~~ INSIDE THE FOREST ~~
Old man Chen was cooking in his hut went Kimberly entered. He'd asked her to come to his hut the other day and here she is.
"Good morning, Mr. Chen.." Kimberly greeted with a smile.
"Morning, How was your night..?"Mr. Chen asked as he returned the smile turning to look at her.
"It was awesome, splendid and wonderful.." Kimberly said earning a chuckle from Mr. Chen. He had returned his attention to whatever he was cooking.
"What are you cooking..?" Kimberly asked walking in fully into the hut.
"I'm cooking everything you like that is not black noodles.." Mr. Chen said and Kimberly chuckled.
"Really...?!" Kimberly asked. Getting excited as she was hungry, she quickly walked to where Old man Chen was cooking to see for herself. Immediately she got closer to the pot, her face squeezed in to a frown as she caught the scent of whatever Old man Chen was cooking. It smelled no where like food but herbs! And it was only then that her eyes widened in realization, she has been played by Old man Chen..!
What a trickster..!
"You tricked me.., Mr. Chen!" Kimberly said with a pout feigning to be mad at him.
"Hehehehe.." Mr. Chen Laughed heartily, fanning the burning charcoal.
When was the last time he'd laugh like this..? He thought inwardly.
They've become friends over the weeks and bonding really well. To Mr. Chen, Kimberly was like a daughter he never had. While to Kimberly, Mr. Chen was like a father she never had. She was not this close to Camilla's father while she's more close to Old man Chen.
However...
"Will I really be able to use my powers again..?" Kimberly suddenly asked as she took the fan from him fanning the burning charcoal.
"Yes of course, have you tried using it..?" Mr. Chen asked.
"I did, but.." She trailed.
"But before I could use it, i always get weak to the point of passing out.." Kimberly said and Old man Chen's eyes narrowed.
Weak.. to the point of passing out...? He thought inwardly.
Strange...
Old man Chen was known for his super herbal skills that even the supreme Alpha Alexander got his recognition. He's herbs prescriptions are not ordinary and hardly he'd mistakes. He hardly treats people but from the ones he'd treated, many of them had the same issue with Kimberly.
But what was surprising to him was that most of these people who are powerful figures, received treatment for only about three to four days and they'd recover with their powers restored.
But now on Kimberly's case, she doesn't seem to be getting any better for the past weeks she'd been with him!
Old man Chen fell in a deep thought...
For a moment, a thought flashed in his mind but when he tried to recall it, the strange thought was gone.
What did he miss?
He rubbed his temple, feeling a bit lost.
At that time..
Kimberly who was beside him saw how he stood in a deep thought, she patted his shoulder bringing him back to reality.
"It's okay Mr. Chen, don't stress yourself too much.." She said softly takingfanning the charcoal which seemed to be almost off as a result of lack of breeze.
A surf of warmth, flowed through old man Chen and he smiled.
"Don't worry, as long as you are here with me, there must be light at the end of the tunnel and I can feel we are already getting closer.." He thought inwardly.
Not long after, Old man Chen discussed the reason he'd call Kimberly over and after they were done, Kimberly left.
She wanted to take a walk round the forest...
However...
Few hours later, Old man Chen could be seen as he sat in a deep thought in front of his hut. The discussion he had with Kimberly in the morning troubled him all through the day. The more he thought about it, the more he felt like something was pointing to an important hint, yet the answer was just slightly out of his reach.
He searched through his memories futilely till late evening but he still didn't find the tiniest clue.
It was when he thought of giving up that something hit him and his eyes widened.
"It can't be.." he muttered and immediately got up from where he sat.
He quickly went into the hut, grabbed his lamp and immediately lit it up. Since it was already dark outside, he'll need his lamp for whatever and where he was going.
Walking out of the hut, old man Chen began walking to the place where he planted all the herbs that were hard to find. He met Kimberly on his way and she instantly followed him up.
What was she going to do at the hut anyway..?
"Where are you going Mr. Chen..?" Kimberly asked in confusion as stared at the old. Blame her not of being confused, Old man Chen hardly goes out of the hut by that time of the day.
After walking for about five minutes, Old man Chen finally arrived at the place. Without further ado, he began going through the herbs one by one looking for a particular herb. He'd planted those herbs out of curiosity and hobby as he's never treated anyone with it yet.
However...
Kimberly stood behind him as she stared at him in confusion. What could Old man Chen be looking for that he wouldn't wait for the next day when everywhere will be brighter..?
But seeing him searching through his field of herbs, Kimberly got the point.
"Mr. Chen, What herb are you looking for? Let me help you search for it.." Kimberly asked but heard no reply for old man Chen.
Well...
How was he going to tell the young lady that he doesn't even know how the herb looks like..?
He can only identify it when he see it...
Old man Chen kept searching through the herbs for that spark in his head to fill the missing link. A dozen times flew by, but nothing caught his attention.
"Why can't I find it..?" Old man Chen mumbled without looking up.
At that time...
Kimberly sighed and decided to help him search for the herb, since Old man Chen was being adamant and she can't possibly leave him behind.
But how was she going to recognize the said herb if she finds one...? Kimberly thought inwardly.
But nevertheless, she began searching through the herbs alongside old man Chen.
Skipping the ones she recognized that were at the hut, she began going through the others but it was a little hard for her as she was not with any lamp.
She couldn't see the herbs clearly, so she settled to search for the herbs by sniffing it. Grabbing the leaves of each herb she'd pass by, she will sniff it and drop it if she recognizes it.
However, not long after she began searching..
"Snsttt..!"
Kimberly sneezed, her hand reaching for a particular herb and she paused to wipe her nose.
"Snssstt..!"
"Snsttt..!"
Kimberly sneezed again grabbing the herb and at that instant Old man Chen's body stiffened. Like a slow motion, he slowly turn to the direction where Kimberly stood. At that instant, a bright grin instantly spread on his face.
"Found it..!" He blurted as his eyes landed
on the herb in Kimberly's hand that looked like a weed.
Or was it actually a weed..?!