeing Hilda’s mouth water, Othel smiled warmly and patted her head. Hilda closed her eyes and leaned into her gentle touch.
‘My grandchild would be this adorable too….’
She wondered why her son never brought him even once. As Othel stroked Hilda’s hair, a bitter smile crossed her face at the thought of her son.
She had heard the news of her grandchild’s birth. She even heard that a second one was born not long ago.
But strangely, her son never thought to bring his children to her. She had even suggested going to see them herself, but was always refused with a dismissive, “It’s okay.”
‘If only he would send a portrait or something….’
She had such complaints, but she couldn’t voice them to her son. He had grown up well on his own, without much help. He was the one people called a hero, the one they praised.
There must be reasons for not bringing the grandson, for not visiting. When the time comes, he’ll surely come.
‘He must be busy.’
Yes.
It’s wrong to demand a busy child to come.
‘At least he regularly tells me about his son and daughter. That’s enough.’
With these thoughts, Othel removed her hand from Hilda’s head.
She couldn’t keep stroking her hair forever.
Hilda felt a pang of regret as Othel’s hand left her head, but like a child, her attention quickly shifted elsewhere.
Her focus was on the lavender drying on the drying rack in the garden.
“Wow! Grandma! Those flowers are so pretty!”
“Hmm? Let’s see… Ah, you’re talking about the lavender.”
“Lavender…! Even the name is pretty!”
“Isn’t it? Hehe, lavender has a really nice scent. If you harvest it before it fully blooms and dry it well, it makes a good tea. Dried lavender in a cotton cloth becomes a scented sachet, and if you boil it in oil for a long time, it becomes fragrant oil.”
As if to prove she was a little girl, Hilda’s eyes sparkled at the idea of making various things from flowers.
Othel smiled at her innocent look.
“You seem interested.”
“Yes! I want to try the tea made from lavender!”
“Let’s see… Yes. This one is dried well and can be brewed into tea.”
“Wow!”
At Othel’s response, Hilda cheered with joy, and Othel smiled contentedly at her.
Just as Othel was about to go out and get the lavender, a thought struck him, and he clapped his hands and exclaimed.
“Yes, that’s a good idea.”
“What is?”
“If you’re going to have tea, you’ll need some cookies to go with it. Shouldn’t we make cookies before brewing the tea?”
“Cookies!”
Hilda’s face lit up at the word ‘cookies’, and she nodded vigorously.
Seeing her lively reaction, Othel laughed and headed to the kitchen with Hilda.
Thus, Hilda, who had been playing hide-and-seek, completely forgot about it and became engrossed in making cookies.
They made dough together, made jam from fruits to put on the dough, and baked it.
It may not seem like much when listed out, but it was quite time-consuming.
Of course, Hilda, who was engrossed in making cookies, had no idea how much time had passed.
Inhaling the sweet smell wafting from the oven, Hilda was in ecstasy. Seeing the cookies Othel took out of the oven, her eyes sparkled.
“Wow…! The cookies are so pretty!! They’re sparkling!”
“Hehe, that means they’re baked just right. Now, be careful, they’re hot.”
“Yes!”
Othel put the well-made cookies on a plate, went outside to get the dried lavender, and brewed the tea.
A sweet, savory, and fragrant scent.
Feeling a happiness that made her smile naturally, Hilda sat in a chair, swinging her feet back and forth, looking at Othel.
Seeing Hilda like this, Othel thought, ‘I must do this when my grandchildren come.’ With that thought, she placed the tea and cookies on the table.
“Here, eat.”
“Thank you!”
With a bright smile, Hilda picked up a cookie and popped it into her mouth in one bite.
As the crunchy, slightly sticky, savory, and sweet taste filled her mouth, Hilda’s eyes sparkled.
“It’sh sho delishioush!”
“Hehehe, the cookies won’t run away, so swallow first and then speak slowly.”
Hilda, nodding her head, diligently chewed and swallowed the cookies, then rinsed her mouth with lavender tea to wash away the lingering gooeyness. The genuinely luxurious aroma and pleasant bitterness of the tea cleanly swept away the remaining sensation in her mouth.
“It’s delicious! Both the tea and the cookies!”
“Good, good; I baked a lot, so eat as much as you want.”
Seeing Othel nodding with a smile, Hilda, who also nodded in response, quickly emptied a cup of tea while eagerly grabbing more cookies. Once she felt somewhat full, she blinked at the still plentiful cookies.
‘If I take these to Kali and the kids, they’d be happy, right?’
Heehee, Hilda, who had been smiling happily, suddenly remembered one fact and froze. In the midst of baking cookies and drinking tea, she had completely forgotten that she was supposed to be playing hide and seek.
Only then did Hilda, who remembered that, abruptly stand up from her chair and exclaimed.
“Ah! Granny! I was playing with my friends!”
“That’s right, you were in the middle of hide and seek.”
“What should I do? What if my friends leave me behind?”
“Hoho, don’t worry too much. In my time, we used to play until the sun set. It’s only been an hour, so it should be fine.”
Back in my day, no one noticed if someone had disappeared or if someone had joined. We were too engrossed in playing.
Othel laughed heartily, reminiscing about the distant past. Those were good times.
“But….”
“What’s worrying you so much that you won’t tell this old lady?”
“I’m worried that my friends will be upset because I’m the only one eating delicious things while they’re playing….”
“Oh dear, so that’s what you were worried about.”
Othel stroked Hilda’s head, who was worried about being disliked by her friends. Although this didn’t completely alleviate her worries, it strangely reassured her.
“If you’re really worried, why don’t you take the cookies you made yourself and apologize?”
“Can I really do that!?”
“Of course. That’s why I baked so many.”
Seeing Othel nodding and laughing, Hilda nodded with a big smile.
“Then wait a moment. I’ll pack them in a basket for you.”
“Yes!”
Othel went to get the cookies and transferred them to a basket. Hilda, eager to return to her friends as soon as possible, waited for Othel while tapping her foot impatiently.
A moment later, Othel came out with the basket and handed it to Hilda. Hilda tightly hugged the basket, feeling its warm heat.
“You can return the basket tomorrow, so go and play with your friends today.”
“Uh, can I really do that?”
“Of course. It’s fine. Now, go on.”
“Yes! I’ll definitely return the basket tomorrow!”
Hilda stood up with a bright smile, holding the basket, and Othel saw her off. Hilda, who bowed deeply in farewell, turned around and headed towards her friends.
Watching Hilda’s retreating figure, Othel went back into the house with a satisfied smile.
And after that day, Hilda disappeared from the village.
Thanks.