The next morning, after I woke up, I decided to walk out of the old house. The bright light dazzled my eyes.
But despite the simplicity of this place, I was truly enthusiastic when I saw the children and their grandmother working in the garden around the orphanage.
I also saw Elio hanging out laundry with the help of a girl.
Several children I knew approached me and invited me to walk around the garden. Elio, who saw me, still had his grumpy expression.
'If she were a little gentler, she'd actually be sweet!' Oh shit, what was I thinking? My heart raced.
I approached the grandmother who was clearing weeds from the plants. I was truly impressed by her persistence in caring for the plants that were dying from lack of water.
These months, it seemed like a drought had struck the entire country, and my heart was moved by the pain of seeing them working so hard while I wasn't.
I grabbed a hanging bucket and tried to drop it into the nearly dry well, trying to draw water from it, hoping I could provide a few buckets to help water the plants.
But my grandmother walked up to me and immediately forbade me from doing so. She said I could work once my body had fully recovered, but for now she told me to just focus on recovering my health.
...
It's been more than two weeks since I woke up from my coma, and my health has gradually returned, although not completely.
My days are starting to get quite colorful now, especially since the little trio of pesters who always bother me.
That evening, after dinner and prayer, we, as usual, calculated our expenses and budgeted our finances.
Tomorrow was the time to sell the garden produce and some of Grandma's knitting. Elio would do it, accompanied by some of the children, and go to the market.
But now that I've recovered enough, I didn't want to sit around. I decided to accompany Elio and the children to the market tomorrow. Although Grandma and some of the children opposed my decision, I simply couldn't stand doing nothing.
And finally, with a sigh, Grandma finally allowed me to go with Elio tomorrow.
...
In the morning, we got ready. I helped the children load the meager garden produce into the backpacks on the donkey's back, and we finally set off.
"Are you thirsty? Have a drink and rest for a while if you feel tired," Elio said, the first time I'd heard his gentle words.
Seeing me stare blankly instead of answering him, he returned to his usual stern expression, while the children giggled at our antics.
Actually, my feet were already quite tired, as the walk to the market was quite long, passing through hills and several remote villages. However, as the oldest boy in the orphanage, my ego wouldn't allow me to say stop.
However, after seeing the children looking exhausted from the long walk, we finally stopped for a moment by a tree on the side of the road to rest and seek shade.
Sometimes, at times like this, I wonder why Elio and I are the only mature children in the orphanage, over 16 years old.
Meanwhile, the other children, like Nael, Jeo, and Ema, were all under 11, and six others were under 10.
Where did the other children, older or our age, go? Did they leave the orphanage after growing up and getting married, or did they go somewhere else to build a new life?
Sometimes these questions crossed my mind, but unfortunately, I didn't dare ask my grandmother or Elio too much, considering that I still can't recall my past.
...
As the sun rose higher, we continued our journey. I could see the ruins of the villages we passed, destroyed by war. I never imagined that war had reached this place. Fortunately, the orphanage, located behind a hill, was not directly affected by the war.
...
After a tiring journey, we finally arrived at the market. My expectations were shattered when I saw the equally dire condition of the market.
The market, which I had expected to be a bustling trading center in the city center with luxurious buildings, turned out to be nothing more than a squalid bartering place amidst the ruins of a dying city.
The war had truly destroyed everything, both life and morals. I wondered where I had been caught stealing and beaten into a coma for weeks.
I watched Elio struggle to sell his goods to several vendors.
"Mr. Tuk, here are some of our garden produce. Grandma asked if you could give us a few bags of wheat for this week. If there's anything left, we'll bring you some knitting next week," the girl said, trying to bargain with one of the vendors.
"Tch! Some potatoes, nearly rotten vegetables, and knitting. Do you think it's easy to get a few bags of wheat these past few weeks? Besides, your grandmother's junk will be hard to sell even if you want to sell it in another city." said the middle-aged man named Tuk in a sharp tone.
And I could see Elio's eyes welling up for the first time, and the children who were looking down beside him were also confused.
My heart felt like it was breaking at the sight of it all.
"But-but sir, these things were made by our grandmother with great difficulty. Could you at least give me three bags of wheat for this week?" Elio asked hopefully, but the merchant's next words immediately made me angry.
"Tch, young lady, tell your grandmother to support herself. Tell her to think logically and accept the reality of this ruined country. There's no point in feeding children who were abandoned by their parents like trash. Just admit it, they no longer have a future," said the middle-aged man, glaring at the bowed children.
Seeing all this, I couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to beat up the trash-mouthed vendor. But before I could, Elio quickly blocked my path and glared at me, trying to stop me.
"Sir, please give us just two bags of wheat and we'll leave immediately," Elio said again, which really annoyed me. She could lower himself to that cynical vendor.
Moreover, the old man deliberately threw the two bags of wheat in front of the children, now treating them not as humans but as animals.
After the exhausting bartering was over, Elio finally pulled me away from the place with the children.
I, still not accepting the vendor's words, had no choice but to comply and surrender when Elio pulled my arm.