"Today is very beautiful, how about we take a little walk before we go home?"

I asked my friend Canela on our way back after we went to the market to buy some spices for today's dinner.

 

I looked at her with a smile and then answered her

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can this time, my mom needs spices so she won't be late for preparing food and I have to help her with that."

  

Canela breathed air from her mouth and then said,

"Yes, you're right, I remember the last time we were late for supplies..."

 

She laughed so loudly that the passers-by looked at us with disgust, then she continued.

"Your mother made us clean up the chicken droppings as a punishment for being late, which caused the food to burn."

 

I joined her in laughter and then continued on

"Yes, that's why we ate toast with toasted seeds for dinner."

 

Canela and I always go to the market together, not only because I like to go with her, but because I forget the necessary things that my mother tells me about.  Canela has a strong memory, so I relied on her sometimes if my mother asked me to go shopping for food.

My mother is a skilled cook, so famous for her dishes in the village that she cooked for the king when he heard about her cooking skill.

He sent a guard to our village to bring my mother to the royal palace and cook for him many of her famous and delicious dishes.

And when the king asked her to stay in the palace and work there as a chief cook, she refused to stay in the palace because my father could not live with her.  Money, but my mom didn't let fame and money keep her from her loved ones. 

Because of this story my father told me about, I became proud of my mother every time I spoke to everyone about her.  And there's also my father, a strong hunter who is not famous but has a cleverness in hunting.  Sometimes I think he speaks the language of animals when I go hunting with him.

He can hunt fast and lightly, I learned some skills from him however I couldn't learn everything because he is a hunter since he was a young man.  In fact, I do not have a love for hunting, but I learn it only for the need and in order to spend more time with my father.

  

When we got to the side of my house, Canela gave me the things she was carrying and then gave me a hug and said

"Okay... see you later and say hello to everyone for me."

I hugged her back and answered her

"Of course, I wanted you to stay and have dinner with us today."

She smiled and said, putting her hand on my shoulder

“Next time, I have to come back now for the little goblins I have.”

She laughed at the way she called her younger sisters goblins.  Canela has five younger brothers.  She loves them and cares for them, but they become a headache sometimes, because they are still so young and so bitchy.

When Canela made her way home, I made my way to the hut door.  I raised my hand and checked him.

No one answered quickly, but I began to hear my mother and sister Sophie's loud voices from within.

Looks like they're fighting again!

I said to myself.

Suddenly the door opened and my brother Liam showed me signs of anger on his face.

"Oh, that's you next? Why are you late!"

    . Liam said angrily after I entered the hut and quietly closed the door behind me

I asked Liam

"What's going on? Why are they arguing now?"

He breathed air from his mouth, took the things from my hand and then entered the kitchen without even answering my question.

My mother and sister's quarrel is nothing new or unusual.  They are always like this, their voices do not stop coming out and make everyone who lives in the village hear them.

But it's my brother Liam's anger that baffles me now.  Why is he angry?  Although he has nothing to do with it, I think.

At these times, I always wish my father would be there because he makes complicated things easy to solve.  But at this time he is not there because he is hunting and we cannot use his help and calmness when difficulties are encountered.  Unlike my mother, who has a bad temper and gets angry quickly.  

In one second she is happy and laughing and a rainbow is around her, and in the other second she becomes intolerant and has frightful looks that make the ground beneath you shake.

There is also my sister, Sophie, who does not remain silent or let things run smoothly like running water.  She has a hobby of provocation, especially with my mother.  You can't not argue with her about everything, so my mom quarrels with her every day as if arguing with her is an indispensable hobby.  I took a deep breath to get ready to watch what was happening inside, and walked into the living room, where the epic fight takes place between them. 

I entered the room, and the first thing that hit me was the hot air, even though the fireplace had no fire there.  So I decided to stand in front of the entrance to the room, which had no doors, so as not to burn more than the temperature of the room.  I stood on the side of the entrance, leaning against the wall, my arms crossed.

"This won't happen, Sophie!! Stop arguing.... I won't let you go anymore," said my mother.

Sophie raised her arms in frustration and then answered with a scream

"How can you make a decision like that without any compelling reason? And how can he let him go and I don't? It's not fair."

