After they arrived in the village, the two families went their separate ways.
After Mrs Willis and her family arrived at their home, they first took a bath. Then Mrs Willis reheated the food she had brought from the farm, they had their dinner, and went to bed.
The next morning, the family of three got up, did their morning preparations, and headed to the farm.
After they arrived, Mrs Willis and her husband, began the work. Mr Willis went to set traps around the farm, and Mrs Willis began working on the rice she picked from the ground the previous day.
First, she separated the undamaged rice heads from its stem. Then, she picked the good rice from the half damaged rice, cleared the rice heads from the stems, and added the rice to first ones she cleaned.
Then, she filtered the dirt from the rice heads she picked from the ground.
After she thoroughly cleaned the rice, she put it in one big pot, put few cups of water in the pot, closed it, and set it on the fire.
After the water dried from the rice, she put it in a different wider pot, set the pot on the fire, and stirred the rice, until its dried. Then she let the rice cooled down before she pound it.
Afterwards, she used the fennel and fan the shells away. After that step, the flat, crispy, green rice snack was ready.
After that, she packed the rice stems baby Asher was playing with into two bags to serve as cushions for the rice she will harvest later.
Afterwards, she prepared lunch for her family. After they ate lunch, they patrolled the farm until evening hour, before they headed to the village.
*Time moved faster, and in a blink, baby Asher was two years old.*
...
"Slow down, Sweetie, before you fall,"
Shouted Mrs Willis. As she ran behind her son, Asher.
Who then replied as he ran faster
"No, Mama, Joseph and Faith are waiting for me,"
"Baby, slow down. Your old mother can't take it anymore," Mrs Willis said. Breathing fast.
"Mama, stop pretending, yesterday I saw you and my aunties running to Auntie Monica's house," Lil Asher said in one breath as he ran.
*Swoosh* Mrs Willis quickly reached him and covered his mouth. As Her eyes sneakily look around.
"Wettin you're shouting for? You want every household in the village to know I like gossiping?" She said, her hand still covering his mouth.
"If you understand me, raise your hands."
She continued.
Then, familiarly, Lil Asher raised his hands in surrender. His eyes filled with helplessness.
After she took her hands off, he started complaining as he headed to the Hopeson's compound.
"Mama, if you don't want people to say it, don't do it."
"You na start your lecture again, why shouldn't I do it? My friends who can't gossip. Isn't it because they don't have the time?
But, see you that supposed to keep me busy," she said while pointing at him.
"You're, just two years old, but you can say almost all the words. Nothing for me to teach you, if it comes to the food, except the raw ones that can't be eaten raw, you can eat everything else. So, lemme do my thing," she said while walking behind him.
Lil Asher looked confused.
"Ma~..." but his mother quickly interrupted him.
"Leh go faster before Joseph leaves you behind", she said quickly.
Lil Asher looked at his mother for a while, turned his head and started running again. His mother also started running after him, telling him to slow down while pretending to be out of breath.
...
The Hopeson's compound;
Joseph and Faith were waiting for lil Asher under the big orange tree in their front yard.
When they heard the mother and son voices from afar.
The two of them exchanged glances and took a deeeep breath together.
"Hnnnnng..... hnnnng..."
"Here we go again,"
Joseph said, while revising his line in his head.
"I bet my bowl of rice. She will slip on that thick carpet grass," Faith said. As, they observed the duo running towards them.
Joseph looked at her, rolled his eyes and replied. Disdain evident in his eyes.
"This one even requires betting?"
Right after he finished speaking, Mrs Willis and Lil Asher arrived at the carpet grass area in the compound. Then she left the rocky pavement between it and did the dramatic slip onto the carpet grass, coming down on her bottom.
After she 'slipped', she looked at her son. Lil Asher looked at the pavement they were running on, and the carpet grass she 'slipped' on. He took a deep breath and walked to her.
"Ouch! Ouch! I think I broke something"
She said while holding her head.
Lil Asher: "....."
Following her cues, Joseph entered the scene
"See what I can be telling you? See, now, Auntie slipped," he said to Lil Asher.
Then, he turned to Mrs Willis and extended his hands to her.
"Aunty, sorry ya, lemme help you up,"
"I'm fine, but I think I broke my waist,"
Then she got up and walked to the bench. After she sat down, Faith gave her the cup of water she was holding.
"Ahhh, the life of having a good daughter,"
Mrs Willis said after she drank the water.
"Thank you, sweetheart,"
She thanked Faith, who then nodded shyly and walked to her partners.
"Mma, we're going," Lil Asher said after he walked to Mrs Willis.
"Okay, I will come pick you up after school."
When Lil Asher heard what she said, he sped up his pace.
After the children left, Mrs Willis gazed up at the orange tree and said,
"Alright, leh show finished. Your come down."
After she said that, four people slid down the orange tree, walked towards her, sat down beside her, and normally started chatting with her.
"I sayy, that your slipping style, you have to upgrade it. We're tired of seeing the same thing every morning," Chloe, the chief of gossiper, said.
"I know, right? And the location also. See the carpet grass na get flat from her weight,"
Patricia said, pointing at the grass.
"Your please leave my friend alone, mehn,"
Agnes said. Though her expression and words were going separate ways.
"So, your woke up soon this morning just to watch me??" Mrs Willis asked
"Uh~huh, what goes around, comes...,"
Deborah started then,
"Around!!!" the five of them shouted together and burst out laughing.
...
Outside the compound, three women were passing by when they heard the group laughing.
"They're old like that, but whole day they're gossiping," said the one to the right with a frown.
"Yeah, you were supposed to see how they climbed the tree side Monica house. Just to run chichipoly," the one in the middle said with disdain.
"Let's walk faster, their husbands won't beat them, but ours will," the one on the left said.
As she walked ahead. The other two quickly followed her. Quickly, the three disappeared into the forest.
.....
In the compound;
The five gossiping partners were chatting about the husbands. That went hunting two days ago and still hasn't come back.
.....
Flower Village Kindergarten and Elementary School
Class K1;
After the teacher for their class went to use the bathroom, Lil Asher and his classmates began their journey of chaos. Some of them were running around and throwing papers at each other, and some were shouting and using the chairs as drums.
Especially Lil Asher, who was using the teacher's desk as his personal drum. Amid the chaos, some children started crying after they were accidentally stepped on or pushed down. Then, Crying × laughing + running ÷ drums sounds. That was the math the teacher, Mrs Davis, heard from a distance, and rushed to solve it.
Q