LVI: Respite
Amongst the many things that Judith had noticed, the first thing to catch her eyes was the room, which had been previously dusty, but was now without a speck, clean as a whistle. Then, focusing on her senses and ridding herself of her horrible memories of the day before, Judith found that delicious aroma she smelt before had returned. Turning toward the origin of the aroma, she found at the far left of the room, a pot was boiling over the fireplace.
Then, following the speck at the corner of her eye, she found two mats with blankets positioned near the fireplace.
She didn't even think about it, but it would seem Tsai had taken care of everything that pertained to them.
"Is something wrong?" Tsai had asked, bending her head to the side like a cat.
"No no, it's just. I didn't expect all of this." Judith had said, staring in all directions.
"Why not? I am your maid, am I not?" Tsai had asked, a hint of confusion glazing her thoughts.
"No, no that was..." Judith finally turned to face Tsai. "You're not really obliged to do any of this." Judith said, further confusing Tsai.
"Then, why did you bring me here?" Tsai had asked.
"Why did I..." Judith froze for a moment, she tried to think exactly why she brought Tsai with her. Well, it's simple, she was going to die, so she saved her. It couldn't be any less complicated. But yet, Judith felt there was something more.
In this moment, memories of her life had hit her hard, so she made her way back to the ground slowly and dazed. Tsai, more confused, had followed Judith to the ground, now sitting in front of her.
She wanted to say something, but didn't know what. So she just sat, waiting for Judith to respond.
Meanwhile, in Judith's head, she began to remember all the moments in her life when she was at rock bottom. Going back to when she was a child, she remembered times when she was so hungry, she begged people for money to buy food, or for even a small morsel, but no one had opened a hand to help her, so she went hungry for several days just so her mother could have the remnants of the food left in the house.
Going back to the instances when she was sick and had nothing to eat at all, she powered through it and worked, so she could buy food for herself and her ailing mother.
Many times Judith had been in need, begged, done...anything to live. And each time, she had to do them by herself, with no one extending a hand to help.
Thinking back on all of this, Judith's eyes began to water, and her throat became sore. For once she was thankful of her annoying hair, as it did a good job of hiding her teary eyes.
Trying to ensure her voice didn't give anyway her broken demeanor, Judith had cleared her throat, then smiled.
"I brought you here, because I wanted to help. I know what it's like to have a hard life." Judith said.
Following her words, silence fell, as Tsai did not know what to say.
Not wanting to let this downcast mood prevail, Judith chuckled, then rose onto her feet.
"I'm just nice like that," Judith said with a smile, which Tsai honestly did not know how to respond to. All she thought was that as the time had passed by, getting to know Judith, was confirming more and more, that she was a Western angel.
"Now, I'll like to take that hot shower today." Judith turned, made her way past the fireplace and went into the bathroom. "Oh, and I think its burning." Judith said before closing the door behind her, and with a gasp, Tsai had gotten off her daze and dashed toward the pot.
Once she had reached the boiling pot, she had pulled on it, so it slid away from the fire and outside the fireplace. The pot was still suspended from the ground by a railing of some sort built into the fireplace which stuck out like a rod had been jammed into a wall.
Stirring the pot, Tsai remained quiet, as she thought on Judith's words.
***
After taking a nice warm shower, getting dressed in fresh clothes and having a splendid dinner Tsai made, Judith finally turned in for the night, feeling an incredible weight weigh on her as she rested.
And yet despite this incredible exhaustion, Judith couldn't help but run several things through her head, as she laid, sitting on the edge of slumber.
The first thing to cross her mind was how tired she was, and how very comfortable she felt, wrapped up in a blanket beside the fireplace. She felt so cozy it was almost sensual. Judith couldn't remember the last time she felt so good, and so, safe.
It seemed like an eternity since she came to this world, and it seemed like she had been watching out for danger and threats for a lifetime. Likewise, Judith remembered her time in her old world, and felt she was greatly blessed as she didn't have to worry about getting kicked out of her house due to rent, or not being able to pay up her other bills, or not being able to provide enough to eat.
With a pain-filled grin, Judith yawned, before pulling in her blankets closer. It felt nice, the relief, the respite. For once in her life, the burden wasn't so great. If it hadn't been for one thing, Judith would have just stayed like this.
A maid of a noble. This way, she would live a relatively comfortable life without much hassle. But, sadly, this wasn't an option. If Judith didn't intervene, this world would fall apart due to its author's itching and deathly fingers.
But above that, even if this world wasn't destined to break apart if not for the efforts of the protagonist, Judith still wouldn't settle for this. Her whole life she's struggled and worked hard to live a life she wanted, a fulfilled life where she dictated what she wanted to do. And not live under the commands of someone else.
Be it a boss or a slave master, they're all the same. Judith had decided to be the one on top, and not to be the one groveling for income, for scraps. Plus, there was this other thing she wanted to do.
With a yawn, Judith felt her consciousness wane. Though she tried to force her lids open, her body just wouldn't obey. There were certain things she had to do this night, but no matter how much Judith tried, she couldn't help it.
Before she knew it, she had drifted off into dreamland.