Mara was busy putting finishing touches to her work in the kitchen. She had done all the washing and cleaning and was now rounding up the stock taking. When it was only Leo and her along with the baby, she never worried about running out of food. She only restocked once a month, on the 15th. But since Mel joined them, food had been running down faster than usual. She now had to take inventory regularly to avoid the distasteful experience of running out of essential food items.

She was in a squatting position, counting the number of potatoes left when all of a sudden she felt a shadow darken...