Chapter 006
“What’s the matter, Ivan? Did you forget your promise, and what exactly were you doing?”
As soon as he came out, the children began to chatter as if they had been waiting for him.
“Ivan, why are you so late? Here, the candy. Come on, let’s go now.”
“Who is in the house? My grandmother said your mother isn’t your real mother.”
Ivan feared the woman might follow his request and come out after him, so he gently pushed the children gathered at the door down the stairs.
“Ivan, Ivan, don’t push them. That’s dangerous!”
“If you don’t want danger, then get down quickly. Hurry!”
“Alright, let’s go. We have to get to the mountain fast.”
He looked at the girls running ahead of him and signaled to Hank to hurry as well.
But Hank, with his plump face full of suspicion, looked back at the house at the top of the stairs once more.
He didn’t like that look, so Ivan pushed him again violently, and then Hank spoke.
“Who is she exactly? Everyone in the village is dying to know who she is. Why is she in your house?”
Again, the same question.
And who was she? What did it all mean?
“…She’s my aunt.”
“Huh? Aunt?”
“Yes, my aunt.”
Ivan sighed and pushed Hank again; nevertheless, the boy continued his annoying chatter as he retreated.
“You had an aunt too? My dad said it was just you and your mom. If your mom dies, you’re an orphan.”
“I told you not to mind my business.”
Ivan grimaced, and Hank approached with a pouting mouth.
“But didn’t you bring anything? We all bring food, and you just come to take?”
“What?”
“Isn’t it better not to come if you don’t bring anything?”
Hank stammered, looking toward his father’s and grandmother’s house, trying to finish his words reluctantly.
“Huh? Anyway, I’m not going.”
“What? Why?”
His eyes, full of resentment, suddenly flashed.
When Inn screamed from afar telling them to hurry, Hank turned away.
“Fine, I’ll tell them then. I’m going.”
“Tsk… that pig-…”
Ivan didn’t look back; he muttered curses while watching Hank run excitedly, then suddenly closed his mouth.
“Seriously, they care so much about other people’s business… Damn it, since when were they begging me to play with them!”
Ivan kicked a rolling stone on the ground with force.
Just moments ago his mood wasn’t bad, but it returned again. That feeling like insects crawling, creeping up from his feet and making his whole body twist.
“Damn it…”
If he wandered around the village with that woman, everyone would start questioning her identity.
Or would the pig’s grandmother be the one to start gossiping first?
‘Ivan, you said she’s your aunt? And you don’t know when Sheri is coming back? A child’s mother shouldn’t be away long. You should advise her well.’
The grandmother’s raspy voice rang in his ear in no particular order.
“Ivan, have your friends gone already?”
The woman asked when he entered the house again.
“Yes, but Mom… I want to wash up first.”
The woman tilted her head in surprise.
“Why?”
“So I can wash quickly and play with the children.”
“Ah, I see. Well, after you wash, you should play quietly with them, okay?”
The woman took the coin pouch from the shelf, then put it back behind the glass.
Apparently, she was hiding the money in her own way.
The woman approached Ivan and gave him some coins.
“This is enough for the bath fee.”
Ivan looked at the woman who knew nothing about financial matters, and tapped the coins before returning the change to her.
The woman smiled happily and played with Ivan’s hair.
“No, Ivan. You said you were going to meet your friends. Buy them something delicious.”
“You want me to buy for them?”
He asked, letting his face rest quietly against her hand as she patted his head.
The woman nodded without saying anything.
“…Why?”
Had she heard what Hank said a moment ago? Or did she hear me say she was my aunt?
“Why do you want to pay for my friends…?”
“Because they are your friends, Ivan.”
The woman smiled gently and wiped his cheek.
Apparently, Hank and Ivan hadn’t made a big enough scene.
Ivan rolled the coins in his hands.
I wanted to stay here, surrounded by the sweet smell of apples that filled the house.
She said that after the jam was finished, they would eat it with bread.
“When will you go, Mom?”
“I’ll go after I finish making the jam, but don’t go alone, make sure to stay with your friends.”
“…Alright. And Mom, if someone talks, don’t listen. Promise? No matter what they say, come back here. Okay?”
“Okay. Take care of yourself, and return before sunset.”
And he wondered if that woman had survived the tiger.
* * *
After wandering for a long time along the wall of the large public bathhouse, Ivan suddenly dashed toward the square.
Perhaps that madwoman from the neighboring village was there.
He often saw her wandering in squares or empty places, and sometimes in the market.
If he found her… Ivan increased his speed.
He climbed onto a statue in the square to cast a quick look around.
The woman was always grabbing passersby and chattering with them, so people avoided her and pushed her away.
And if she were there, she would be seen immediately because of the commotion she caused.
“You brat! Why did you climb up there? Get down this instant!”
Ivan’s head moved quickly as he scrambled to the ground before anyone could catch him.
He ignored the angry man and hurried to the market, but he didn’t find the woman; he only found children gathered and playing.
“Damn it, she didn’t come out today then.”
Ivan bypassed those he knew and ran toward the market.
And finally, he found her there.
Her brown hair was braided into two sides, and her red dress swayed.
She was giving a flower to a fat man.
“Sir, how are you?”
“Tsk, you again.”
Despite the man’s grimace, the woman didn’t care; she patted his stomach and brought her ear close to it.
“My little one, come out quickly. The flowers will bloom soon.”
The man’s face turned bright red; he pushed her away forcefully and left the place quickly.
“Sir, wait! I couldn’t say a full greeting!”
Ivan watched the scene, then followed her quietly. She was pretending she knew all the village people.
“Excuse me.”
“What?”
After chasing her for a long time, he suddenly caught her.
“What?”
“Wait a moment.”
He led her to an alley, then looked at her as she smiled at him, and said.
“Do you really think you’re a princess?”
“Heh, how did you know? My mother said it was a secret.”
She pointed her hand to her mouth, as a sign not to reveal the secret.
“So don’t tell anyone.”
“A lie, there is no princess in this country, there is only one prince.”
“No! You’re wrong!”
Her speech quickened and she got angry, her face flushing red.
She even forgot to swallow her saliva, and foam began to appear on her lips.
The woman was arguing passionately that she was a princess, when someone said.
“Hey you, what are you doing? Didn’t your mother tell you not to talk to this woman?”
“Auntie, is this woman really a princess?”
Ivan asked in a loud voice, while a woman was pulling him by his hand anxiously.
“Hah, no, she’s mad, so don’t talk to her again, go home.”
“No, I am a princess! I really am a princess!”
The madwoman trembled, dropped the flower on the ground, and cried bitterly.
The woman insisted she was a princess, but she held no weight in Ivan’s heart; the situation did nothing to lighten his burden.
He searched the village for this woman, but he didn’t feel relieved.
“What is this, it doesn’t look like her at all.”
Nevertheless… the weight in his heart did not lighten even a little.
“This is a massive mistake.”
This woman is nothing like my mother—I mean that woman—at all.
It’s true that that woman was deranged too…
But even if she knew the truth, she didn’t seem like she would cry like this.
Rather, if she knew the truth, she would most likely leave me firmly.
