CrossRoad · Solipsism · Two - I

I'm really scared of being hungry.

When I was little, Dad was the best hunter in our village. He made sure we had enough to eat. Marli and Mom always gave me their meat. It's embarrassing, but... even then, I never felt full. Not once.

Later, Dad got really sick. He couldn't hunt anymore. We had to live on Mom's tiny income. Dad's medicine cost a lot too. It was already hard to fill our tummies, and then we were always hungry.

Being hungry hurts so much. Your tummy's empty, but it feels like there's a monster inside. It scratches and claws. The worst part? Even when you eat something, the monster doesn't quiet down. It just gets angrier and scratches harder.

So when I was... um, seven or eight maybe? I can't remember. But around then, I went on my first hunt.

It was a hurt wolf, almost dead.

I saw it lying in the forest. Its belly was cut open, guts hanging out. I thought it was dead and tried to drag it away.