Chapter 329 - Unexpected Visitors

Ebony walked into the hallway. She reached her room and entered. She saw her sister lying on the bed. She closed the door and locked it.

Mende looked at her sister. "Your bed is so nice, soft and comfortable!" she commented. "And your human companion is kind and compassionate. I like her!" she said.

"You can live here if you want. We will stay here together. Just say yes!" Ebony said excitedly.

"Put your companion into sleep. I want you to give me a tour of this grand manor," Mende said.

Ebony rolled her eyes. "So...demanding, eh? For someone who doesn't like to live in this place," she said sarcastically.

Mende smiled. "Alright, I'm just joking. I'll tour this place the whole morning then go back to the cave to sell vegetable in the market. Mature veggies needs to be harvested before they will rot," she said and rose from the bed. "I shall start my grand tour now!"

"Enjoy!" Ebony said.

A moment later, Mende vanished from the room.

Ebony released a deep sigh and left the room. She's going to start cultivating the vegetable and herbal garden at the back of the manor. The previous owner already started the gardens but the majority of the plants and vegies were already gone, only a few survive. She still has lots of seeds to plant, she purchased them from the market the last time she made a trip there.

A few minutes later.

Ebony and Anastasia can be seen exiting the kitchen door carrying machetes and garden tools in their hands.

They began cultivating the soil, while Mende roamed around the property in her invisible form.

During lunch.

Ebony was surprised to see her sister relaxing on the bed. "I thought you already left and returned to the cave?" she asked.

"I've changed my mind. I enjoyed the view in the wooded area, there are picnic tables and chairs there, so I stay there for a while. Then I return here to rest and enjoy your comfortable bed," Mende grinned. Then she caressed her tummy. "Sis, I'm hungry. Please, give me some food!" she said.

"Alright, wait here. I'll go to the kitchen and get some food for you. Good thing we're still have leftovers for you. We have roasted fish and shrimp for lunch," she said.

"Wow, that's delicious!" Mende said excitedly.

Ebony left the room and went downstairs to get food for her sister.

A few minutes later.

Mende was already eating her delicious lunch.

After she finished eating, she bid goodbye to her sister. "I'll go back to the cave now. I'll drop here from time to time to visit you," she said.

"Okay. Take care of yourself!" Ebony said.

"Thanks for the delicious lunch, sis!" Mende said.

She vanished from her sister's room and teleported back to the cave to harvest another basket of vegetables from the garden.

When she landed in front of the cave it was already raining heavily around the area.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw two children uprooting Bok Choy vegetables from the garden, her eyes widened in shock. She ran to the mouth of the cave to take shelter from the rain and turned around to see the children, she continue watching them. The boys' age ranging from 7 and 8.

She was astounded and shocked. Wait... why on earth there are children in this part of the forest? Where are the adults supervising them?

The children thought that they already harvested enough, so they walked away going in the direction of the East part of the forest.

Mende followed them secretly.

A few minutes later, she finally saw the boys going to the banana trees growing abundantly nearby.

Not only she saw the boys, but she saw several people as well. The two women are holding their babies in their arms and there are two adults men as well. They took shelter under the banana leaves from the pouring rain. One of the men was cooking something above the fire. The boys handed their harvested vegetables to the guy. The guy produced a knife and sliced the vegetable and dropped it on the pot.

Interesting!

'Who are these people?' Mende asked herself. She saw some Abaca bags with them, probably their clothing and belongings. They look like they're migrating to another place and passing to this area.

She released a deep sigh.

Maybe after the rain stopped, they will leave the place and move on somewhere.

Well, she can't get mad at the boys for stealing some of the vegetables without permission. They must be very hungry. It's not a big deal and nothing to be angry about.

She left the place quietly and went back to the cave to take shelter.

She settled herself on the dry part of the cave's mouth waiting for the rain to stop.

Hours went by, but the rain never stop falling.

Mende feels sleepy, she entered the cave and went to the chamber to take a nap hoping that the rain will stop after she wakes up.

She lie on the wooden bed and shut her eyes to sleep.

Two hours later.

Mende woke up and left the chamber going to the entrance of the cave to check if the rain already stops. Unfortunately, when she arrived there, the rain was still pouring heavily into the ground.

Maybe there is a typhoon?

How long the rainy days will last?

She looked heavenward, the sky still looks dark!

Damn! The rain might last until the morning.

She went back to the cave and made a fire and warmed her hands.

