Snow's Journey: Chapter 1
1st Chapter
A small figure could be seen running in the darkness of the night. Because of the cold weather, white vapor would come out of her mouth every time she exhaled.
She was completely exhausted. She would stop running if she could, but the words of a small, white, and mysterious creature keep urging her to do so.
To get away, she had no choice but to run.
Yes, escape...
She was being followed. Some people, no, not just any random people - her pursuers were men from her village. But don't be mistaken. The word 'pursue' in this context did not have the same connotation as courtship or being so popular that you are pursued by a slew of admirers.
There's nothing romantic about it at all. The men who are after her have no romantic feelings for her. They were pursuing her in order to return her to the village.
Snow, an ordinary village girl who met the mysterious creature Claw by chance, ran away from her village, but was quickly discovered and is now being pursued by the village men.
Why had the young lady, Snow, fled her village? We need to go back to the day Snow returned Claw to her.
Snow quickly went to the river to fetch water after agreeing to take Claw back with her. Claw walked towards the river's edge while the girl was fetching water. Claw stared at the river for a few seconds before raising its right front leg and slamming it into the water!
Bang!
The loud noise startled Snow, who nearly dropped the wooden bucket in shock. She dropped the wooden bucket and ran towards the mysterious creature, looking nervous.
"Wait, what just happened?" In a slightly panicked tone, she inquired.
Claw responded with a nonchalant look to the worried girl. "Oh, nothing at all. "I'm just getting ready to pay my rent." It stated.
“Rent? What rent?" Snow inquired, perplexed.
The mysterious Claw did not respond directly, instead pointing to a nearby tree. "Take a look over there." It gave the order.
The village girl follows Claw unconsciously and looks in the direction he was pointing. She noticed a large fish jumping around beneath the tree.
"Look, it's a fish!" "What on earth is a fish doing there?" Snow was taken aback.
Claw spoke after giving the village girl the side eye. "Otherwise, why? Of course, I got it." It stated.
"You got it?!"
Snow's perplexity was understandable. Previously, she had only seen Claw standing at the river's edge, staring into the water. She was worried when she heard a loud 'bang' and rushed over to the mysterious creature.
Claw was actually fishing, who would have guessed?
Because Claw did not use a fishing pole, net, or spear, the term "scooping" may be more appropriate. It simply lifted one of its forelegs and scooped a large fish from the cold water.
“Um! Can't I just stay at your place without paying rent? I'm not human, but I'm familiar with your race's traditions." Claw explained, his face slightly proud.
The village girl was taken aback by the mysterious creature. Claw, despite his appearance, was surprisingly conscientious!
The area fell silent as the girl and the mysterious creature stared at each other for half a day.
"Aren't you going to get it? It's bouncing around in an attempt to get back to the water. It could get away, you know?" Claw spoke up, breaking the silence.
Snow awoke from her trance and pounced on the large fish, catching it in her embrace. In an attempt to elude the girl's escape, the fish struggled and thrashed around. But no matter how hard it tried and how much it thrashed, the girl simply refused to let go and instead used more strength, literally strangling the poor fish to the point where bubbles began to come out of its mouth!
A lethal embrace!
Claw stared at the scene, speechless, and couldn't help but think back to its own situation. It, too, was affected by the girl's powerful "embrace." Snow was surprisingly strong, even with those skinny arms, despite not using its strength for fear of injuring the girl.
Claw silently prayed (to no one in particular) to the now-dead fish that it would not meet the girl named Snow in its next life.
Snow returned to Claw' side, probably carrying the dead fish in her arms. After wrestling with the fish, the girl's clothes were disheveled and wet, but Snow didn't seem to notice. Instead, she had a big smile on her innocent face.
"You appear to be in a good mood." The Claw began.
“Hehe… Naturally, I am. You know how I rarely get to eat fish and meat? It's either porridge or hard black bread." Snow responded cheerfully.
Claw locked his gaze on the still-smiling girl for a few moments. Many thoughts are racing through its mind. It was clear from the girl's unhealthy appearance and clean but faded dress that Snow came from a poor family.
Maybe it's not just Snow's family. The village itself may be impoverished.
"I believe we should leave. Your clothes are soaked. You should change your clothes before you catch a cold." Claw reminded him.
"Ah, you're correct! I've been here for far too long. My aunt would definitely chastise me for it. Fortunately, I have this fish as an excuse."
Snow searched for a strong branch and quickly threaded the end of it through the fish's gills. She slung the branch over her left shoulder and held the wooden bucket in her right hand.
Claw jumped on the girl's right shoulder without saying a word. The girl didn't mind and began walking quickly.
Snow slowed down and spoke about halfway to their destination. "Uh, Claw, we may need to come up with an excuse for you. If my aunt, uncle, or any of the villagers saw you, it could be dangerous for you. They will almost certainly capture and kill you for food." Snow explained in an awkward manner.
Claw was rendered speechless after hearing Snow's words. "Could it be that this girl and the people of her village would eat anything as long as it moves? "How poor is that village in the first place?" Claw pondered in its mind.
"Don't worry, I'm not visible to everyone." Claw responded.
Aside from the obvious reason (needing a place to recuperate), one of the reasons Claw chose the village girl was because Snow could see it.
Claw is a mythical creature who appeared from a crack in the sky. Aside from its ability to speak and the ability to scoop fish from the river, it possesses strange abilities. Claw, despite its appearance, is a higher being and cannot be seen by other creatures.
