Chapter 625: Someone Is Knocking Again

The peaceful days passed again for over ten days.

The snow varied in intensity; when heavy it blanketed sky and earth, when light it fell in fine flakes, occasionally stopping, but returning after only a few days.

Daytime was grayish-white, night was pitch black, the days felt frozen, repeating endlessly; Enna's family stayed indoors, not going out.

Food was still enough; the fish and venison Yu Lin had brought back last time, plus the wolf meat Enna had brought back, were smoked or cured and piled in the corner, enough to last a while.

The hourglass used to tell time sat on the windowsill; fine white sand trickled from the upper half to the lower, and when it ran out, a day had passed.

Yu Lin made it.

Ying Ge loved watching the hourglass; each day she crouched by the windowsill, watching the white sand trickle down bit by bit, and when it finished she would shout, "A day has passed!" then run to tell her mother.

Today she was also crouched there, watching the hourglass; the white sand had already drained considerably, and it was nearly noon.

Xi Ge Li De was busy at the stove, simmering meat soup in a pot; she took the leftovers from this morning, added some dried wild greens and water, and heated it up to eat.

Alf was sharpening his knife, Enna was whittling arrow shafts, Yu Lin sat by the fire holding a branch, roasting it until it blackened; he turned it over and continued roasting.

Ying Ge ran over from the windowsill, crouched beside Yu Lin, and watched him roast the branch.

"What are you roasting it for?" she asked.

"It's fun." Yu Lin said.

Ying Ge tilted her head, watched for a while, found it boring, and ran off to check the hourglass again.

A knocking sounded at the door.

Knock, knock, knock. Not heavy, not urgent, as if the knocker had no strength left.

"Huh?"

Enna put down the arrow shaft he was holding, stood up, walked to the door, didn't open it, and first peered outside through a crack in the door.

Outside the door stood a woman, thin and frail, hunched, her hair a tangled mess, her face dirty, wearing a patched hide garment—patches everywhere, some spots bare, revealing the old grass underneath.

She stood in the snow, her shoes torn with a hole, but barely able to cover her toes.

She held nothing in her hands, merely standing there with head bowed and shoulders hunched, as if bracing against the wind.

Enna opened the door.

Cold wind poured in, swirling snow particles that stung his face.

The woman lifted her head, looking at him; her eyes were cloudy, her eye sockets sunken, her lips cracked and bleeding.

She opened her mouth, her voice hoarse to the point of being barely audible.

"I… haven't eaten in a long time… could you… give me something to eat?" Her voice came in broken gasps, as if she had exhausted all her strength.

Enna looked at her for a moment, then stepped aside, clearing the doorway.

"Come in." he said.

The woman hesitated a moment, then repeatedly thanked him, stepped over the threshold, and entered the house.

Her legs trembled, she walked very slowly, as if she might collapse at any moment.

Xi Ge Li De brought over a stool, placed it by the stove, and gestured for her to sit.

The woman sat down, reached out her hands to warm them by the fire; her fingers were frozen red and swollen like carrots.

Xi Ge Li De ladled a bowl of soup, broke off a piece of black bread, and handed it to her.

She took it, first sipping the soup slowly, then began to wolf it down, soup spilling from the corners of her mouth and dripping down her chin; she didn't wipe it, just ate desperately, as if fearing the food would be snatched away any second.

Enna sat opposite her, watching her eat.

After she had eaten nearly her fill, he finally spoke:

"Where are you from?"

The woman set down her bowl and wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

"From the north, that village—just past that forest."

Her voice was a little better than before, but still hoarse.

"How is the situation there?" Enna asked.

The woman's eyes turned red.

"Not good." she said, "Half a month ago the village ran out of food; the winter dragged on, the fields yielded no grain, the mountains offered no game, everything edible was gone—we ate bark, roots… anything we could."

Her voice began to tremble, "Many have died—elders, children, even some young people—starved, frozen, or sick to death."

"I… I had to come out, otherwise I would have died there too."

As she spoke, she suddenly burst into tears.

Tears welled from her cloudy eyes, streaming down her cheeks and dripping into the bowl.

She covered her face with her hands, her shoulders shuddering; her sobs were quiet but heavy, as if something inside her had been crushed.

Still crying, she lifted her head and looked at Enna, then Xi Ge Li De, then Alf, then Ying Ge, and finally at Yu Lin.

"Please," she said, "could you give me a little more food? I… I still have three children waiting for me at home; they haven't eaten in two days…"

She couldn't go on, covering her face again and bursting into tears.

Enna's family exchanged glances, then fell silent for a long time.

"Sigh."

Xi Ge Li De stood up, walked to the corner, took several strips of dried meat and a few pieces of black bread from the storage cabinet, wrapped them in a cloth, and handed them to the woman.

"Take it; I hope your children can survive."

"Thank you, thank you." The woman took it, clutching it to her chest as if it were precious, thanking over and over, her tears flowing even harder.

"Sigh." Enna sighed again.

"If you can, go south and have a look."

"Maybe there isn't heavy snow in the south."

"Thank you, I will." The woman nodded, stood up, and clutched her bundle tighter.

"Thank you, thank you…" she said while walking to the door, "I still need to go back and cook for the children, so I won't disturb you any further."

"Thank you, may the Gods bless and protect you, wishing you.........."

She kept saying thank you, pushed the door open, stepped out, and staggered a few steps in the wind and snow before disappearing.

The door stayed open; cold wind rushed in, swirling snowflakes, striking the hearth fire, making the flames sway back and forth.

Yu Lin stood up, walked over, and closed the door.

Enna still stood where she was, staring at the closed door, her fists clenched tight, knuckles whitening.

His chest rose and fell, his breathing heavy, as if he were holding back something.

Xi Ge Li De stood behind him, head down; Alf leaned against the wall, wondering what to think; Ying Ge stood by the windowsill, staring blankly at the vast white snow outside.

"This heavy snow," Enna said, her voice low, as if speaking to herself:

"This winter that seems like it will never stop—will it kill everything?"

He turned around, looking at the covered statue of Fulei on the wall, his expression complex.

"Us."

He walked over, lifted the cloth, and gazed at the wooden carving of Fulei for a long time.

Then he let out a low growl, the sound forced from deep in his throat, filled with anger and resentment.

"We pray to the gods day and night—what have we gotten?" he stared at the statue, his eyes almost blazing with fire:

"Everything we have now is what we ourselves fought for—even this winter might have been the Gods' doing! They just want to kill us all! How could the lofty gods pity us lowly people?!"

His voice echoed in the wooden house, making the hourglass on the windowsill tremble slightly.

Xi Ge Li De pressed her lips, said nothing, just walked over and covered the statue again.

She neither blamed nor comforted Enna, simply covered the cloth, turned back to the stove, and continued heating the soup.

Alf put down the knife in his hand, walked to the window, and looked outside.

Ying Ge leaned against his leg, hugging his leg, silent.

Yu Lin stood at the doorway, his back against the door, watching all of this.

After the wooden house grew quiet and Enna's breathing steadied a little, he finally spoke.

"All right." he said, his voice not loud but clear:

"The winter will pass."

"Believe me."