Secret Basement

When it was morning, Old man did not bother waking them up. They were obviously still enjoying their dreams. He didn't want to disturb them. Instead, he went ahead and made breakfast for them all. He went out early that morning and bought chicken. It was not Saturday but he just felt like giving them a treat. He made chicken stew. He just hoped that they all would be willing and able to eat. The three of them were looking rather skinny.

Even Jato who was supposed to be the chubby one had lost a lot of weight, and his hair was still white..., he was now even looking older than Old Man. They all hadn't been eating properly, he really hoped they all went back to being their old selves.

Chinju was the first to wake up, it had been a long time since she last saw her brother. So seeing him in her dream and hearing his words of encouragement made her feel at ease. Then Jato and Zairo pretty much woke up at the same time. They were also feeling a lot better..

"good morning Old Man" they echoed together like they had rehearsed it,.. "Good morning to you too, you are all looking good this morning...,he said with a big smile on his face. Looking good that he meant was definitely not about their physical appearances, because if you were to judge based on their appearance, then they were looking horrible. Chinju's hair stood apart from each other like the quills on a porcupines back, Jato looked like a punching bag with white hair, and the drools on Zairo's face, made him look like the map to a hidden treasure.... They were a complete mess, but even though they looked disastrous now, they looked happy. Happier than they've been in weeks, and Old man was pleased.

"go wash up, especially you Zairo, you look hideous..., then come and let's have breakfast... I made chicken stew.....

Their eyes widened, it was as if they hadn't had chicken stew before. Then the terror was about to unfold... They looked at themselves mischievously, the same thought going through their heads 'who would go into the bathroom first'...

Chinju leaps to make her way quickly into the bathroom, but Jato pulls her back and takes the lead. But he does not get there either because Zairo pulled him by the hair, making Jato scream out in pain, then the two of them kept on pulling themselves, giving Chinju enough space to slip through... She doesn't make it again also, Zairo uses his spare hand to drag her back, and the three of them engage in a tug of war, pulling each other's hair and biting, screaming, all because they wanted chicken stew..

Well for Old Man it was a pleasant sight to behold... He smiled as he watched on...

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Eventually, they just agreed to wash their faces together, so they could eat and then take their baths later.. It was the only way to bring peace.

Old man watched on as they stuffed themselves up with rice and evenly devoured the chicken stew... It brought tears to his eyes, but he looked away so they wouldn't see it...

"Old Man what did you put inside that incense urn yesterday huh??... Zairo asked as he ate his last piece of meat..." yeah right, what was in it"..., Chinju asks, also curious to know...

"Ahh.., you mean the Pomezana seeds"

"the PomeWHAT??.... The all said in sync..

" the Pomezana seeds... It's a seed that comes from a tree that grows only once in a hundred years..... "What?? They were shocked.., how could a tree grow only once a century...

" it is a very special seed.. It shows you the ones you love the most, at a time you need them the most. It has other uses, like breaking hypnosis, or finding lost and buried memories... It took me years to aquire it,....." you saw the tree?? Jato asks very curious..." No.., the tree appeared years before I was born".... "so how did you get it? Zairo asked.. He really wanted to know, Old Man rarely talked about himself..., so it was always a thrill anytime he decided to say something....

"you want to know?? He asks looking at their curious faces.., they nodded in sync..." okay here is how I got it.., they leaned in closer to listen.... "I... I... I... That's a story for another day...

" AHHHHHHHH..... Why Old Man,.. Why are you doing this... Just tell us please.., please.., they begged but he gave them nothing.

"No, not today... The fact is I was saving it for a special situation and the conditions of all of you seemed really special and I had to do something....and I can see it worked...

They all became a little more serious... He was right, whatever that thing was, it had really helped them...

"so you all should be thankful to me and treat me really really well".. He said with a grin on his face.

"why should we huh?.. You refused to tell us about the PomeCHUCHU seed... Chinju said, and they all laughed.

The family was back on track, laughing and joking casually. Old man told them they would be opening the store the next day, and training was also going to continue. They all looked rather happy about the news. Mostly Jato, he looked forward to tomorrow's training.

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It was a nice fine morning, they all woke up early, since they had not been in the store for weeks, it was very dusty. Jato who had been told that Chinju had asthma, saw chinju dusting the store and ran to her, collected the broom and told her to find something else to do. Something that did not concern dust.

They successfully opened the store that morning, had breakfast and it was time for training...

They waited for Old Man in the training room, they were eager to learn.

"so you are all ready for today right?.." yes sir"... They answered

"well then follow me.., training will take place in a different place today" he said., and moved, and they followed, but as they went along, they kept on throwing glances at themselves.., glances of 'what is he talking about'., and 'where are we going' but non of them wanted to voice out their questions.

They followed him out of the training room, which was the backyard of the house, and there, in the small space between the house and the training room, he stopped, bent down, and then pushed aside a huge flower vase, or flowerbed whichever you would call it because at this point, they were lost.

He pushed it aside, only to reveal a door, the kind you see under a carpet in horror movies...

Old Man opens it, and Chinju steps back because opening it raised a lot of dusts. It was obvious that he hadn't been down there in years...

Old Man already had a touch, so he turns it on and points it into the.... Let's call it a basement for now..... He points it into the basement and a set of stairs could be seen.

"Shall we??.. He says with a creepy grin on his face.