Chapter 2 Part 2

Part 2 "Why, Mom?" asked Sumiati while blinking her eyes. Her hand that was still touching the doorstop immediately stopped its action and looked at her mother sadly.

"No, that's a tiger horse playing around the house, if we disturb it, you could get kicked. He's not our opponent, Nduk," explained her mother with a pitying look in her eyes. She understood that her daughter just wanted to ease her burden, but she knew the power of the black horse with the long flowing hair that was around their house.

Sumiati flinched, letting out a deep breath before those thin pink lips parted and asked, "Can Sumi see it, Mother?"

The old woman knitted her eyebrows, whose fur had turned silver-white. Gazing intently into those round, shaded eyes that were so innocent and sincere.

"What do you want?" She asked back.

"Mmm, just want to see, Mom. That's all," she replied with a sweet smile.

The woman called mother finally nodded and agreed to her daughter's wish.

The girl, who was only wearing a kemben and a cloth wrapped around her knees, jumped up and lifted the doorstop with a smile on her face.

"Thank you, Mother," she said before exiting the bamboo house.

Her long hair was instantly ruffled and partially blown away by the strong wind blowing towards her.

Her beautiful shiny eyes looked around. The large trees that were lined up neatly swayed, as well as the grass that was moved by the wind.

The girl caught the quiet and was only accompanied by nature with beautiful moonlight.

"Yuhuuuu, where are you?" Sumi wandered around looking for the horse's whereabouts while stepping her bare feet slowly, so cautious and wary. What if the horse suddenly attacked her?

It was quiet and still. Only the gentle breeze could be heard. Sumi exhaled heavily. Disappointed.

"How is it? Is there a creature?" asked the white-haired woman in a bun as she limped out of the doorway.

"Nothing, ma'am," said Sumi as she turned around.

"Yo wes, let's sleep. Tomorrow morning I have to find food again, and as usual, you don't go out, wait for me until I get home," she ordered, to which Sumi immediately nodded.

Sumi approached mom, and grabbed the wrist of the woman she loved so much. She took her by the hand and they entered the house together, the door closed slowly and Sumi locked it.

"Sumi rest first mom, Sumi is very sleepy," the girl excused herself because she was very tired. All day she had been waiting for her mother in the house, eating what her mother left behind without complaining.

She actually didn't like game meat that smelled like carrion, but she had to eat it because it was the only meat in the house.

Her mother had never taught her to cook, the old woman had taught Sumi to eat raw meat and blood to survive.

Unlike Sumi, the more the meat smelled and was sometimes infested with maggots, the old hunchbacked woman loved to eat it.

The girl then entered the room and laid down on a bamboo bed covered with a mat she had woven from forest pandanus, which she dried first. Surprisingly, once he was in his room, the sleepiness simply evaporated. He rolled over to his left, where his quiet eyes gazed at the dust-covered bamboo wall.

Hhhh!

Sumi let out a rough breath. Somehow she felt that there was something strange about herself and her life.

Why did mom always disappear during the day? And why was she only allowed out at night? What was wrong with the sun?

These questions had been lingering in Sumi's mind for a long time, but she was afraid to ask her mother.

However, over the past few days, those questions have been nagging at her mind again.

She felt lonely. Was there only her and her mother in this world? Why did she never see anyone like her and her mother?

She was bored for a long time. His life was confined to the house, waiting for his mother to come home and eat.

She was never allowed to hunt and accompany her mother. Her mother always told Sumi not to leave the house when the sun was shining.

However, once in a while Sumi would leave the house, her submissive self sometimes becoming a little defiant. And she had to admit, the daytime life was addictive.

The longer Sumi stared at the wall, the heavier her eyes became. She fell into a deep sleep with questions that she carried into her subconscious.

*** The sound of water gurgling outside sounded like soothing music. Sumi woke up with her eyes still heavy with sleepiness.

The girl lifted her body slowly, and rubbed her eyes. She breathed in the fresh air coming from between the woven holes.

"Mommy must have left," she cried. Sumi then got up and hobbled to the kitchen on imperfect legs.

After washing her face in the simple bathroom with only a jug of water and no toiletries, Sumi turned around and went back to searching for food in her shabby kitchen, which was full of cobwebs and a fireless sawang.

The light brown-eyed girl lifted the lid of a clay container sitting on a wooden table that was mossy and moldy on some sides.

The smell of carrion was instantly overwhelming. Sumi looked lazily at the food she used to eat with her mother.

The blackish-green hunk of meat with the strong scent of carrion didn't make Sumi sick at all.

She was just bored and reluctant to eat it. For some reason, she felt that what she was eating was not to her liking.

She preferred to eat forest fruits that she picked up secretly while her mother was away.

However, when he ate meat, his body felt full of energy. Fresh meat of course, because if it wasn't fresh meat, Sumi didn't like the taste. Besides the smell, the sweetness and fishy aroma were gone. It turned into a bitter and unpleasant taste.

Sumi moved her head to another place, where an uncovered container was swarming with flies.

Just as the white hand was about to reach for it, there was a faint voice in the distance.

"Please... please...,"

Sumi froze. This was the first time she had heard a cry for help. She pulled her hand back and sharpened her sense of hearing.

Wasting no time, the girl immediately opened the back door of her house and ignored her mother's words forbidding her to go out while it was still light.

The girl ran shufflingly in search of the origin of the sound. She suddenly stopped her steps when...