During the rainy season, the outside area can turn cold especially if everything is drenched in water, the area outside is not a child-friendly place during the heavy rainfall. She was thinking about the two babies, the two boys, and the two women. The temperature can be freezing for all of them especially during the night which is already fast approaching!

Should she wait until tomorrow to help them?

But by the time she returns there... they're already dead due to the freezing temperature!

She has to do the right thing!

She took a deep breath then lighted the two kerosene lamps. She wore the wide-brimmed hat made from dried leaves of the Mosiit plant.

She left the cave going in the direction of the banana trees. The surrounding is already dark. Good thing she brought the lamp with her. She can already hear the pitiful crying of the babies when she's getting closer to the area. Poor little ones they must have been freezing already!

She showed herself to them, they're huddling close to each other under the shade of the banana tree.

The people saw her standing a few meters away from them.

"W-who a-are y-you?" one of the men asked, his voice trembling due to the freezing clod.

"I live in the cave a few meters from here. I like to invite you to the cave, you can stay there for the night so that the babies won't freeze in the cold," Mende said.

"We won't refuse your offer. Thank you so much!" the guy said.

The two guys cut the banana leaves, use them as umbrellas, and gathered their belongings.

"Follow me!" Mende said.

They left the area and marched towards the cave.

They entered inside and Mende brought them to the clearing outside the chamber.

"Gather around the fire so that your bodies will get warm," Mende ordered.

They obeyed and gathered around the fire. Mende dropped more dry dry twigs on the fire.

She noticed that her visitors were still trembling! They need something hot to drink especially the women and the children. Good thing the babies already stopped crying after seeing the fire.

Mende addressed the women. "Come with me to the chamber and remove your wet clothes and change into dry ones, bring the children with you," she said.

"Yes, Grandma! Thank you so much for your help!" the woman said.

Mende flinched and sighed. She's indeed an old woman in their eyes. She looked at the men. "There is coffee, and hot water as well sugar in the basket over there. Make some hot coffee for yourself so that your body will get warm," she ordered them.

"Thank you so much, Grandma!" the men said gratefully.

Mende brought the women and children to the chamber. "Put the babies in the bed and change your clothing first," she said.

The women obeyed and put the babies in the bed.

One of the women rummaged through their bags only to find out that their clothes were all wet except for the babies' clothing that they wrapped in five layers of banana leaves.

"We have no dry clothes," the woman said, she was on the verge of crying due to despair.

Mende sighed. "Don't cry...I'll give you some clothes," she said. He went to the bag and picked up several pieces of her grandmother's clothing including undergarments and gave them to the women. She also took some of her small blouses and give them to the boys. "Wear them!" she said.

"Thank you so much for your kindness, Grandma. You're a heaven send to all of us!" the women said in chorus.

Mende smiled to make them at ease. "Don't mention it. I'm happy to help you," she said and left the chamber.

When she went to the clearing, the men were already sipping their coffee. They also made two coffee for their wives.

After changing into dry clothes, the women and the children joined their husbands in front of the fire and began sipping their hot coffee.

Mende went to the stone stove and boil rice for the visitors. She will cook a vegetable soup for them after the rice is already cooked. She looked at them. "Why are you in the middle of the forest with the children? You don't have a home?" she asked them.

One of the men cleared his throat. "Grandma, we have a house near the river located a few hours from here. But due to constant raining the water rise. Heavy flood from the mountain rushed to our homes, we're lucky to flee from the raging water before it crushes our houses and kill us all. We are walking in the forest trying to find a safe place that we can rest for the night and we arrived to this area. We're very sorry that our children stole some of your vegetables. We are so hungry during that time. We're afraid to check the cave because we don't know what is wiating for us inside," the guy explained.

"Grandma, we are brothers and these are our wives and children," the other guy spoke and introduce themselves to their benefactor.

Mende looked at their sad faces, feeling sorry for their tragic flight. "The ladies and the children can stay here in the cave with me for a few days while you guys are going to find a new place. This way, their lives are not constantly in danger. How about that?" she suggested.

The visitors looked at each other and nodded their heads. "Thank you so much for your kindness, Grandma!" they said in unison.

"Don't mention it," Mende replied with a smile.

After the rice was cooked, one of the women volunteered to cook the vegetable soup.

A few minutes later.

They ate their dinner and retired for the night.

Mende offered the wooden bed for the two women and their babies, the rest sleep on the ground covered with an old mat.

Mende and her visitors sleep peacefully through the night.