Danger Zone

Daime and the old lady have been climbing up the mountain for the past two hours now. The young man keeps on looking at his wrist watch from time to time and can't help thinking whether the old lady still knows the way to her home or not. 

The path is covered with snows, piling up and washing away the strides of pathways that has been shoveled up by the military soldiers whenever they enter this premise. 

The trees are covered with sharp bristles of icy cold water, forming crystals that shines when a bright light hits them. 

Daime looks up to the highest peak of the mountain and sighs. Wherever this old lady's house is should be in a good condition to even survive this type of weather conditions. 

"We are near, darling. Just a little bit more."

Her voice is hoarse and coldness is evident by the way she speaks. Daime keeps up his pace as he rummages for an extra blanket to cover the old lady up. 

Since he can't find one, Daime curses in a soft tone and takes a breath. If what the old lady says is true and they are nearing her house, then Daime can survive without his thickest jacket. 

He sighs and carefully removes it. Zipping it down and immediately wrapping it around the old lady.

"Oh, you rascal! You will get cold! Why are you putting this on me?!"

Daime only smiles and chuckles as he continues to walk beside her. It is cold and he admits it. But it is not as cold as the Swiss Alps since the winter is just starting. 

"It's okay, Auntie. I can't let you freeze to death here. Or I will be lost and die in these mountains."

The old lady chuckles at what Daime said and sighs in relief. She knows believes that this man is still Aster, the child that she cared for when he is still young. 

But his attitude towards many things say otherwise. Even with that fact, the old lady will continue to care for this young man even at her last breath. 

At last, after an hour of walking and teeth clattering in icy cold conditions, they have finally arrived at their destination. 

The old lady opens the door and stomps her foot at the side before taking Daime's bags inside and invites the younger to come in. 

Daime nods and enters the place. The first thing he sees the rustic table with two chairs and the wooden stairs beside it. The table is filled with a wooden bowl and a small cup that is considers as a glass. 

The table can only fit two people in its space. It is as if she anticipates Daime's arrival for so many years ago. 

On the left side of the house is a small bed. It have two white pillows and a polka dots bed sheet. Looking at the old lady's height, Daime can say that he folds herself up to fit on the small bed. 

He also did a mental note to learn how to lumberjack and makes a new bed for her to sleep in before she dies. 

Near that bed is a small nightstand with some pill bottles and a wooden cup. He looks at the pill bottles but he can't tell what are they for. 

On the right side of the house is a small fire place. Two black cauldrons are still there waiting to be used while the other old pans are hanging by the wall, right above the fire place.

Near that fire place is a wooden shelf filled with spices, vegetables and other ingredients to be used when cooking something. He also did takes a note that the old lady and cooler to keep her frozen meats inside. 

He also remembers that Primo said that his family knows how to hunt deers, wild boars and other animals that can leave to some harsh areas like this. 

With this, Daime can concludes that the old lady hunts her food in broad daylight and brings them home to skin, wash and cook as soon as possible. 

He wonders if he asks the military soldiers to hunt her the food that she needs or she hunts them herself. 

He looks at the lady who is walking slowly and groaning every time she carries something. Like a small pot or the largest cauldron she have.

Daime sighs and places the bags he is carrying onto the table and waits for her to tell him where he should sleep.

"Oh, goodness me! There is also another bed upstairs. That's where your room is. I hope you still fit on the bed."

Daime only looks at her as he contemplates to go upstairs and leaves her here. But he can only sigh and follows her orders. 

He climbs up the small and steep stairs leading to a small space at the top of the house than can be considered as an attic. 

Daime looks at the small bed and the chair that he can imagine that will break if he tries to sit on it. 

Everything is too small for Daime but he can't complain. He has nowhere to go but this house. He sighs and places his bag near a small nightstand that is covered with old white paint that is rusting slowly through time. 

The walls are also wooden like the rest of the house and the window seal are covered with metallic foil. He still doesn't know why. 

He sits on the bed to feel if it is comfortable before sizing it up with his height. And there goes his feet dangling over the edge of the bed. 

"The bed is too small for my height. What should I do?"

Daime thinks for a moment before coming up with the idea of remodeling the bed by reconstructing everything from scratch. 

But that will be a project later or tomorrow. For now, Daime wants to rest his legs and his head. 

He wants to sleep and rest since he is too tired with the travel from Khabarovsk Hospital to Vladivostok. His body is heavy and tired. 

Closing his eyes, he is hoping to see Aiden even in his dreams. He misses him dearly but there is nothing he can do about. 

His short trip to Moscow has exchanged for something worthwhile and will take months before coming back on track. 

He also thinks of that autoimmune disease that he heard from the doctor.

"There is really no way I have that shit. What makes him think that I have an autoimmune disease? That funny doctor, he should've chosen a very funny joke since this one is not funny at all."

And with that, Daime slowly drifts off to sleep and enters dreamland where he wished to meet Aiden since he is far away.