Chapter 713 A Group of Children
Chapter 713 A Group of Children
From what she had observed, Natalia knew she was safe for now. But she was clueless about how
Nancy was doing.
She was a little worried that Nancy might be in trouble.
The middle-aged woman paused to gaze at her.
At the sight of Natalia’s distraught look, she said with resignation, “Fine. I’ll send someone to the boy’s
uncle’s tomorrow. If it’s possible, I’ll tell him to bring your friend over here.”
Natalia hastily suggested, “Why not let me tag along?”
The smile the middle-aged woman was wearing faded a little. With a skin-deep grin, she said, “Girl,
what are you worried about? We’ve saved you and your friend. We’re not bad guys. You only have to
wait for a couple of days before you can go there and meet your friend. Do you think we may hurt her
or something?”
Natalia was astounded by the sharp change of her tune.
She didn’t know how she had upset her.
But since she was under her roof, she had to obey her rules. Now her request had been declined,
Natalia felt it was inappropriate for her to continue arguing. Therefore, she reluctantly gave up on the
idea.
The middle-aged woman then comforted her, “Don’t be upset. It’s just that the village that boy’s uncle
lives in doesn’t welcome outsiders. Your friend was already very lucky that they saved her. Usually,
they wouldn’t care about the lives of the nonlocals.”
Natalia frowned, reckoning that there was something funny about that remark.
But the middle-aged woman didn’t give her much time to think about that. She immediately headed out
after saying that.
Shortly, she settled everything and came back.
“I’ve told them what to do. You can rest assured. Tomorrow, a neighbor will go there to check if that girl
is your friend. By the way, what’s your name? I’ll tell that man later. You don’t have a picture of yourself
to show to that girl, so we can only tell her your name to see if she recognizes you.”
Natalia puckered her lips. For some inexplicable reason, she didn’t reveal her real name.
Instead, she said a name that only Nancy could recognize.
“My name is Seven.”
The middle-aged woman was dazed. Next, she chortled and said, “That’s your nickname, isn’t it? Fine.
It’ll do. I’ll tell that neighbor. If that girl is your friend, he will bring her here.”
After saying that, she went out again.
Natalia just sat there, waiting. The middle-aged woman told that neighbor the name and then came into
the room.
She said to Natalia, “It’s late. You can rest in that room. If there is any problem, we’ll just deal with it
tomorrow morning.”
Natalia nodded. Without asking for the woman’s help, she supported herself with her hands on the wall
and made it back to that room.
It was late at night. Natalia tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep.
There were clear chirps of bugs outside. These sounds could only be heard in the countryside.
Natalia’s nostrils were filled with the moldy smell from under the sheet. Somehow, she felt quite
uneasy.
But at a time like this, worrying wouldn’t help.
She wondered how Nancy was doing and if she was injured. She also wished that Nancy wouldn’t run
into those killers.
With her mind dwelling on this, she closed her eyes. The shock she had in the daytime was still too
great. Though she was not sleepy and she kept telling herself to remain vigilant, she still fell asleep in
the second half of the night.
When she woke up, it was already morning on the next day.
As soon as Natalia opened her eyes, she saw a group of children with dirt-smeared faces standing
beside her bed.
Startled, she pretty much jumped out of the bed.
“Why are you…”
“Hee-hee…”
These children probably lived in the village, too. Seeing that she was up, they were not scared at all.
Instead, they stared at her with a big grin on their face.
Under their gaze, Natalia saw glints of innocence in their eyes. Feeling that they had no ill intention,
she figured they were just curious. Moments later, her tense nerves began to relax.
As a mother of two, Natalia naturally found children endearing.
She then asked, “What are you doing here? What time is it?”
These children all understood what she said, but most remained silent.
A boy who looked older than the others spoke, “Flora sent us here to check on you. Now…”
He turned around to look at the sun outside the window before continuing, “Now is probably nine.”
Natalia was bereft of speech.
“Don’t tell me they don’t even have a clock in here!”
She had mixed feelings at this moment. Although she knew there were some places plagued by
destitution, she never thought some people could be this impoverished. Exclusive content from NôvelDrama.Org.
She lifted the quilt and sat up.
“Is Flora the woman who saved me yesterday? Where is she now?”
“She went up to the mountains. She won’t be back until noon. Where are you going?”
Natalia put on her coat and prepared to wash up. But she froze in place when she heard that Flora
wouldn’t be back until noon.
She looked back at these children. Then, gazing at the boy who answered her first question, she
asked, “Last night, Flora told me she would send someone to the neighboring village to check on my
friend. Did that man set off?”
The boy widened his eyes in a daze.
Seconds later, he nodded and said, “Yes. He set off early this morning. Just wait. He’ll be back this
afternoon.”
Hearing that, Natalia felt relieved.
But she found it somewhat bizarre to be surrounded by so many children.
Yet, she didn’t have the heart to drive them out. Thus, she said, “Then come with me. Don’t crowd
together in this room.”
The group of children immediately followed her out.
It was not until this moment that Natalia saw what the village looked like.
It was pretty much the same as she had imagined. The sun was shining now. Houses made of mud
and rocks could be seen in the village.
There was a fenced patch of land at the back of each house, but the fences were not high. Chickens,
ducks, and geese were running about behind the fences. Some cows were tethered there. Their dung
that had piled up at the back was giving off a foul smell.
Standing beside the door, Natalia stretched and sighed.
She was now convinced that life here was difficult.
The group of children didn’t go away after they came to the outside. They still stood on the side, gazing
at her.
Natalia felt a little self-conscious. She wondered why these children were following her.
They were all staring longingly at her. The look in their eyes was odd but pitiful. Seeing this, she
searched her pockets but didn’t find any snacks or toys.
In fact, all her belongings were lost when she leaped from the plane. Thus, she had nothing to offer
them.
After thinking for a moment, she asked awkwardly, “Have you had breakfast?”
“Yes.”
This time, the kids answered in unison.
Natalia touched her belly.
“But I haven’t.”
“Flora said when you wake up, you can cook for yourself. There are potatoes in the kitchen.”
Natalia was taken aback. Looking in the direction one of the children pointed at, she asked, “That’s the
kitchen?”
“Yeah.”
The kitchen looked even shabbier. After hesitating for a moment, Natalia still headed over.
As she walked, she asked the children, “Do you want some snacks after breakfast? How about I make
you some fried potatoes?”