Chapter 127
Startled, Gilly dashed to the door and checked the latch. It was old and rusty, but fortunately, it held firm.
He raised a finger to his lips, signaling Raffaella to stay quiet.
But he knew it wouldn’t matter much; the fire had already been lit, and smoke would be escaping through the chimney. Pulling the curtains and holding their breath wouldn’t make much difference.
Gilly gripped the thin poker tightly with both hands. In the shabby mountain cabin, there was nothing else that could serve as a weapon. He couldn’t tell whether his trembling hands were due to weakness from hunger or sheer fear.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The knocking outside grew louder than before.
“Ahem! Who’s out there?”
Gilly deliberately lowered his voice, scraping it as he spoke. He was trying to sound like an older adult.
“I’m from the village down the mountain. Weren’t you looking for medicine for a fever earlier?”
“I wasn’t! Go away, it’s late and you’re disturbing us!”
He mimicked his father’s tone roughly, but his young face had already turned pale.
What he had just heard outside meant that this man had watched everything—Gilly searching for medicine and even coming to this cabin.
And the man who came to the cabin wasn’t alone.
“Child, don’t be afraid. We’re here to help you.”
This time, it was the voice of an older woman. A middle-aged woman spoke kindly.
“She said her little sister is very sick… we were worried. So we came to give you a little of the medicine we have.”
“How do I know if you came to give medicine or to rob us? If you really want to help, come back tomorrow when it’s daylight!”
Gilly shouted even louder, refusing to get drawn in. The man shouted back in anger.
“We climbed all the way up this snowy mountain at night, and you won’t even look at us and turn us away? The hospitality for people trying to help is incredible! Let’s just go!”
“Oh, it’s because of your tone. How could the children not be scared?”
“What did I do?”
“Exactly. That’s why I said I’d speak first. Don’t get in the way…”
Hearing the two people, presumably a middle-aged couple, bicker like that made Gilly’s guard slowly ease.
And just as if she knew Gilly would calm down, the middle-aged woman knocked on the door again.
“Children, it’s natural for you to be scared. You’re smart to be cautious, and I understand. I would’ve been the same.”
“……”
“Today, we’ll just leave the medicine and some food at your door, so don’t worry.”
“……”
“If it’s alright… as you said, we’ll come back tomorrow during the day. Could you at least offer us a cup of tea then?”
“Why do you keep trying to see us? We don’t need anything. Take it all and leave! And never come back!”
Gilly was incredibly tempted by the words “medicine” and “food,” but he managed to refuse. In doing so, he forgot to imitate an adult’s voice. He realized it too late, but figured it didn’t matter—they probably already knew everything.
“I don’t know how to put it, but we… just felt sorry for you… and wanted to help.”
The middle-aged woman’s voice carried sadness and a hint of moisture, as if she were quietly sniffling.
“We had no intention of threatening you. If you were scared, I’m sorry…”
“Don’t cry, Linda. In these chaotic times, some people can’t accept kindness even when it’s offered. Let’s just leave.”
“Yes… Bill. It’s better for us to go before the poor children get any more frightened.”
Hearing the rustling near the door, Gilly jumped, raising the poker, but soon he heard the fading footsteps of the couple leaving.
“O… Oppa.”
“Shh.”
Raffaella whispered from under the blankets, shivering, but Gilly still couldn’t fully relax. As Father had said, everyone from the village down the mountain—or anywhere else—could be frightening and cruel, and he had to protect Raffaella from them.
Yet, contrary to Gilly’s tension, there was no sign of anyone outside. They had really gone.
During the silence, Gilly pondered. They were adults, and if they wanted, they could have easily broken the old door with a weapon or a tool. But they hadn’t—they had left quietly.
Could they really not be bad people? Could they truly have intended to help? The thought gradually began to take root.
Gilly peeked through the curtains, observing the area around the cabin. In the snow-covered forest shrouded in darkness, only footprints presumably belonging to them remained.
Still, to be safe, Gilly pressed his ear to the door. Having grown up in the mountains, distinguishing the sounds of nature from humans was easy for him.
All he heard was the distant cry of a bird and the sound of snow falling as wind rustled the branches. He listened intently until his ears were red from the cold.
Cough… hack… cough.
At that moment, Raffaella’s cough erupted. Her chest and throat had been tickling her for a while, but she had been holding it in. Having waited so long, the cough now came relentlessly.
“Cough… Oppa, I’m sorry… cough.”
Each cough tore through her lungs, and she pressed her small, thin hands to her chest, apologizing to Gilly. She buried her face in the blanket, trying to muffle the sound. Her tiny, hunched back shook violently with each cough.
Gilly’s heart ached even more. He put down the poker and hurried to bring water.
“Don’t be sorry… it’s fine. Drink this.”
Thanks to the kettle he had placed by the fireplace earlier, he could give it to her warm. Luckily, her coughing subsided without a seizure.
Gilly pulled the blanket over Raffaella as she lay in bed—and noticed a bloodstain through the fabric.
“!”
It was faint and small, but it was definitely fresh. It must have happened while Raffaella had been coughing into the blanket.
Despair colored Gilly’s face.
He had tried to protect his sister by keeping others away, yet now her illness had worsened. The thought that something could happen to her shook him to the core.
“Oppa?”
“Mm?”
“Do you think those people already left? They didn’t hear me coughing, did they?”
“There’s no one outside, so it should be fine.”
“But… I’m curious what the lady and gentleman left behind.”
“Wait. I’ll check first and let you know.”
Gilly carefully unlocked the door.
The door creaked as it opened, only an inch or so. Gilly reached out and pulled in the basket that had been left outside, then quickly latched the door again.
He removed the cloth covering the basket. Inside were neatly arranged groceries: a handful of dried jerky, onions, tomatoes, a large loaf of rye bread, two eggs, and some sandwiches wrapped neatly in paper, ready to eat.
On top was a small wooden box, palm-sized, labeled in large letters: “Cold Medicine.”
Gilly’s eyes lit up at the sight of the wholesome ingredients for the first time in a long while. Above all, he was thrilled to see the medicine.
“Raffaella, look at this.”
“Wow! With this, we could eat for a week! Right?”
“There are sandwiches too.”
“Ah! Oppa, am I seeing things? I can see ham in the sandwich.”
“It’s ham.”
“Wow!”
Raffaella instinctively reached for a sandwich, but Gilly gently blocked her.
“I’ll check it first before giving it to you. They might have put something strange in it.”
“Something strange?”
Raffaella tilted her head innocently, but Gilly didn’t explain further. He didn’t want her to know about cruel possibilities yet—poison, sedatives, or plans to kidnap them and sell them as slaves.
Gilly cautiously bit into the sandwich. Between the soft bread spread with butter and strawberry jam were thin slices of ham and salty cheese. The taste of proper food, after so long, made his senses go wild, demanding more—but he carefully chewed just one bite. Then he opened the box labeled “Cold Medicine” and took out a pill. He wasn’t sick, but he needed to check the medicine.
“Ella, just so you know…”
“Mm?”
“If I lose consciousness or start coughing up blood, don’t panic. Stay calm and run, okay?”
“W-what are you saying, Oppa… don’t scare me like that.”
Tears immediately welled up in Raffaella’s eyes. Gilly’s expression was that serious, and his words had frightened her.
