Felicia nodded. “Yes, it’s me, Nana.”
Macey Garcia and Felicia weren’t related by blood. But during Felicia’s childhood, when Howell and Tabitha neglected and mistreated her, Macey occasionally slipped her a croissant or a couple of apples.
Later, when the village repurposed abandoned houses into a small school, the enrollment fee was a hundred dollars and a piece of smoked ham. The conditions were simple, but the aim was to ensure that every child could get an education. Howell and Tabitha would never spend a dime on Felicia.
Felicia could only cling to the window to learn and write words in the dirt with a twig. Seeing her like that, Macey couldn’t bear it. She paid Felicia’s school fees with the money she earned from weaving bamboo baskets.
That one hundred dollars had been saved in small bills that were all crumpled up and piled together.
Felicia gently said, “Nana, your eyes aren’t good, and you need to take care of your health. You shouldn’t keep running up the mountain to cut bamboo; it’s tiring! Listen to me, and stop weaving baskets!”
“Alright.” Macey chuckled, but her response was clearly just perfunctory. It was clear she wouldn’t really listen.
Felicia’s expression turned serious. “Nana, I’m serious! The mountain paths are hard to walk on. Don’t weave any more baskets. And winter is coming. Your hands are cracked. Are you still washing clothes by the river to save on electricity for the washing machine?”
“No, I use the things you bought for me every day,” Macey replied, pulling Felicia into the house. She rummaged around, revealing a pile of treats like candy, biscuits, and cake.
Felicia couldn’t help but smile. It seemed all elderly people had the habit of hiding their favorite foods. They were usually too reluctant to indulge unless their grandchildren came to visit.
“Licia, sit tight. I’ll fry you some fish filets! The fish is fresh. It was brought by Mr. Todd this morning!”
Indeed, a bucket beside her was filled with small river fish, all still lively and jumping about.
Macey quickly began to gather the fish while Felicia popped a piece of candy into her mouth. She then rolled up her sleeves. “I’ll start the fire.”
The village was backward and impoverished.
Even though Felicia had bought
many appliances for Macey over the past two years, the old woman still refused to use the electric stove and stuck to the traditional hearth.
ve
Felicia expertly lit the fire, and soon, wisps of black smoke rose from the chimney. The black smoke turned to white, curling gently and filling the air with a homely aroma.
Meanwhile, when Arnold descended the mountain, he was covered in dirt.
The other women weren’t faring much better. The rough terrain had caused them to trip and stumble, and as dusk fell, their complaints echoed around.
“If I’d known, I wouldn’t have followed Felicia. She just dashed off, and we almost got lost chasing after her!”
“I’m so hungry! Hey, isn’t that our college’s bus over there? I see the vice principal. Let’s hurry and rejoin the main group!”
“It does look like them! Let’s go!”
As the women inked arms and prepared to leave, they noticed Arnold standing still, his gaze fixed intently on one spot. This prompted them to ask, “Mr. Lawson, aren’t you coming with us to join the main group?”
Arnold replied coolly, “You go ahead.”
“Oh…”
The women didn’t linger and linked arms as they left.
But Olivia remained behind.
In this remote area with spotty internet, she had received a message from Kayla stating that she would arrive at Alverton in about an hour.
So before that, Olivia was determined to keep Arnold close to prevent Felicia from seizing the opportunity to get close to Arnold.
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