Bite After Bite

The next day.

Kate woke up to a pleasant aroma of roasted chicken drifting inside the wagon.

She stretched her arms and rubbed her eyes. Contrary to her fears last night sleeping far away from home with the presence of a total stranger nearby doesn't feel so scary after all, she falls asleep soundly.

It was a good sleep nonetheless.

She felt a sudden discomfort in her belly.

Dang!

She needs to pee!

She hurriedly exited the wagon and jumped into the ground looking for a place to relieve herself.

Ramza was roasting the chicken in the makeshift burning firewood when he saw Kate jumped into the ground. He looked at her. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to pee!" she said and leave the clearing to find a private place to relieve herself.

"Oh, I see...go to that area there, it's safe there," he said pointing his finger to the west side of the clearing where overgrown bushes were occupying that area.

Kate followed his recommendation and proceed to the area he pointed at.

After making sure that her backside can't be seen by Zaram, she lowered her pants and underwear down her legs and do her thing.

Done relieving herself. She feels good!

She pulled her pants back in her waistline and went back to the clearing. Her stomach is grumbling, she's getting hungrier after smelling the appetizing aroma of roasted chicken.

She sat on the clearing where Ramza was roasting the chicken. She smiled at him.

"You want help with that—?" she offered.

"Hmm...no need. I'm on my final stage of roasting this wild chicken," he declined her offer politely.

Kate scratches her head and salivating while staring at the oily roasted chicken.

Ramza looked at Kate, smirking.

"Are you hungry? You want my chicken?" he teased her.

Kate smiled and nodded her head. "Yes, please!" she enthused. Then she becomes shy all of a sudden. She rose to her feet.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm going to get my money to pay you half of the roasted chicken," she said.

"Ah, no need. You don't have to pay me. The whole chicken is more than enough for the two of us," he smiled at her.

"Wow! You're so nice and generous!" She sat back on the ground and watched him under her hooded gaze.

Ramza was continuously rolling the stick so that the other side of the chicken won't get burned badly.

"We need rice for the roasted chicken!" she suddenly blurted out.

"I have rice, open that banana leaves over there," he pointed at the banana leaves nearby.

Kate reached for the banana leaves and when she looked inside, behold, there's enough rice for the two of them. Her brows furrowed.

"Where did you get the rice?" she inquired.

"I brought one bag of rice grains with me, then I cooked it using the clay pot by adding some water. I steamed the rice early before you wake up," he explained while looking at her face adoringly.

Kate smiled. "Wow! You're so capable!"

She looked at him with full admiration in her eyes.

Ramza glanced at her. "What are you looking at—?"

A small smile appeared on her lips and replied... "Nothing."

Her gaze alternated between his handsome face and the roasted chicken.

"How old are you?" she asked.

"I'm 25 years old," Ramza replied. "...and you?"

"I'm 20 years old," she answered brightly.

Ramza looked at her appreciatively, she still manages to look beautiful even without combing her hair.

"I'm done roasting the chicken. Breakfast time!" he announced.

Kate arranged the banana leaves containing the rice in front of them.

Ramza removed the roasted chicken from the stick and starts dissecting them into small parts and placed them in the banana leaves so that his companion won't have a hard time eating the chicken. "Go ahead, you can eat the chicken now. Be careful it's a little bit hot," he reminded her.

"Thank you," she smiled radiantly at him feeling grateful for his care. She picked up the chicken legs and took a big bite on the savory flesh. "Hmmm...so yummy and tasty! You're a terrific cook!" she uttered in absolute joy.

Ramza smiled broadly, pleased with her reaction. He joined her in eating the rice and the chicken. From time to time he would glance at her face, he derived happiness just watching her eating with her bare hands and all.

Kate glanced at him and smiled. "Eat more! Or else, the moment you blink, I already have eaten all the chicken," she said, grinning.

"You can eat the rest I don't mind," he said and stopped eating so that she can have more of the chicken.

Kate smiled, oh my, how generous and sweet he is!

She giggled.

Ever since the drought, she and her siblings weren't able to taste a roasted chicken anymore, it's a luxury that belongs to another time.

She devoured the tasty chicken bite after bite.

While he was looking at her in amazement and adoration.

A few minutes later, the roasted chicken was now reduced to bones.

"Wow! That's the most delicious tasting chicken I ever tasted in my whole life," Kate gushes. She looked at him. "I would like to clean the pot where you boiled the rice and clean everything," she volunteered energetically.

"You can't clean it right now. There's no river nearby. Let's travel a bit first, later, we will come to the river. You can clean it there," he said.

"Wow, really... there's a river nearby?" she asked excitedly.

Ramza nodded his head. "Yeah. You can take a bath there if you like," he suggested.

Kate's eyes sparkled. "I would love to! Let's go now and start our journey!"

"Alright, let's keep moving!" Ramza replied.

They doused some water on the fire, gathered their things, deposited them back inside the wagon, and resumed their journey.

By noontime, they reached the riverside and camped on the small clearing near the river bank under the shade of a big oak tree.