Warm Hearts

"Could you pass the soy sauce?"

"Yeah, sure thing."

Hearing my request, Althea stopped cutting the carrots that I'd assigned her and entered the familiar kitchen cabinet where I kept all of my condiments. She naturally opened the cupboard and instantly reached for the soy sauce without looking. Then, her right hand passed the bottle while her left closed the cabinet without even thinking about it.

It was kind of surreal seeing how natural this girl had become in my house.

"Here," Althea placed the bottle of soy sauce right before the stove before returning to her menial chore.

A month has passed since that fateful night on Christmas. Ever since then, both of us had been meeting up every single day. Whether it be for grocery shopping or just getting together to break bread, the two of us spent a great deal of time together.

I'll be the first to admit, in the beginning, it was pretty awkward.

A young university girl and a programmer in his mid-twenties getting together? There was very little that we had in common other than the fact that we needed to eat.

However, after an entire month, Althea and I had started becoming accustomed to each other's presence.

Since I usually skipped breakfast, Althea would come over to my house at noon for lunch. She would then stay in my apartment as she used my WiFi for her schoolwork. When the sun began to set, Althea would automatically move to the kitchen with me to prepare that night's dinner.

And… rinse and repeat.

That has been our daily ritual for two weeks now.

Even on the weekends, if Althea didn't need to attend any lectures, she would just stay at my apartment to watch her favourite shows to pass the time.

Perhaps it was lonely to be stuck in an empty apartment, so Althea preferred to stay at my apartment during the day. And who could blame her?

We were almost two months into the lockdowns, and both of us had minimal human contact. There were whispers that the country was about to reopen, but other than that, there was hardly any good news.

So, we were all that we had.

Even if we didn't bond through conversation, it was reassuring to have another person in the house. Perhaps it was a primal thing for humans? The desire to have some sort of human connection, particularly amid a crisis.

Either way, as we slowly became accustomed to our circumstances, the shy and reserved facade that Althea had put on was slowly being chipped away.

"I'm almost done with the Sukiyaki," I added the soy sauce into the soup base before moving to the other ingredients. "Could you prepare the table?"

"Roger that!"

Althea immediately bounced from her station and got out all of the necessary utensils. She got some leftover rice from the rice cooker and moved everything in a neat and tidy fashion.

Before, we would often have our meals on the kitchen island. However, as time progressed, it became evident that we needed a more permanent location for our meals. The marble coffee table that I'd often used wasn't good enough either, so I bought a simple living room table that would go well with my sofa set-up.

It wasn't anything fancy, but at least we were able to watch television while we ate now.

"Alright, coming through..."

With the table adequately prepared, I moved the Sukiyaki pot to the electric stove on the table. The sweet, succulent aroma of the soup rose as bubbles began to pop from its bottom. Never mind me, even Althea couldn't help but salivate at the delicious fragrance.

"Hehe, smells heavenly, doesn't it?"

"I'd said it before, and I'll say it again… You should open a restaurant."

Althea chuckled as she reached for her phone on the counter. "Time to take a picture!"

The university student's face blossomed with a glistening smile. When we first started eating together, Althea was hesitant to take pictures of the food we ate. But it didn't take long for her shame to completely break down.

After a full minute of getting snapshots of her meal, Althea finally put down her phone.

"Done?"

"Yeah! I'll send it to you if you want."

"No need, I have plenty of old photos with far better lighting."

"Hmph, show-off!"

"Haha, let's eat!"

Ignoring Althea's complaint, I started my meal by dropping a handful of vegetables into the bubbling pot. Just like any good Sukiyaki, I'd prepared an assortment of ingredients. Beautifully sourced Japanese mushrooms, organically grown cabbage and carrots, thread konjac to boost the flavour, and last but not least, deliciously cut marbled beef slices.

Sukiyaki was a rare treat for me.

Normally, I would reserve it for special occasions, such as a birthday celebration for my friends or a drinking party with Len and Sienna.

However, today was special.

"It's snowing quite heavily, huh..."

