4- Time for dinner
The next morning, he tells the elders what happened. They become scared and worried as they comment that the curse is getting closer to them. The old man says, "Tonight, I will keep watch with you. You will be in the back of the house, and I will be in the front. We will hold our candlesticks high and search for whoever wants to throw those cursed flowers at us." At that moment, Sherek remembers that he has a red flower with him, so he hides it well. He is a bit skeptical that flowers could actually cause misfortune or fortune; it seems ridiculous to him. He says, "Do you really think these flowers you mentioned are so problematic? I mean, they are just plants." Sherek comments. The old man replies, "I don't know where you have been living or if you are from a different continent, but these cursed things affect everyone in some way. I had to separate myself from my guild, friends, and even my own family. Only my beautiful wife and I realized the evil of these things, which is why we live so secluded. We don't want misfortune to pursue us like it does to all our loved ones." The old man says. During the day, while chopping wood, the old man goes to a spot that can be seen from afar from the house and delicately places his red flower in the grass. He wants to find out what could happen with these flowers at night. After a few hours, he notices that the old man is setting up traps and mines around the entire house. Sherek asks the old woman, "Isn't this dangerous? There are too many mines, and they might forget where they placed them, leading to a tragedy." Sherek asks. The old woman replies, "My husband has been very agitated lately. Now that you have arrived, he wants to resolve this matter once and for all, so he will ignore any warning I give him. Nevertheless, we still need to be careful." The sun begins to set, and the old man sits in a chair with his shotgun, signaling for Sherek to take position behind the house. Sherek grabs the old man's other shotgun and sits in his spot, watching the clouds slowly darken and vanish into the darkness of the night. The old woman places candlesticks in the distance from the house, positioning them in a way that Sherek and the old man have a clear view of the entire area. This way, they would be able to see if something was approaching from afar. The other candlesticks are placed around the house to avoid blind spots. After several hours, the silence of the forest overwhelms the surroundings, but out of nowhere, the slow steps of short shoes and the clash of glasses with cutlery can be heard. Sherek and the old man react and begin to carefully look toward the depths of the forest, but they don't see anything. The sound becomes fainter until they hear, "Time for dinner."
Both calm down and lower their weapons, they head to a small dining room at the entrance of the house. They have a light dinner of a couple of eggs with beef and grains. It's been a long time since Sherek has felt so satisfied, he really enjoys this meal, so he thanks the kind old woman.
"Wow, everything is really good. Thank you for not leaving me stranded in the forest," Sherek tells them.
"Don't worry, I have my doubts about you, boy. Where do you come from?" the old woman asks him.
"I come from a cabin not far from here. I lost my memory and woke up feeling like I had been dreaming for months. I started checking my cabin and found that my food had gone bad, so I went out to look for supplies, but I had an accident and lost everything," Sherek responds, sounding somewhat sad.
"How did that accident happen?" the curious old man asks.
"I was thinking about the price I would sell the things in my cart for, and a man came out of nowhere running from the woods, scaring my horse and causing it to lose control. Everything went downhill from there," Sherek answers.
"Did you see what that man was running from?" the old woman asks.
"I didn't manage to see, the horse started running towards the woods. If I hadn't jumped, I probably would have fallen with the cart into a nearby ravine," Sherek replies.
"Did you see any flowers on your way?" the old woman asks.
"No, but…"
"But what?!" the old man interrupts.
"I planted some in my house before leaving…" Sherek says, lowering his head.
"Damn it, I shouldn't have let you in. Those flowers have already stained you," the angry old man says.
"Calm down, my love. He didn't know," the old woman says, trying to calm him down.
"Sorry, they just seemed nice to me and they matched my curtains," Sherek comments, making an excuse.
"Well, let's hope you don't bring that curse to my property, and let's hunt down that thief," the old man concludes.
After finishing dinner, they return to their positions and focus their gaze on the candlesticks, but they don't see anything. After long silent hours in the middle of the night, Sherek hears something strange but constant. It's so faint that he can't determine its direction. He gets up and looks around, but sees nothing. He pays more attention and hears the sound coming from the direction where the old man is supposed to be looking. He starts walking backward along the right side of the house and says softly, "Old man, are you okay?"
There's no response. He keeps walking slowly backward with his weapon ready for any eventuality and starts to understand the sound better. He realizes that it's someone's breathing. He says in a more audible and stronger tone, "Hey old man, are you okay?"