It was strange enough that Snow could see it despite being human. Claw doubted anyone else in Snow's village saw it.
"Is that correct? If so, that's fine!"
Snow gained confidence after learning that the villagers could not see Claw. Her steps quickened, and she soon saw the silhouette of her village.
When the girl and the mysterious creature arrived in the village, they were met with a gloomy scene. Snow didn't react much because she was already used to the scenery. Claw, on the other hand, was unique.
"There's so much negative energy..." After seeing the rundown village, Claw had a thought.
Snow continues to walk towards her house, saying nothing. Those who saw her looked at her, no, at the large fish she was holding. Greed could be seen in the eyes of the villagers, but Snow simply ignored it. Soon after, the two arrived at Snow's house.
A skinny middle-aged woman with a stern expression stood in front of the house. Snow approached her, but the woman didn't even look at her. Instead, she focused on the fish Snow was carrying.
"Can you tell me where you got that?" The woman inquired, clearly referring to the fish.
"I caught it by accident while fetching water. It had become entangled in the shallows. " I'm not sure how it gets there." Snow told a lie.
Claw, who was still on the girl's shoulder, was surprised that Snow's could lie so easily, but because it didn't fully comprehend the situation, it decided to remain silent and listen.
“Oh? That's very fortunate of you. Bring the fish to the kitchen and I'll handle it. You'll also need to return to the river several times more; a single bucket won't suffice."
The stern-looking woman, Snow's aunt, didn't ask any more questions and instead directed her niece to bring the fish and bucket inside.
Snow simply nods her head in agreement and enters the house. She then returned to the river to get more water. Her aunt was satisfied after about two hours of going back and forth to the river.
Snow was physically exhausted after a long day of chores, so she retired to her room after dinner.
"Oh, that fish was delectable." Snow exclaimed happily.
Despite being exhausted from overwork, the girl maintained a cheerful demeanor. She was especially pleased that she could eat fish today.
"What makes you so happy? It's only fish. Besides, despite being overworked, you were only given a small slice and a piece of hard bread." Claw reprimands grumpily. "It's no surprise you're so thin."
“Hehehe. It's fine with me; I'm used to it. Besides, it's unavoidable. Food is scarce during this time of year. It's already a good thing I've got something to eat." Snow responded in a cheerful tone.
Claw snorted in annoyance but said nothing else. Instead, it moved to the small window and gently opened it.
Snow couldn't help but wonder, "What are you doing?"
"I want to go out for a bit and look around. You should take a break. I'll be back in about an hour." Claw then jumped out the window without saying anything else. It didn't even look at Snow before walking away from the slightly disappointed girl.
Sigh. "I wanted to talk to you more, but you just left. You are free to do whatever you want!"
The girl went to bed with a pouting expression and covered herself with a coarse blanket to sleep. She didn't know when Claw would return, so she didn't close the window, despite the cold night. She was concerned that if she closed the window, the mysterious creature would be unable to enter the house.
Claw is aware of the girl's complaint but chooses to disregard it. Instead, it dashed towards one of the houses. It looked at the old stone house in front of it and jumped at the slightly open window. It noticed an elderly couple chatting inside the house.
"I asked the girl's uncle. He claimed that the big fish was caught by Snow by chance while fetching water from the river. It was probably stuck in the shallows." The elderly gentleman informed.
"That's her luck," said the elderly woman sitting near the fire. There is nothing we can do about it."
"Why couldn't I have some of her good fortune? I frequent the river as well, but I've never been so fortunate." The elderly man mumbled.
"Is luck something that anyone can have simply by wishing for it?" The elderly lady lectured. "Besides... that girl's going to be..."
As she recalled something, the old woman's voice trembled slightly. Her trembling voice and regretful expression indicated that she is clearly upset about something. The old man sighed and quickly comforted the elderly lady.
"Don't think about it too much. It's something that's been decided on for a long time." In a slightly regretful tone, he said. "Besides, she isn't the first..."
"It's for the sake of the village's survival, right?" The elderly lady inquired quietly.
"Yes, it's for the sake of the village," the old man said after a few seconds of thought.
"Once she's gone, the village will have no future. No, the village had already abandoned its future after the villagers began selling their own children. So what if we make it through another winter? Will this village still exist in a few years if there are no young people to replace us old people?"
As the old couple stopped talking, the atmosphere in the house darkened. Even the fire in the fireplace seemed to have cooled as a result.
Claw, who had been quietly listening to the old couple's conversation, quietly exited the house. He then went to the other houses and overheard similar discussions. Claw was able to gather a lot of information as a result of this. The information he obtained from the village chief's residence was especially abundant.
Claw went to the old couple's house first because when Snow returned from the river with a large fish, the only person who didn't show greed was the old woman.
"Selling the young folks of the village to slavery in order to survive the winter? Should I say "as one would expect from a technologically underdeveloped world?" Claw reflected.
"That old lady was quite astute. She was well aware that by selling the young people, the villager had effectively forfeited the village's future. Unfortunately, not everyone in the village agrees with her."
Claw noticed some white objects falling from the dark night sky. It had snowed.
"Oh, it started snowing..."
Claw sighed and lowered its head. After a few seconds of silence, it began walking towards Snow's house. It had made a choice.
To be continued...