 

My mother put her fingers on the bridge of her nose as if to relieve the headache by squeezing her nose, then she raised her head and said after a long silence

"Listen well, I'm afraid for your safety, because you go alone and you don't come back early. Going there alone is dangerous and I always worry about you."

She took a deep breath, adjusted the way she stood behind my father's favorite sofa, and continued in a calm voice.

"My dear, please understand that I am not telling you this because I want to deprive you of what you want, but it is dangerous for you and your family--"

She stopped suddenly when she realized I was there, her eyes bulging as if she had seen a ghost.  Sophie also turned her head to me and her facial expression matched my mother's.

 

What happens to them?  Why do they look at me this way?

I asked.

"Oh...Next, you're back in a hurry!"

My mother said after the expressions of surprise disappeared from her face.

I turned away from the wall, then I answered

"Yes, I just came back, what's going on?"

My mother looked back at Sophie, as if she was talking to her silently, then said as she walked towards me.

"Next time, Sophie, we'll continue our conversation, and you..."  

My mom pointed her finger at me and continued

Follow me to the kitchen, I need your help.

Then she made her way to the kitchen quickly, avoiding looking at Sophie.

I opened my mouth to ask Sophie why they were quarreling, but she gave me a look and left the room without a word.  Great, it's getting weirder and I think Sophie blames me for coming and breaking up the fight.

What a strange day, could it be worse?

  

I let the air out of my mouth and then turned around and decided to go to the kitchen in order to help my mother and try to come up with some answers to the questions that were baffling me now.

When I entered the kitchen, I could smell wood burning and the smoke coming out of it started burning my eyes.

Our kitchen is not large in size, but it is a bit spacious.  There is a table and around it are four very old wooden chairs. One of the chairs has some problems, because it makes sounds every time someone sits on it.  And even his feet are moving.  The person sitting on it is me because I am the lightest in my family.  So I still didn't fall or break it completely every time I sat on it.

And in the middle is a larger table, for cutting food on it.  And there are some things that have no place.  On the right there is a square window, which lets the sunlight enter the kitchen and lights the whole place.  On the left are many cupboards, small and large, filled with spices and urgent kitchen items.

I made my way to my mother, who was standing in front of the sink, and stood her left side.  Before I opened my mouth, she pointed her hand at the spice cabinet and said as she cleaned the fish.

"Could you bring me some salt and pepper from there!"

I shook my head, then went to the different spice cabinet and came back with salt and pepper.

My mother took the spices from my hand and began to put them on the fish in front of her.  I raised my body with my arms and sat down on the table next to her, thinking how I should ask her, in a way that I would make her answer without turning.  I took a piece of lettuce in a round plate full of washed vegetables and the water fell from the lettuce to my hand and slid down my elbow.  

Before I asked, she took a bite, and then I told her

"Why is Liam angry? Did he fight with you too?"

My mother did not answer me quickly, but took her time to work on the fish without saying a word, as if I was not with her.

"No, he didn't quarrel with anyone."

My mother said, shortening the answer.

I looked at the entrance to the kitchen and then asked again

"And what about Sophie?"

" what about her? "

She asked me.

"I mean, why were you two fighting? And why did you decide not to let her out again?"

 

Once again, she did not answer me quickly, but settled for a long silence, making my patience run out.

"Mom!! Why don't you answer? Did I ask about something I don't care about?"

I said grumblingly.

She paused to season the fish, and looked at me with drowsy eyes, and said,

"No, it's not like that, but it's not important... A little fight happens every time with a mother and her daughter."  

She gestured with her hand to a staircase at my feet

"Bring me a plate from there, so I can put the fish on it."

I blew out of my mouth in frustration and then got off the table and fetched her the plate.  She will not answer me in this case, every time she avoids the answer completely.  And my patience has run out. If I don't stop asking, I won't get anything from her in general.  So I decided to talk to my father when he came back so he might know why my mother would not let Sophie out again, and about the danger that my mother had spoken of.

Yes, correct!

I remembered.

Why did my mom say that Sophie's going out again was dangerous for her and the family?  What does Sophie do when she goes out every single time?  I never thought about it or asked Sophie where she goes every time she goes out on her own.

It seems to be a serious matter and not just a small quarrel that happens every time with a mother and her daughter.  I didn't see sparks coming out of their words when they quarreled like this every time.  What is everyone hiding from me?