Chapter 1 (1/2)

Shwaaah-11

It was a terrible night of heavy rain.

Not only the rain was strong, but the wind was blowing hard, making the trees around the house flutter like they were going to break.

“Adele! You pathetic thing!”

Resounded in the lighted house, a louder and more haggard voice echoed than the sound of heavy rain.

The door opened roughly.

“You lazy, useless thing! Don’t even think about coming home until you reflect!”

The fat woman screamed in a rage and kicked the little girl out of the door.

Slam!

The body of the little skinny girl was pushed by a strong force and rolled in the mud.

The rain from early evening turned the yard into mud.

“It hurts…”

The girl fell and wrapped her broken knee with her hands.

The girl’s skinny fingers touched her knee which were now red in shade, but the pain didn’t go away.3

“It’s cold…”

The girl stumbled in the rain and walked in the opposite direction from the house where the fire was revealed.

This wasn’t the first time.

Rather this happens quite often, so the little girl knows that her aunt’s anger doesn’t go away so easily.

Usually it takes half a day to get rid of her aunt’s anger, but since her uncle has done something bigger than usual today, she may be angry by tomorrow morning.

It is usually because of her uncle that the aunt gets angry.

Her uncle likes to gamble, so he often gambles with silver coins which is   earned by selling cows and sheep, but he often comes back losing everything.

And whenever that happens, her aunt’s anger would direct to her.

I can’t go back home until my aunt’s anger is relieved.

If she knock on the door now because it’s cold, her aunt will probably come out with a scary opening and beat her with a broom.

She’ve already been hit like that before. She knocked on the door because she was so hungry, but her aunt, who was extremely angry, walked out and hit her mercilessly with a broom, she still has the scars and bruises on her face.

There is a place where the girl always goes when she is scolded by her aunt and kicked out of the house.

It’s a huge oak tree near the house.8

There was quite a big hole under the tree, unknown for how long it has been there, which is big enough for the girl to enter.

The girl walked in the rain thinking she could at least avoid the rain there.

The wet hem sticks to the wounded leg, and rain keeps pouring in her eyes, the girl tries to protect her eyes several times with the back of her hand.

What’s fortunate is that she put a piece of bread in her pocket before her aunt kicked her out angrily.

The bread in the pocket was secretly put in the apron while setting the dinner table.

Whatever food the family left after having their dinner was the girl’s dinner.3

If the family doesn’t leave food, she would have to starve on that day.

So sometimes she would hide a loaf of bread in front of her apron just like this.

Her clothes were wet from the rain, but she won’t cry because she’s hungry like last time.

“Huh?”

The girl, who was about to enter with her body bent down through a hole in the oak tree, opened her eyes surprised and panicked.

There was something that had never been in the hole before.

“What is it?”

It was a big egg.

That’s a huge egg.

The egg was too big for the girl to assume it as a duck or a chicken egg.

“Not a goose’s egg…”

The egg was big enough for the girl to hold in her arms.

In addition, it was not white, but subtle purple and glossy.

I’ve never seen an egg like this before.

“Is it a huge bird’s egg?”

But is there a bird that can lay such a big egg?

I’ve never seen such a bird around here.

“It’s not a turkey…”

She remember hearing that there was a bird called an ostrich in the faraway place from where the girl lives.

The ostrich was a huge bird, so maybe this is the so-called Ostrich’s egg.

“But why is the ostrich…”

Did the bird lay eggs here or did someone hide the eggs here?

“Very…soft and warm…”

She touched the egg out of curiosity.

Carefully, the surface of the egg had a smooth feel to the hand till the bottom.

Eggs usually have rough shells, but which were very soft.

Besides, it was warm.

“It’s moving…”

She could feel a throbbing movement in my palm.

It was proof that the eggs was alive.

“It’s moving inside…”

It was amazing that she could feel the movement inside while she was just touching the surface of the egg, so this time, the girl put her cheek out to the surface of the egg.

“Wow…”

She could hear the egg moving with her ears.

“But… Wouldn’t it be too cold here?”

It’s warm now, but it might cool off if I keep it as it is.

The girl has been raising chickens and ducks. So she have seen a lot of how chickens and ducks hatch their eggs.

Eggs hatch when their mother’s body warm the egg, but if left alone they cannot hatch.

“If we leave it as it is, it won’t be able to hatch…”

But who would hold such a big egg?

It has to be covered with huge wings, but it’s not even a duck or a chicken.

But she can’t hug the egg herself when her own clothes are wet like this, otherwise the eggs will cool off.

“Oh, my…”

Where did the mother bird go?