The Bone Below by Sylwia Koziel

Author:Sylwia Koziel [Sylwia Koziel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Paraphraser, LLC, dba. Conquest Publishing
Published: 2024-02-08T00:00:00+00:00

Nelka brought in one of the buckets of rainwater and poured it in a bowl to boil along with the pot of cabbage soup. Mother took their finest tea and let it steep. They worked silently, but a buzzing energy filled the room. Shortly, four bowls of hot soup steamed on the table once father came in. His house shoes had been waiting for him by the door as he slipped them on, hanging his coat on a chair near the burner to dry.

“I set you some clothes on the bed,” Mother said affectionately, a glint of pure happiness in her words that weren’t there earlier.

Stepfather didn’t say anything as he closed the door to her and Olesia’s bedroom to change privately. They all waited for him before they even considered starting to eat. Nelka poured the tea, and Olesia took a slow sip, hissing at the burn. Nelka smirked at her impatience, and when Olesia noticed, she kicked her under the table.

Once her stepfather came back dressed, they ate in companionable silence. Just grateful for each other’s company again. Conversations and questions would come later. Now, they just wanted to feel like a family for the time they had with him because they all knew he would leave again as he always did.

Every time he came back home, Nelka swore he weathered further with age. A new patch of gray hair, more lines on his face. It wasn’t a bad thing, as aging proved a long-lived life, but the burden on his body must be getting harder for him to manage. Too proud to admit it to anyone though.

Once the bowls were stacked in the sink and they all finished their tea and moved on to plain hot water, Stepfather leaned back in his chair and groaned, “It’s so nice to be back.”

Olesia reached out and placed her hand on his arm resting on the table, an action so intimate and so rare for her. “How were your travels?”

An intense curiosity underscored her question.

Her stepfather chuckled, Olesia’s need to move on and to know everything was nothing new. “Laborious.” Then his countenance turned grim as he added, “Unsuccessful.”

Nelka quickly peered at Mother’s face, and a knowing sadness was there. Maybe there were letters she hid from Nelka and Olesia. Something only kept between two parents desperately protecting their children.

Facing her stepfather again, she said with as much sincere hope as she could muster for him. “It’s okay, Father. We have been making great progress on the harvest so far.” Even if he was not her father by blood, she still called him as such.

Olesia was not finished with her questioning. “But why?”

Her stepfather placed his elbow on the table and rested his head on his hand. “The nobility are no longer interested in what we have to offer,” he signed heavily, tiredness catching up to him as he closed his eyes briefly. “A rising trend it seems.”

Nelka didn’t understand what it meant. The nobility were pushing for more, but

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