Althea lazily mentioned as she stared out the window. Snow blew down from the elusive heavens in a horizontal blur. Even with the heater at maximum settings, I could still feel the icy winds on my skin. The howls of the winter night enveloped my heated apartment, overwhelming the sounds of the television.

It was days like this that made me wonder… How the hell did our ancestors survive?

Even in the comfort of my own apartment, I still felt cold and overpowered by nature. One could only imagine how humans from millennia ago would have survived.

"Yeah, fortunately, Sukiyaki was invented for days like this."

"Really?"

"Of course! Eating stewed meat from a sweet and salty pot… It really warms your core, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does..." The young beauty sucked on her chopsticks like a small squirrel nibbling on its stored nuts. "Though, my parents never made me Sukiyaki during winter."

"Oh? So what would you normally have?"

"Just the usual," Althea replied apathetically. "Both my parents were working, so they rarely had time to cook. Even if they did, it would be rice with sides that took a few minutes to prepare."

"Wow, so you'd never had a hot pot party before?"

"I did… Just not at home, that is."

Althea dropped her chopsticks and rested her cheeks on her right hand. She looked at the snowflakes that blitzed through the winter night with an affectionate fondness in her eyes.

"When I was a teenager, my parents were rarely at home. So most of the time, I would go to my grandmother's house after school."

"Oh?"

It wasn't that surprising of a story. Nowadays, it was common for both parents to work. So, if the parents were unable to care for their child, the grandparents would step in to fill the void.

"Come to think of it… It was a snowy day as well." Althea watched the snowflakes fall from the heavens with fond memories of her past.

"It was the anniversary of my grandfather's passing, and my grandmother felt a little lonely. Since it was snowing so heavily, we were unable to visit his grave. But instead of complaining, my grandmother prepared a Sukiyaki dinner for the both of us."

"That's nice of her..."

"Yeah, it was..." Althea's face relaxed ever so slightly as her reddened cheeks turned pink. "Sukiyaki was my grandfather's favourite meal, and he'd always eat it no matter what mood he was in. Even if they had a big fight, my grandfather would always stay for dinner before running out of the house in protest."

Althea chuckled in bliss. Her rosy red lips broke into a brilliant smile as her luminous, emerald eyes sparkled in delight. "My grandfather always said that he was her prisoner."

"Why? Because your grandmother's food was that good?"

"Hehe, how did you know?"

"Oh, really? They sound like a cute couple."

"Haha, they really were..."

Althea relaxed her shoulders and refocused her attention back to the Sukiyaki dinner right before her eyes. "Don't worry, your Sukiyaki is almost as good as my grandmother's."

"Wow, she's that much of a chef, huh? Perhaps I should ask her to give me some lessons."

"Ah, that…"

"Hmmm?"

"No, she passed away three years ago."

"O-Oh… Sorry..."

"No, it's fine! It was a long time ago anyway!" Althea waved her hands with a bitter smile. Evidently, it was an odd tangent in the conversation, and she wanted to bring it back to a happier note.

I didn't know this girl for long, but even I can see that she's putting on a mask. Now that I think about it, her mother said that they didn't have any other relatives to rely on. A single, vulnerable girl living all alone in the middle of the city in the midst of a pandemic...

It...

"It must be tough, huh..."

"Hmmm? What was that?"

"No, nothing..."

I felt the sudden urge to pet her head. Though, it would creep her out if I actually did something as absurd as that.

"You know, if you ever feel like eating Sukiyaki again, just tell me. I'll make it whenever you want."

"Huh? Why all of a sudden?"

"Well, it's not that hard to make anyway. Also, I'm thinking of surpassing your grandmother!"

"Huh…"

Althea's eyes turned hollow, and her smile quickly turned into an uncomfortable grimace. For that brief instant, I felt like I could read her mind. It was as if she was saying in confusion: 'What the hell are you talking about?'

"Haha, don't worry about it! I'll be sure to make the best Sukiyaki that would make your grandmother proud!"

"O-Okay… If you say so..."

In the end, there's not much I could do to soothe this young soul of her loneliness.

The only thing I could do was to give her a nice warm soup on this cold winter's night.