‘How would you like it to be cooked?’
The children in the room heard their mother's question and clamored into the kitchen.
‘Fried!’
A harmonious voice came from a little girl who was clutching tightly onto her mother’s apron, with luminous golden hair curling around her shoulders and onto the floor.
‘With chilli sauce!’
On the opposite side, a girl with hair as black as a raven’s feathers, was using her big round eyes to beg her mother to cook a spicy meal.
“Sweet and sour with buns to dip the sauce!”
The golden hair swept across the girl’s arm as she faced her sister with glaring eyes, she didn’t like spicy food.
“Spicy crab!”
Her sister’s short black hair rustled as she tensed and sent a bone chilling scowl back at her, she wouldn’t lose this match without a fight.
“Haha,” the mother laughed heartily at her children’s pleas, “I have a crab family, more crabs to eat!”
The mother brushed past her children towards a large pot and put her hand inside. Her hand retrieved a small blue crab with wings on its back from the pot as it wriggled in her grip.
“Crab legs grow back don’t they?”
One of the girls asked as she ran her fingers nervously through her black hair while staring at the crab.
“Crabs are mostly regenerative.” The mother calmly comforted her child and gave her a plate to put on the kitchen table.
“More parts to eat!”
The little girls spoke in harmony as their hair bounced in excitement.
“You two are both right about how I should cook the food, my golden Naomi and my ebony Noue.”
She began to boil the crab and after a while it was served with some scallions. The meat was fried and she had added spicy shrimp with chili dipping on the side.
Naomi and Noue hung their feet off the edge of their chairs as they sat down to eat. A light sound filled the air *tap tap* *tap tap* and a voice rang out from the kitchen window.
“How was everyone’s Halloween Festival?”
“On Hiatus!”
“On Hiatus!”
The girls cheerfully called out to the boy that had snuck in through the window and was playfully sitting on the wooden sill.
“I said hi first!” The girls glared at each other as though they were mortal enemies facing off for their final duel and the boy chuckled. He swung his legs in from the outside and landed gracefully in front of the girls' mother who was standing with her hands on her hips.
“On Hiatus, you naughty boy!” On Hiatus glanced nervously at the imposing figure before him and breathed in relief as he saw that there was a large grin and not a scowl on her face.
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“You can come in from the front door, there’s always food here for you.”
Before On Hiatus could respond to the mother's kind words, she was swiftly pushed aside as the girls crowded around the young boy.
He smiled and found a tuft of black hair waving front of him, “Nice style, it suits you.” Noue blushed as On Hiatus looked at her. She had cut her hair short for the local Halloween Festivities and had been worried about the sudden change since her hair used to reach past her shoulders like her sister’s.
“What about my hair?”
On Hiatus felt his cheeks being pulled by small fingers and turned to face a smiling Naomi. She was twirling her hair around her thumb, making cute gestures at On Hiatus; who was helplessly looking for something to say.
“It’s the same as always.” On Hiatus gulped and Noue smirked at her sister’s expression, “It’s better that way, since it was just the way I liked it in the first place.” It was Naomi’s turn to let a victory smile reach her lips, she poked her tongue out at her sister. The two quickly started to glare at each other and a powerless On Hiatus was shrinking from the dangerous aura the sisters were sending out to each other.
The girl’s mother let out a gentle cough and put her hands on the children’s backs to lead them back to their chairs. On Hiatus sighed in relief as the mother looked back at him and gave him a wink, he put his thumbs up in return and smiled as she gestured for him to take a seat at the table.
She called out to On Hiatus, “You’ll be staying with us today, dear.” The sky had darkened quickly after dinner and she had no intention of letting the young boy walk by himself through the long path to the town.
“He’s sleeping in our room!”
On Hiatus barely had time to react as two pairs of hands quickly grabbed him from both sides. He wore a look on his face that begged the girls' mother to save him. She waved at him cheerfully as he was dragged off into the girls' room.
She sighed as she followed them up the stairs, ‘To think they’re only ten years old! They’re going to be a real handful for poor On Hiatus when they grow up.’ The children were quick to fall asleep and she smiled as she saw the girls intertwined with a struggling On Hiatus on the makeshift sleeping mat on the floor.
She did her round of the children’s room and confirmed that they were asleep before nodding happily and putting out the fire lamp, she had a long day of work ahead of her tomorrow.
****
There is another section to this prologue and I assure you it has people dying and nice plot twists. But as per the name of the ff everything shall be done slowly and most likely in 12-15 hours. :)